14 DAY TRIAL // Star Citizen is a really, really big game, so much so that many people fear that developer Cloud Imperium Games' ambition will also prove to be its downfall.
Until we get proper confirmation on whether all the hype was actually worth it, we can only piece together the clues, and they somehow always turn out tipping the scale toward the impressive.
The game will be a massive-scale space opera game where you're stepping into a huge universe with a tremendous back story, a universe that will be shaped by player action, where you will get to contribute to the story being told.
Players who aren't attracted by the prospect of a massively multiplayer persistent universe will also be able to enjoy a branching single-player campaign, with the option to have their friends drop in for some cooperative action.
In addition to the usual mix of dogfighting in a zero-gravity environment, space trading and intrigue, the game will also feature some shooting action done on foot.
A truly feature-packed video game
Star Citizen's first-person combat module was demoed at PAX East, showing off the Astro Arena for the first time, and unveiling something that will strike a chord with many science fiction fans: it's the Battle Room from Orson Scott Card's legendary novel "Ender's Game."
Judging from the footage, which you can also take a look at below, the Astro Arena is a giant zero-gravity sphere, laden with various floating geometrical shapes that you can use for cover and propulsion, and the goal is to take out the opponent team, or distract it long enough to step through the enemy's gate.
The most exciting aspect about the whole thing is that it's essentially only a minigame, a small fraction of the wealth of content that will be available to players when Star Citizen launches.
The game has already raised over $70 / €65 million in funding (and counting), making it the biggest such project to date. The game is expected out sometime in 2016, headed to Windows PC and Linux.
