Dark Horizon

''Dark Horizon'', released as ''Tarr Chronicles: Guardians of the Border'' (''russian: Хроники Тарр: Стражи Пограничья'') in Russia, is a space combat simulation game developed by Russian team Quazar Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. The game released in North America on September 23, 2008. Dark Horizon is the prequel to ''Tarr Chronicles''.

The game received mixed reviews, and it was the second and last game produced by Quazar Studio.

Gameplay

The game takes place circa 100 years prior to ''Tarr Chronicles''. The game is set in a fictional galaxy called Enosta, which is under the invasion of a malignant entity simply known as the ''Mirk''. The player is a member of the ''Guardians'', a society of people partially infected by the ''Mirk'', who are attempting to construct a structure to contain the entity from wiping out rest of the galaxy, called the ''Light Core''. The player is assigned to defend the ''Guardians'' from attack from the ''Mirk'' and ultimately finish construction of the ''Light Core''.

''Dark Horizon'' plays similarly to its predecessor. Players can now switch between 2 unique fighting modes; ''Shadow mode'' briefly turn the player's starship invisible, while decreasing firepower and speed. ''Corter mode'' sharply increases the player's offensive capabilities, but will constantly drain the player's shields until deactivated. The usage of these modes is determined by a 'cooling' system; If the player's starship is cooled down enough, ''Shadow mode'' will be activated. The opposite is true for ''Corter mode''.
Players can choose between third-person and first-person view.

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews, more so than the first, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. ''IGN'' called the game "flawed" and "almost unifinished", but praised the graphics improvement from ''Tarr Chronicles'' - although ''GameSpot'' criticized the graphical design, calling it "very dark, even for deep space". ''Gamespot'' also criticized the confusing storyline and level design.

See also

* ''Tarr Chronicles''

References

External links

*{{moby game, id=/windows/dark-horizon
Official website

2008 video games
Space combat simulators
Video games developed in Russia
Windows games
Windows-only games
Paradox Interactive games
Single-player video games
Akella games