Battle At Procyon Free
Treasure Planet may not be the next Homeworld, but it's short and sweet--just not very deep.
By Elliott Chin on
In the past, computer games based on Disney movies have usually been little more than children's games designed to quickly cash in on the success of the films themselves, without offering much value for serious gamers. But somewhere along the way, Disney Interactive decided that games based on Disney licenses should appeal to more than just 10-year-olds. And so, the most recent Disney-based game actually offers more than previous lightweight Disney games. In fact, Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon, based on the Disney animated motion picture Treasure Planet, is indeed a 'real' game from Barking Dog Studios, the same developer that created Homeworld: Cataclysm. It's a natural fit, because the movie is an adventure set in space. And while the style of Treasure Planet favors 18th-century space galleons over the futuristic spaceships of Homeworld, the backdrop is still the same: vast seas of black space, swirling nebulae, and treacherous asteroid archipelagos. And the general idea is the same as well: Take control of space ships and blast away at enemy vessels until you save the universe from the clutches of evil.
Treasure Planet actually takes place five years after the events in the movie. You play as the main character from the film, Jim Hawkins, who has finally realized his lifelong dream of joining the Imperial Navy. You begin the game on the day of Jim's final exams at the naval academy. If he can complete the final exercise, he becomes a full-fledged lieutenant in Her Majesty's Service. Just in time too, because the galaxy is undergoing some important changes that require a more vigilant and dedicated navy than ever before. The Terran Empire is on the cusp of a peace treaty with the Procyon Empire, but space pirates have made space travel dangerous for both of these former enemies. So, young Lieutenant Hawkins is thrust into action as soon as his training ends, and he begins his career hunting pirates and keeping the peace.
However, a few missions into the 12-mission single-player campaign you soon discover that a menace greater than pirates is threatening the galaxy. Mysterious alien ships called Ironclads, which look like industrial, steel-plated submarines, have been ravaging Procyon space, and as a gesture of solidarity, the Terran Queen has sent her navy to help battle this Ironclad menace. Meanwhile, coincidentally, a Procyon fleet is en route to the heart of Terran territory to finalize the peace treaty. That conveniently leaves Jim pretty much alone in Terran space to battle pirates, as well as to extend a cautious welcome to the suspicious Procyon visitors and also to investigate alarming rumors that Ironclads have secretly penetrated the heartland of the Terran homeworlds. The game's story is simple and has predictable plot twists. You find out eventually that friends aren't really friends and enemies aren't really enemies. But at first, everything is fairly straightforward, and you merrily gun down pirate ships and ironclads with your cannons, lasers, and torpedoes.
Like the movie, Treasure Planet has an unusual setting--one that combines 18th-century European battleships with spaceships and futuristic weaponry. Rockets and lasers sit alongside cannons and sails on galleons, sloops, and men-of-war. In fact, Treasure Planet plays more like a sea-ship simulator than a space game; it isn't another Homeworld. The action takes place on a 2D plane, and you can't even rotate the camera up and down along the Z-axis to get views of the underbellies or roofs of ships. Instead of planets, you sail alongside islands that float in the void. You'll even see schools of alien fish and space whales swim by your fleet. In fact, if you swapped out Treasure Planet's black space for blue water, you'd have a naval game--but the space setting is charming and consistent enough to suspend your disbelief, as long as you keep in mind that the game is based on a cartoon movie.
Treasure Planet's gameplay is very straightforward and simple, especially because the game's battles are in 2D rather than in 3D as they were in Homeworld. Moreover, the space vessels look and act like sea ships, so they're easy to understand and intuitive to control. The tutorial does a great job of teaching you the basic controls and will have you navigating the campaign missions with aplomb. Once in a mission, you just point and click to move or to shoot at enemy ships. There is a minor role-playing aspect to this very story-driven game, which features in-engine cutscenes, in-mission dialogue, and post-mission debriefings. As you progress through the campaign, you will rise in rank, end up controlling several ships (you begin by controlling only one), and gain better and larger ships. You can also sometimes assign new crew members and weapons to your existing ships during the beginning of certain missions.
Dec 10, 2002. But somewhere along the way, Disney Interactive decided that games based on Disney licenses should appeal to more than just 10-year-olds. And so, the most recent Disney-based game actually offers more than previous lightweight Disney games. In fact, Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon, based on the. Joseph 'Joe' Whyte (born April 18, 1961) is an American actor and voice actor. He attended California State University, where he performed in acting groups. Spread the LOVE! The following are characteristics of numerous extraterrestrial races. Amphibians Amphibian like, semi-intelligent creatures who have been.
Unfortunately, Treasure Planet is perhaps too simple, at least for serious game players. And although it can be fun, it isn't terribly challenging and doesn't offer the depth of other space strategy games like Starfleet Command III or Homeworld. There just isn't much to do except maneuver around your target and shoot. For instance, the game gives you the option to board an enemy ship, but it's actually impossible to do in practice, because Treasure Planet doesn't have the necessary helm controls to help you match your speed with your target, unless you destroy the enemy ship's sails, which renders it useless, anyway. You also have only limited access to the crew and weapon upgrade screen, so the game doesn't offer any in-depth ship customization. This makes sense considering that Disney's audience is the casual gamer; perhaps Disney Interactive figured that detailed ship customization and greater controls might detract from Treasure Planet's simplified gameplay, which is very consistent and very easy to understand.
Treasure Planet also has multiplayer support so that you can play against other players in LAN or Internet games. It also has open ship skirmishes and scripted scenarios. But because Treasure Planet's gameplay isn't all that deep, there really isn't much to hold your attention after you finish the single-player campaign. Then again, Treasure Planet's graphics are quite good and feature progressive ship damage so that you can easily tell how damaged ships are and what weapons they have. And the game's explosions are impressive and feature lots of debris, gouts of flame, and lighting effects. The characters in the game aren't voiced by the actual movie actors, which might be jarring for fans of the film, but Treasure Planet's voice acting and sound effects are certainly adequate.
For those who enjoyed the movie, Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon lets you continue adventuring in the unique setting of the Treasure Planet motion picture with Jim Hawkins in a mostly entertaining fashion. Even serious strategy fans will find it to be a nice diversion. Treasure Planet may not be the next Homeworld, but it's short and sweet--just not very deep.
If you've got the patience for it, this one's very rewarding.
There are several methods of play available. You can start out with the single player campaign, which takes you through a rather fun storyline, or hop right into a single player skirmish, which pits you in a battle against computer generated opponents. You can choose from historical or open maps. Historical maps have set parameters, while open maps allow you to choose fleet size and victory points. There is also a multi-player version, which can be played on LAN or over the internet. The tutorial gives you two choices, a basic or advanced training, in order to learn the mechanics of the game.
In the single player campaign, which takes place after the movie that is being released by Disney later this month, you are Ensign Jim Hawkins. He is going through the finishing exercises to graduate from the Royal Navy Guard cadet training. You will go through many missions, from rescuing another ship to investigating strange sightings. Along the way, you'll see many interesting things. There are whales that fly through space and beautiful nebula that will drain your ships energy if you enter them. Initially, you'll confront other pirate ships and be given clues about who is leading the big attack. Later, you'll save the empire from a tragic disaster.
The story is very well done. After each mission, Jim Hawkins writes in his journal and you'll listen and read as he entails what happens when you aren't on your ship. Cut scenes, that aren't really cut scenes, interrupt game play periodically with some important or mission changing information. They aren't really cut scenes because the action continues on the screen, but pertinent ships or locations are zoomed in on as voiceovers explain what is happening. Finally, this is one the few games I've played lately that didn't disappoint me with its ending cut scene.
The interface is simple, a good thing since this game is geared towards anyone, ages 8 and up. Move your ship by clicking anywhere in the Etherium (the space where all actions takes place) to set a waypoint. The ship will then plot a course (visible by yellow dashes). You can place multiple waypoints, as well. If a turn is necessary, it will show the path that the ship will take. Turns may be wider or narrower depending on the speed of the ship and the ship's own navigation abilities. Each ship can travel at three different speeds, from a very, very slow speed to an emergency full speed (which I might mention feels only slightly faster than the slow speed).
Weapons can be viewed on the weapons bar. Weapons in range of an enemy are indicated by a green outline. A yellow meter shows the weapon's recharge status after being fired. Commands can be issued to other vessels in your fleet from the fleet commands bar. From there, you can issue a formation command, instruct all the ships to shoot on the target you are aiming at or cease-fire.
The ship bar gives you access to the secondary ships icons. From there, the general status of those ships can be viewed. You can switch to the secondary ships by clicking on their icons from the ship bar. You can issue commands while in control of the secondary ships, but only as to where they should move or who they should shoot at. Pathing and other commands are computer-driven. The map is easily accessible as well, and in addition to noting your location and other important locations on the map, it lists the current objective. Completed objectives and failed objectives can also be viewed.
Combat is perhaps one of the simplest and, at the same time, most complicated things about this game. To engage in combat, you simply click where on the ship you want your weapons to hit, and all weapons in range will fire off. The trick is moving during combat and engaging multiple ships, so your weapons are utilized to their maximum advantage. Weapons will only typically fire at an enemy ship from the side that they are located on. So weapons installed on the left and right hulls won't fire unless an enemy ship is on your left or right. Likewise, most rear-installed weapons will only fire at enemies facing the rear of your ship. When combating several ships at once, it is to your advantage to get between several ships and fire off all your weapons by alternately targeting different ships. However, this can be dangerous as well, as you might become the target of all enemies and find yourself being battered repeatedly. After combat, your ship might need repairs. To make repairs, you simply dock at a town or tender and the repairs commence. Opportunities to make repairs, though, are rare in the game.
As you complete missions, you are awarded victory points. Victory points can then be spent on better crew and weapons for your ships. Every ship has different requirements for crew and each new ship you are given starts out with a very basic crew. You will definitely want to upgrade. You can sort available crew by different elements, like Rigging or Navigation. For example, to stock your ship with the best fighters available, you'll sort by Combat and then look through the available shipmates to choose the ones with the highest combat rating. Weapons can also be changed or upgraded for each ship, though its standard stock is usually a pretty decent configuration.
The graphics are very nice. The ships are detailed, although you never see any actual crew. The towns are also very well done, but no townsfolk are ever to be found. It would have been interesting to see little people moving but alas, it is missing from this game. The weapon effects during battle are convincing. The artwork is simply wonderful, as you would come to expect from a Disney movie. It is a fun game to watch as well as play.
The sounds are perhaps the most well done thing in this game. Very good voice acting is used, as befitting a Disney game. You hear piercing screams as the whales swim past you and the explosions as weapons hit their mark. Zooming in or out on your ship increases the volume of engine noise. Music is appropriate, changing tempos depending on what you are doing in the game. During combat, strong battle music accompanies you. The music and sound effects greatly enhance the game.
| What did you think of Treasure Planet? |
The most aggravating thing about Treasure Planet is the incredibly slow load times. I hate waiting after completing a mission for the next mission to load. Some load time is expected, but the load time in Treasure Planet is almost painful. Couple this with the slow movement of your vessels and you'll find yourself doing a lot of staring into space as you wait to get into the game or travel from point A to point B. The missions themselves are not long, but sometimes they feel interminably long because of the unnecessarily slow movement of your ships.
Verdict
Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon is often entertaining. Despite the slowness of many aspects of the game, battle is among the best I've found in an action game of late. Exploring space in an old galleon style ship is pretty unique as well. It's a pretty game and well worth its price tag if this is your style of entertainment.