First Encounters is the third in the Elite series of games from Gametek. It's the sequel to Frontier: Elite II, which was the sequel to the game which started it all - Elite. First Encounters is not much different than the other two previous games. You start off with a ship and a small amount of money, with which you trade from planet to planet and do whatever else you can do to make a buck all across the galaxy. There are storylines running throughout the game that you can choose to participate in, galactic power struggles that you have to be careful in dealing with, and pirates in every corner of the galaxy just waiting to take a shot at you.
You start off the game in a small fighter ship, barely armed, and a thousand credits to your name. It's not much to go on, but with some careful trading you can start to build your bank account. Trading is handled through the stock market at each city or space station you dock at. The prices are different, depending on the social and industrial status of the star system you're in, so you want to buy stuff at a low price at one market, then travel to another location where the price for that item is more expensive. It's not as easy as it sounds, though, because the market that will pay the most for your cargo may be an anarchic system that's just crawling with pirates, and your ship isn't exactly tough at the beginning of the game. So you may have to start by putting around the system while you slowly build your fortune. This may turn some folks off, because you'll get shot out of the stars quite a bit while starting out. Some ships barely appear on your radar before you become space dust. It'll take quite a bit of research on the other star systems before you establish safe and reliable trade routes.
It won't be long before you need to upgrade your ship or even trade up to one of the many types of ships included in First Encounters. There are a ton of different weapons and ship capabilities that you can add on throughout the game. The fun is in balancing your available cargo room between ship add-ons like weapons and shields, while still having room to transport cargo from system to system. But there are more ways to make money than just trading...
Each port has an electronic bulletin board that you can access for all kinds of offers and information. On these BBS's you'll be able to take jobs, legal and otherwise, which will net you some extra credits. You'll be able to take jobs transporting folks from one system to another, deliver packages, and take "contracts" on various "jobs" around the galaxy. Some are riskier than others, but the ones with the most risk always pay more. The BBS's are also where you find buyers for certain things that you may be able to obtain elsewhere, and there is always someone looking for someone else. If you pay attention to who wants what on each BBS, you'll be able to land a sizable amount of money over time.
There are also five publications in circulation that give you information about what's going on in various parts of the galaxy. If you pay enough attention to these journals, you might be able to smell profit in some of the stories. For example, in the very beginning of the game, the journals tell about a disease that's broken out in a certain star system. If you read between the lines well enough, you might see that a trader with a hold full of medical supplies might be able to make a killing through healing.
Through all of this trading and exploitation, you might "accidentally" break a law or two. Depending on the law and the crime, it will go on your record. The three galactic political powers keep track of your doings, as well as the five aforementioned journals. These records will affect the things you'll be able to do and the places you'll be able to go. There's also a combat record of how many kills you've racked up called your Elite rating. When you start out you're classified as Harmless, but as you "defend yourself" during your travels, your rating will improve until you finally reach Elite status. Your combat record will also determine what jobs certain people will give you. If you "defend yourself" a lot, pirates will think twice about attacking a ship with a pilot rated deadly or elite.
The graphics in First Encounters may not look great upon first glance. They look, for lack of a better word, cartoonish. It seems to work, though. The motion of the ships, planets and space stations are done in fluid, realistic moving 3D, but they don't have that crisp, ultra-realistic look that you may find in some games.
First Encounters effortlessly blends trading commodities with real-time combat. With plots that you can participate in and various other jobs you can take, the universe created in First Encounters allows you to choose your own career path - either a noble, upstanding citizen of the galactic Imperium, or a bloodthirsty pirate, stealing from the rich and stepping on the poor. Either way the game will unfold to fit whatever career path you choose. The depth of First Encounters is deceiving at first, seeming like it may be nothing more than a make-as-much-money-as-you-can game. As you play on you'll become involved in sub-plots taking you from one side of the galaxy to the other, and before you know it you'll be making a name for yourself in the First Encounters universe. It's a game with a lot to it, and the only problem may be putting in those initial hours to establish yourself. Learning how your ship works and all of the functions available will take some time, but the well-written manual makes the process a lot easier. There's also a book that comes along with the game, featuring different short stories about the First Encounters universe. First Encounters is more than game, it's a space trading/adventure/action/simulation. Don't be put off by the learning curve involved because once you get going, you'll be hooked.
