Sound

Oooh sweet

Sound effects are an integral part of a game today. In space combat sims, they aren't as functional as say in a real-time strategy game or certain first person shooters (such as Thief or System Shock 2). However, they are integral to adding atmosphere to the game. Good voice acting, music that suits the mood and cool sound effects can propel a game to the next level. On the other hand, bad sound can ruin a game - you'd be better off with text and no music than speech and music that's poorly suited to the setting.

Action Jackson

Drop yer cargo

The patented 'over the turret' view

EoC manages to pull off almost all sound-related features without a hitch. The sound effects are common stock for a space sim - guns blast, missile warnings yell with increasing intensity as the missile approaches, high-speed engines roar, while fighters and missiles scream by. As is typical of today's games, the sounds are clear, crisp and nicely mixed and recorded. There are no technical issues with the sound that we are aware of.

The music is probably the weakest point of EoC's sound offerings but it is still up to par when set beside its competition. There are multiple tracks and they all serve a purpose. Some play during special cut-scenes or combat, others when there is a lull in the action. There is just enough variety to avoid repetitiveness. Few tracks stick out and yell quality, so don't go expecting a FreeSpace 2 soundtrack. More importantly however, there was only one that was clearly bad - bad enough to shake us out of our immersion.

The rings don't always appear

Target practice

Rockets away

Wait a tick... Maurice, yeah my old mate Maurice

Speech is clearly the highlight of EoC's panoply of sound. The voice actors are top notch and almost no one gets the second-class treatment. Even minor characters with only a couple of lines are pulled off without a hitch. Your character's crew is particularly fine.

We've noted on several occasions recently how the gap in quality between the best and worst speech is shrinking. There are still clear differences between top-tier products like Baldur's Gate, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Diablo II and games that are slightly off the mark, but those differences are fading fast. Voice acting can get only so good before differences become trivial. If we haven't reached that point yet with most games, we will get there very soon.