Gameplay

In space, there are plenty of people who can hear you scream.

Most space sims only offer pre-set missions, never giving players the opportunity to explore. Independence War 2 is open-ended - you can explore as much of the universe as you want. While there is a linear story underlying the game, you can spend any amount of time in side missions and exploring the stars. People will offer you jobs, such as the assassination of a rival, in exchange for cargo or weapons. There is no monetary system in this universe, so you will have to trade for items. You can barter unwanted materials for goods or recycle them into something more useful. Don't feel like playing by the rules? Destroy ships and raid their cargo, but don't come crying if support ships race in to defend your prey.

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Like the Death Star but not

At the hundreds waypoints you'll come across thousands of fellow space drifters. Space traffic brings the Independence War 2 world to life; they don't just fly around and look pretty. Every ship is unique and has a purpose. You'll find freighters hauling hundreds of cargo types ranging from gold and silver to sheep and sugar cane. Pirates lurk in the dark waiting for a moment to strike at their targets. Police ships patrol the area to suppress any illegal activity. The universe works like a real world, everyone has an agenda, and everything happens with or without you. A pirate ship might attack a freighter in hopes of scoring some costly merchandise, causing the police to step up and chase them out of the system. No matter where you go, you wont see the same thing twice.

Boom!

The Tug

Along the way you'll have a small army of followers who help run your ship. Lemuel Smith is you engineer, he takes care of all the technical systems of the ship. Azraelle Takagi and Lori Triest are your wingmen and gunners. While on board your ship they will man turrets when under attack, when detached in fighters they can battle away from the ship. Jafs is your mechanic and trader. Not only does he help with the exchange of goods, but also ventures away from the ship when free-floating cargo needs to be brought aboard. Another important character is the AI construct of Naval Captain Jefferson Clay, a help computer that will act as your personal assistant.

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