Gangs of Space: my first impressions of a very unique MMOG

It finally happened. I always knew that this day would come but I didn’t expect it to be now. This weekend I found an MMO I actually like! Now I know that this is a strange thing to confess to, but the sad fact is that I hate (almost) all MMOs.

Don’t like MMOs, but I love space!

I hate the toxic attitude in MMOFPSs, the grind of MMORPGs, and the complicated universes of Eve: Online and Wakfu confuse me. That’s not to say I haven’t tried. I have, many times and all to the same end. Disappointment and the “add/remove programs” screen.

(See: Why I don’t like MMORPGs (VIDEO))

And yet…

So with that in mind, please believe me when I tell you how much I loved my 48 hours in Gangs of Space’s alpha. Gangs of Space is and old school, top down shoot ‘em up in space. It’s the brainchild of two Japan-based developers, Grouroux and Erhune, founders of Little Big MMO and the developers behind Gangs of Space.

On its surface, Gangs of Space is a simple game. You move your spaceship with the W,A,S,D keys and you aim and shoot with your mouse. It’s simple, effective, and fun. It’s also something that you can pick up and play without having to spend 40 minutes on the wiki learning how to play.

See enemy. Shoot enemy. Steal stuff. Got it!

There’s a huge MMO lurking just beneath the surface of Gangs of Space. You can upgrade your ships with new shields and weapons, and there is no levelling involved in the game at all, meaning that players rely on their abilities, not how much time they spent leveling up. Just to add more of a challenge, Gangs of Space runs on perma-death mechanics. So be careful, or be dead.

Intergalactic mafia warfare

I always knew that I was destined for great things, and now I know just what: an intergalactic don.