Realspace 2

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Realspace is a computer game series by AltoParc, detailing the wars of the United Fleet (the humans) versus the Katuri, an alien race. Its incarnations are Apocalypse Outpost, Antaris Realspace, and the most recent, Realspace 2: Emperor's Revenge.

After the corrupt human race became convinced of their ultimate superiority, they began to build an empire and a mighty space fleet to help them on their conquest. While exploring the space frontier, they stumbled upon another advanced race known as the Katuri, whom they quickly tried to conquer. This quickly turned out to be a mistake, and the Katuri countered the invasion and attacked every outpost on the Earth-claimed frontier. The Katuri eliminated every outpost except one: Apocalypse outpost somehow managed to survive the Katuri assault long enough for the United Fleet to regroup.

Almost immediately following the retreat of the Katuri from Apocalypse outpost, the United Fleet launched a counter-attack, assaulting every Katuri world. Smashing the enemy fleets and pinning down even the dreaded Juggernaught carriers, the United Fleet gained an impressive upper hand. At the first opportunity, they massed a large fleet at the Katuri homeworld: Sirius Prime. The Katuri massed all the nearby starships in a final defense, but to no avail. At the last second, a wing of Katuri suicide bombers all but destroyed the attacking human force. The Katuri were quick to launch an effective counterattack, and, led by the player, piloting the KFS Vengeance, attacked and all but destroyed the Earth. The surviving United Fleet forces retreated to the only place the Katuri couldn't conquer: Apocalypse outpost. The conclusion of the war is still pending, expected to happen in the next of the series: Realspace 3:Apocalypse returns.

[edit] The games

The first game in the series is Apocalypse Outpost. The player, controlling the station's turret, must survive wave after wave of Katuri spaceships, asteroids, and space mines. Luckily, the player is assisted by 4 station-mounted missile launchers and a continual stream of United Fleet spaceships emerging from hyperspace between each wave. Due to the proficiency of the reinforcements and inproficiency of the turret, the player is often "cleaning up" anything the missile launchers and ships miss, as well as weapons fire from Katuri ships, which only the player can destroy. Between each wave the station and any remaining UF ships and missile turrets receive a 50% health boost, and if the station lost any missile turrets, 2 more are added on.

Next in the series is Antaris Realspace. In contrast to the last game in the series, the turret the player controls isn't on screen or level with everything else. Instead, the player's turret (mounted on a large spaceship The Antaris) is "above" every other ship in the game and out of range of Katuri ships. The player has a much larger responsibility this time, not just destroying the enemy's missiles and shots, but also having to destroy most of the Katuri ships and mines onscreen. In addition, the player has a choice between 2 game modes: Mission Deliverance, where the player must escort 3 supply freighters to the United Fleet, then destroy a Katuri Juggernaught carrier, or the Sector Wars, where the United Fleet fight the Katuri across several space sectors. Once again, between waves/sectors any surviving UF ships receive a 50% health boost.

Latest in the series is Realspace 2: Emperor's Revenge. This time, the player is leading the army they were fighting against in the earlier games: the Katuri. Instead of manning a gun turret, the player is allowed a spaceship and can fly around with their fleet. In addition, instead of being restricted to a small space on screen, the player and their fleet are allowed an entire map to fly around in. To compensate for this, the entire graphics were redone as well. The player is also given more complex orders than "protect these ships"; as early as level 3 the player must attack and destroy a newly-built outpost.2