Hyperiums Review

Cost: Free with a yearly sub option of $17.00 USD/year
Modes: Two, Permanent and RLF (Real Life Friendly)
Style: Test based MMORTS (Mass Multiplayer Online Real Time Strategy)
Final Score: 4 out of 5

Overview
Hyperiums is a space based real time strategy game. This is a game designed around the social aspect of online RTS gaming. Although some will find mild success with playing solo, or pirating as it's referred to in the game, the majority of players will belong to an alliance.

This game can be played at home or from work as there are no ads in the game and is text based with very light game created graphics so there should be nothing that should be stopped by traditional work filters

The Facts (on a 5 star scale)

Graphics - 3
The simple fact is this is a text based game with virtually 0 graphics. There are some space fleet graphics that cycle through in the back ground and the planets icons are simple but clean. The font is easy enough to read as a yellowish font on a dark background. Nothing is fuzzy or hard to see. The only thing keeping this from getting a higher rating is the complete lack of any real graphics.

Replay Value - 4
I have been playing this game for six years now. This game is NEVER the same from day to day. You can be part of an alliance, you can commit treason and sell your alliance's planet list (if you have access), you can try to be a peaceful trader, you will fight in wars for territory, and the list goes on... The only thing that keeps this from getting a 5 is if you are a warmonger then you at some point you will become bored with the game.

Community - 5+
If I could give this a 6 I would. The Hyperiums community is like none other that I have been part of. They support and develop tools for the game and keep them updated and are CONSTANTLY making some kind of improvements. Even the author of the site will chime in from time to time and help the devs with things. Please do not misunderstand; there is also a fair amount of whining, complaining, and flaming done on the msg boards but its all in good fun and part of the game.

Its worth mentioning here that if you are not an avid mIRC user then you are going to want to be to play this game.

Mechanics - 4
The learning curve on this game is hard to explain (which is why it gets a 4 and not a 5). Its somewhat difficult to master the game (not anywhere near as hard as say E.V.E) but if you get in with a good alliance you should be fine. This game is a RTS game that is based on "time ticks" certain events that happen every day at the same time (based on server time of course). Once you learn these the game becomes much simpler.

The goal of the creator of this game is to create a permanent game that never has to be reset. Having said that in the time that I have been playing we have had 2 major resets (not bad for 6+ years)

Feel- 4
The overall game play and feel of this game works well together, there is not really anything about this game that makes it feel out of place or awkward. Its a fun place to play a game when you have 5min or 2hrs to kill. As the game progresses it does take up more of your time. Once you get far enough in the game it's easy to spend 3-5hrs a day on this game and sometimes more. This is for the permanent game; if you cannot commit this much time there is a RLF (Real Life Friendly) version of the game that moves at a much slower pace with the "time ticks" spread out more. Some people play both!!

Personal Impressions
As stated above I have been playing this game for sixish years so yes I like it a lot. We have just had a hard reset on the game so it's a good time to get in a learn as even the vets of the game are having to figure out a few things again!! I am not naive, this game is not for everyone; however, if you like politics, war and strategy this is game is worth trying out.

My only request is that if you do try it out. Stick around for at least 30 days to get a good feel for it! If nothing else its a good game to play from work when your boss is not looking!!

Getting started
1. Start out in a protected super cluster
2. Look for an alliance to join right away

Vangsoe, M. (2009, September 6). Hyperiums Review. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Hyperiums-Review&id=2880412