Earth & Beyond is an on line role playing game that involves space exploration, ship building and character development.

I was a beta-tester for Earth & Beyond, which came out just when other 'first round' on line role playing games were getting revamped. Even with the other games trying to spiff up their graphics, Earth & Beyond was just amazing with the environments you explored.

Think of this as Wing Commander on line. You get to choose one of six different kinds of characters - from explorers to warriors to tradesmen and more. The amount of character customization is simply PHENOMONAL. You get to customize hair color, style, eye color, facial features, you name it. Then your ship gets customized too! You can change the colors of the various parts of it and even add a name and decal to it.

The game is very vocally based, so make sure your sound card is working properly. You get a very nicely done tutorial to help you through learning how to pilot and fight with your ship. Then you are set loose to explore your new world. You can team up with other on line players or just roam around on your own. There are missions to take on, and rewards if you do. If you don't want to, you can just explore and have fun.

You spend most of your time in your ship, but you can also dock at bases or on planets and walk around in character. You can buy new items, customize your ship, take on missions, chat with fellow players. Each type of character gets bonusses for various types of activities. So for explorers, flying around to far-off areas and learing about them gets you your bonusses.

Did I mention the gorgeous graphics? Your character and ship are greatly detailed, from the shadows on the ship to the trails from its engines as it spins through space, to the planets and space docks and everything else. If you don't have a GEforce 3 or 4, grab one! It's simply amazing how good the graphics look on a game that active has thousands of people playing in the world at once.

Highly recommended for any space flight fan. Those who are looking for wizards and dwarves delving in caves might be better off with one of the other more traditional MMORPGs.

Buy Earth & Beyond at Amazon.com

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