Review for Elite Dangerous. Game for Mac, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 02/04/2015 The version for PC came out on 16/12/2014 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 27/06/2017 The version for Xbox One came out on 26/04/2016
That Elite Dangerous is not one of the best known names in the gaming scene is a fact. Don't get me wrong, we're comparing Elite Dangerous's notoriety to its two main competitors: No Man's Sky and Star Citizen. Yes, because these three titles actually aspire to the same slice of users: lovers of space exploration and adventures made of interstellar travel, politics, commerce, combat and much more.
These are just some typical aspects of the setting, which owes a lot to literature and cinema, in particular to the Dune and Star Wars sagas. Quoting George Lucas: "Without Dunes, Star Wars would never have existed." Perhaps it is worth saying that without Elite Dangerous, neither No Man's Sky nor Star Citizen would have ever existed. We are in fact talking about a brand that sees its birth in the year 1984, developed by Frontier Developments. Go and see some pictures: you will be amazed at how many basic ideas have survived up to the current version.
So if not many people know Elite Dangerous in its original guise on PC, we will take advantage of the opportunity with this new release on PlayStation 4 to tell once again about a gem not for everyone. Elite Dangerous is loved or hated.
The concept of progress is a protective mechanism that defends us from the terrors of the future (Frank Herbert)
Elite Dangerous is a huge sand box set in the Milky Way. We take on the role of a pilot in command of a spaceship - in the early stages small and poorly equipped - which will allow us to move among the stars and begin our space exploration. The man of the future has colonized thousands of solar systems "close" to our Sun and opposing factions have formed characterized by unique policies and ideologies. As players we do not have a real purpose, we can (and we will) therefore choose our path in a completely free way. We will be able to trade between the various stations, become bounty hunters, explore virgin and unknown systems by pushing ourselves into every corner of the galaxy, really composed of billions of stars and planets generated procedurally.
We are then granted the association to one of these factions, a game mode called Power Play, so as to carry out dedicated missions. Our contribution, together with that of other connected players, will influence the colonization of planets, the conquests or the defenses of worlds making the setting dynamic week after week. To better appreciate this mode and the entire game structure in general, it will almost be necessary to approach Elite Dangerous as a great role-playing game that elevates immersion as a main feature. In fact, there will be players who will rate the experience as repetitive and aimless, while others will find the real fun simply by piloting their own ship and impersonating their role in the galaxy.
Difficult to master
The PlayStation 4 version is offered in two main purchase variants. Elite Dangerous is in fact available bundled with the Horizon expansion, which adds numerous content, including the ability to land on rocky planets and explore them with a rover. If you are not sure about the purchase, our advice is to try your hand at the basic version and then expand the entire game only if truly captured by the world of Elite Dangerous. Especially in its early stages the game is unsettling, there is no real tutorial and you will soon find yourself looking for information on videos on the net to understand even just how to land or fly your vehicle.
Each ship can then be completely customized, not only from an aesthetic point of view but with numerous modules to adapt it to your style of play. Piloting the spacecraft is a continuous training, almost comparable to a real simulator. You will have to take into account many factors: speed, realistic physics of the planets and various celestial bodies, request for landing permits in stations, energy balance between engines, weapons and shields and so on. Even the simplest of operations in Elite Dangerous presents a challenge: if you are not willing to invest the right time in overcoming these first difficulties, Elite Dangerous is probably not for you.
Those who appreciate Elite Dangerous will be rewarded with one of the most fascinating visual impact: the choice of the realistic overall rendering, unlike the pastel tones in No Man's Sky, makes the approach to every asteroid belt, planet, nebula or black hole exciting. It will be amazing to be in front of the huge stations and improve your flying technique day by day; it will be challenging to stand out in combat and trade; it will be exhausting to travel to an arm of the galaxy and then find the way home.
Two giants in comparison
Elite Dangerous is really one step away from being the undisputed leader of this trend. The biggest shortcomings that the community reports are the first person mode of the pilot as well as the possibility of landing on any planet and not just the rocky ones. The Frontier Developments team has proven to only churn out quality and everyone is confident in this constantly growing title that from the beginning has been able to innovate and update itself by always including excellent content. The main and shareable criticism of this title is the repetitiveness that newbies of the genre perceive in always carrying out similar if not identical missions: a similar criticism, not surprisingly, has been moved towards No Man's Sky at the release.
As a fan of Elite Dangerous, we decided to actively involve the author of the No Man's Sky review in the editorial office in the first hours of the game, to better identify the gamer target who will most benefit from the exploration of Elite.
Several times and not only recently on the occasion of the release for PlayPlastation 4 Elite Dangerous and No Man's Sky have been placed on the same scale and weighed with the same yardstick. The two titles have in common the admittedly introspective and at the same time majestic nature: whether you are a fan of the pastels of NMS or of the photorealistic rendering of ED, you will find yourself literally catapulted into a kaleidoscope of universes made of light, colors, shapes and opportunities that do not have. too many precedents in the most recent videogame history. Where NMS, however, declines the flight sections to a greater degree of automation, ED makes it the main engine and source of pride: the levels of extreme realism (and consequent difficulty curve if, like myself, you do not have an interstellar pilot background) will force you to spend a good deal of time and willpower in learning basic flight commands, not necessarily with the desired success. Elite Dangerous is unforgiving: the sense of confusion and helplessness we perceived in the incipit of NMS is nothing in comparison.
In Elite Dangerous you will be your own boss to the extent that the Hello Games guys had only promised us. On the other hand, the exasperation and the probable loss of patience in front of the immensity of a title that makes intuition, self-learning and training more and less autonomous conditio sine qua non for the slow continuation of the adventure could make you regret the simple landings and the immediacy of NMS movements. In the same way, the complete absence of tracks on which to set a plot and a common goal to be achieved could in the long run dissuade the player from investing the right amount of energy for the achievement of those self-imposed objectives resulting from the most total free will imposed by Elite. Dangerous.
If you are not devoted to space simulation, but love stellar settings with a good dose of autonomy dictated by the procedural nature of the universe, in NMS you can find a faithful companion on your journey to the center of the universe in the ultimate search for the meaning of life.
If, on the other hand, you are a fan of intergalactic management systems, the result of extreme realism and willing to familiarize yourself with almost infinite possibilities, head armed with the right amount of will to identify yourself towards the Elite Dangerous boarding bridge. Don't forget to remove it though: the risk of ending up crashed for a retraction in suspicious times is just around the corner!
Multiple options
Initially, we were skeptical of a title like Elite Dangerous but once we got the dualshock in hand, we had to change our minds. The very high possibility of customization of the controls, makes the game more than enjoyable on Playstation 4. Note the compatibility with the Joysticks of the series Thrustmaster Hotas, controllers for flight simulators that will make the experience even more immersive.
For the purists of the technical specifications, we refer you to this very comprehensive video, which explains in detail the differences between the PC, PS4, PS4 Pro and Xbox One versions.
Elite Dangerous is not a real MMO: even playing online, this title creates instances where you will find yourself with a maximum of twenty other possible players connected and, given the immensity of the galaxy, there are rare occasions in which more players will be concentrated in the same place. Elite Dangerous is an excellent product capable of clearly dividing the opinions of players and critics. Traveling with one of the many spaceships available is the only way to know if this universe is capable of capturing you.
► Elite Dangerous is a Simulation-type game developed and published by Frontier Developments for Mac, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 02/04/2015 The version for PC came out on 16/12/2014 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 27/06/2017 The version for Xbox One came out on 26/04/2016
