| Let’s get one thing straight: We at ESC Magazine love Bruce Campbell. Love him. So much that we had planned to put a statue in the lavishly appointed reception area, but instead settled for a state-of-the-art movie theater. Sadly, that was in turn overrun by biomechanical frogs. What can you do?
Back to the point, we’ve loved Bruce since his turn as Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy. He’s the perfect mix of smarmy humor and manic action. So it’s no surprise that Bruce Campbell is what helps Novalogic’s Tachyon: The Fringe rise above and beyond being a run-of-the-mill space-combat sim.
Bruce is the voice of Jake Logan, a daring fighter pilot who’s accused of a crime he did not commit. In a nice touch, the player flies several missions leading up to and including said crime. Much more effective than simply telling us why Logan is subsequently exiled to an area called "The Fringe." The Fringe is one of those lawless zones, a hive of scum and villainy where huge corporations gather resources while colonists try to eke out a living.
Logan begins as a privateer, errrr, mercenary carrying out missions for local barons and special interests, plus the GalSpan corporation and the Bora colonists. GalSpan and Bora have been in conflict, with Earth actually coming down on GalSpan’s side. Gee, how long do you think it’ll take before Logan has to choose between wealth and independence? Not long, my friends.
Naturally, each side has its benefits. GalSpan can provide state-of-the-art fighters with an emphasis on guided weapons, mostly long-range missiles. The Bora folks have older ships, but they’re basically flying tanks, designed for up-close slugfests. In a very nice move, each side has unique missions, with some overlaps when the Bora and GalSpan collide in plot points. Of course, Logan is the focal point, so the chosen side hails him as a messiah, with the success or failure of the conflict resting in his hands.
The actual combat is fairly standard. Weapons are old standbys like missiles, laser cannon and slug-firing guns. Logan earns money for missions, and can upgrade to new ships and equipment at stations.
Where this game gets better is mission variety. Sure, there are plenty of annoying escort and recon missions, but the guys at Novalogic also got creative. The player will get a chance to do a little find-the-drifting-item, or play spy by stealing information from enemy stations. Some missions can be finished without firing a shot. Plus, there’s a big arena where Logan can fight for cash.
(An odd sidenote: Unlike almost every other space-merc game, the player will never haul materials from one station to another. And yet there’s a screen set aside for the ship’s cargo. It’s used, but rarely. Was some sort of trading feature dropped at the last minute?)
Again, what sets this apart is Campbell’s voice-acting. He’s very rarely uncomfortable, as other actors often seem when working in digital. Instead, he has fun with the role, coming across as a smarmier Han Solo. Snarky comments redeem an otherwise standard production.
Hail to the king, baby. | 
