Graphics

Heyhey… Not Bad!

The graphics in Allegiance are very impressive. There seems to always have been a bit of a trade-off between graphics and gameplay in team games. While Tribes has excellent terrain, most of the rest are rather blocky and bland. Team Fortress Classic, on the other hand, might look good in a screenshot but only then. The animations are choppy (or appeared to be because of lag) and have an unpolished feel. Of course, both have excellent gameplay that more than make up for the lack of the graphical "wow" factor. There is no such lack in Allegiance.

Launch time!

An Aleph - it's a wormhole

Space is very, very dark and cluttered in Allegiance. Asteroids, jump portals, space stations and spacecraft fill up the world very quickly. This is a big difference between Allegiance and the typical space shoot-'em-up. You cannot spot your enemy across the map with just your eyes. It's up to your scanners to see him.

Enemy bomber targetted, my base ahead

The artist has to be a flower child

Variety!

Allegiance offers graphical variety in spades. Each faction has a totally unique look. Even if there was no radar in the game, it would be pretty damn hard to not be able to tell a Bio fighter from one made by the Iron Coalition. Similarly, all space stations look different from each other. Bios tend to have smooth, curvy craft and stations while a GigaCorp (descendant of Microsoft?) fighter looks like a Ferrari designed to carry weapons.

Eject Pods suck :*(

Whoah Massive Incoming!

All spacecraft have a good amount of detail available with a fairly high polygon count. With the gun-oriented combat, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy the eye-candy in all its glory. Speaking of which, the weapon effects are quite good, and definitely functional. Within a quick few games, you'll soon learn which gun you're firing (this is important, as some weapons are ammunition-based, others are energy-based). The variety of guns might not be as great as in FreeSpace, on the other hand it's nothing to scoff at either. Not only do you have the option of a chain gun, for example, but it can be upgraded to a chain gun Mk II, as can most other weapons.

Explosion effects are pretty good - whenever anything big dies, it does the typical expanding ring blast (a staple of science fiction since Star Trek VI). Missile explosions and gun blasts are impressive in a unique way, tending towards a blueish plasma explosion which dissolves.