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If you grew up with games in the 1980s, it's likely that the Coriolis Star Port's been spinning through your imagination ever since. It's still dazzling to see the place rendered and textured in Elite: Dangerous, though, those unmistakable wireframes newly covered with beacons, gantries, and glittering towers. Coriolis has been waiting for you all this time, and it's a treat to be back. Line up with the docking bay, and you'll find that the feel of your Sidewinder jetting itself into position is exactly as you remember it. Once inside, you can still spend your precious credits, too, outfitting your craft for the battles that lie ahead, and stocking up on any supplies that might be worth a little bit more out there than they are right here.Fans have waited so long for a proper Elite sequel, and what's most surprising about Dangerous is that it feels so pure. It's still a gloriously chilly space opera that relies as heavily on the science as it does the fiction, and it still pitches you into a universe where the harsh realities of capitalism are as inflexible as the laws of physics. Frontier's been trying to get this game made for years and, playing the current beta, it's hard not to argue that crowdfunding, on this occasion, was probably the best way to proceed. Sure, the need to avoid undercutting backers has put the pricing into some properly unpleasant contortions along the way, but despite the delights of being charged £200 for access to an unfinished project, I'm not sure I can imagine Elite, with all its wonderful obstinacy, making it through the gauntlet of a traditional publishing deal intact - or at least without a few concessions to current fashions getting clamped on along the way.
Cynical or not, going direct to an audience that absolutely understands the proposition has seemingly allowed Frontier to deliver its game uncompromised. The new additions, like online multiplayer and Oculus support, all make sense, and there's no attempt to build something that will be palatable to the widest possible audience - while truly satisfying none of them. Dangerous is definitely not for everyone - and that's a real strength..
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