Zigfrak

Picked this game up on a whim for $2.49 because I figured, "Why the hell not?" Let me say, I'm so glad I did! The combat is user-controlled and terrific, the equipment altering interface is very simplified yet is made complex by the innumerable additions and expansions found throughout the game. And if you like loot, well, this game has a TON of it. From someone who played Eve Online and found it to be rather droll and nigh impossible to be an effective addition to the world, Zigfrak "scratched that itch" for me in regards to free-roam space exploration games. I also really appreciate the physics of the game and how they are implemented to provide an engaging starfighter experience. Definitely recommend!

A game this cheap has no business being this good.
Despite an interface which can be a little tricky to learn, this is a solid game experience. Destroyed ships litter space with tons of loot: ammo, guns, vendor trash, crafting components, etc. So much so that it can be a bit overwhelming in the early going. I've only scratched the surface of this one, but it seems surprisingly deep.

GET THIS GAME! Unless you're Maverick.
Zigfrak is a pretty awesome game. It's amazingly beautiful, but for reasons I can't begin to fathom it has never overheated my laptop. Not even when I accidentally left it running paused and the temperature in my room was in the mid-80s during the afternoon hours (my room sadly faces west). Even games that are 3D only as window dressing tend to overheat my laptop (RTS games, XCOM Enemy Unknown, and many others). This game I could probably leave running for a week.
This game is what I'd term a casual space RPG. What I mean by "casual" is that it tends to avoid the micromanagement most RPGs entail. Unlike most casual RPGs it IS pretty and there's a very wide variety of enemies and components you can add to your ship. No really, there's TONS of things you can upgrade your guns, shields, armor, missile launchers, whatever to. Going along with the casual game theme, they're often whimsically named. Inconvenient realism tends to get glossed over in this game. You're only allowed to carry so many of each object. Once you hit that amount, it automatically converts those items into the type of credits you spend at a trade station (there's at least three forms of currency, which makes game economics all kinds of interesting).
The author loves puns and references. There's an alien weapon type called "strange." So one of the weapons has an effect called "When you're strange." And given that certain of the higher-end weapon names are prepended with "tweaked" they put in one weapon called "Tweaked Morrison." The references vary between movies/sci-fi (obviously) but you can also find weapon types like Larry, Curly and Moe. I want to hope that Moe is the most effective, with Larry being the less-interesting mid-range model.
It's also a fairly sandboxy game. While there's an arcing storyline, you can freely ignore it if you want, and just go about fighting, looting, crafting or whatever.
The author is AMAZINGLY responsive and non-dickish (even when folks are being critical). Seems willing to take a look at your saved games in order to track down bugs (or just fix your stuck game for you). It's almost unbelievable how responsive he is given that it's a $5 game. I almost feel guilty mentioning that it's fairly easy to come by coupons for this game...
The only reason I mention my friend Maverick up top, it's not his type of game. While I wouldn't call the game overly easy, it rather shamelessly lists as one of its selling points that it's a click, kill and loot game. It even describes the things you kill as "loot pinatas." I like the honesty there, it lets you know that this wasn't done by accident or poor design. This game is for people who like getting loot. It's a nice palate-cleanser for my Shadowclan friends *snickers*. Money is easy enough to come by (and if you putter away a few hours in certain areas you'll be absurdly comfortable). You could also avoid doing as I did to get a "more balanced" experience. It shouldn't be TOO hard to get the things you'd want to buy (in the unlikely event they don't drop as loot somewhere).

Imagine the look and feel of Freespace combined with the mechanics of an ARPG and you will have a good idea of what Zigfrak is all about.
Years ago I was the 18th person to purchase the game and now that he has continued to pour a ton of work into the game and its now made it to Steam I hope that many of you purchase this absolutely spectacular game. I look forward to watching Zigfrak evolve more and more and its just going to get better. Congratulations Alex!
The game has extensive options so you can tweak the game to the point where its the best for your PC and there is only one thing that I wish would be added into the game, and that would be the ability to make the ingame text size larger. Its not crippling microfonts like some games but I wish I could bump it up a little. That being said do not let that discourage you from buying the game--the font is clear and not too tiny.
This is a game that you will be able to get MANY hours of enjoyment out of and if you don't purchase it you will be missing out on a great experience. The controls are wonderful and the interface is intuitive.

The short review is buy the game, the dev is a hobby dev and you'll probably jump in and out of the game every now and then for your monthly Zigfrak fix. Which is good for addicits because something is always coming and everything adapts/levels with you so you'll need to adapt and change. Every battle is different.
I've a guide
I've a letsplay COMING
Though lets just think a minute ...
Do you care about reading dialogue ?
> if yes, Awesome. Buy this game . go explore and kill or whatever you want to do...while thinking about your decisions
> if no , Awesome. Buy this game . go explore and kill or whatever you want to do...while not thinking ... just destorying
Do you think you'd carry around that lvl 3 Quirky SmartAss Missile until your level 15 because it looks cool?
> if yes, heck yeah its awesome.
> if no, hey look, something else thats not just a reskin of other stuff with better stats but, actually a different item.
Have you seen a spaceship shoot homing mines that actually act as mines that act with proximity to targets?
> obviously not, becuase you're currently reading this review and you probably haven't played this game.
Ever wondered what it'd be like to be stealthed in the middle of a Five Faction Battle ?
> You get a stealth cloak in the third major quest.
Ever wondered how much loot that battle results in ?
> Its alot though you'll have grab what you want quick cos there are always scavagers and Enforcers about.
Ever battled your-AI-self?
> you will, it is a random event, one of you will die.
Confused Painful memorys?
> yeah, you've just killed your self, saving your past self from killing your future self. Yay future self.
You woke up?
> yeah, it was all a dream. Look out! Giant space bats are attacking you from the rear.
Been eaten by a god-like entity?
> you can do that, there is an epic 100 - 1 battle.
Ever played poker in-game against mob-bosses for control of sectors as well as cannolle?
> you can do that, watch them though cos Lenny cheats.
> Sammy the Rat is actually a Rat. you'll need to read that document you just received
Don't want to read?
> fuck it kill them all and earn glory through bloodshed of possible poker cheaters.
Read the document in the end and had a good laugh?
> sadly i got the joke after killing all the mobsters ... "its in the mail"
Ever played hide and seek with a non-entity-entity?
> you can do that, it is fun.

((((( I HAVE PLAYED THIS GAME IN OFFLINE MODE FOR ATLEAST 40 HOURS )))))
I've played a bunch of the space rpg gerne. This game has limitless potential.
Sure, it's single player, but having beaten the game some time ago, I still find myself playing it 3+ hours a day.
Pro's ( Simple List )
- Lot's of customization, (endless loot, with random prefix's and altercations/modifications)
- Loads of replayability.
- As the description says, High paced combat, very addicting gameplay aswell!
- 10+ Player Ships, (that I currently know about.) Considering I have just found playable ship another twenty minutes ago suggests that just because you beat this game, doesnt mean you 'Beat' this game.)
P.S. I know that 'only 10ish' ships may not seem like a lot as a first impression, but in reality, considering what your ship is in this game, they are more comparable to playing styles, depending on which ship and how many slots for weapons/ drones / engines etc the ship has.
-After you beat this game, there is still a plethora of content to be unlocked. ( Through Randomly generated events or Missions, aswell as weapons from special vendors/stations that can only be obtained from 'Research', or Boatloads of credits.)
Free Roam!!! Not just 'free roam', I Literally mean you can travel to hundreds of different locations, which all have very decent size btw.
CONS
- No Multiplayer ( possible future devolupment I Hope! )
- Uhh... Aside from not having Multiplayer, there literally is basically nothing i can list as a significant 'Con'.
For 5$, this game is toooooootttallly worth investing in. I would honestly pay a moderate price of 15$ considering how much fun i've had in this game thus far.
To those of you whom take my review seriously, Enjoy the Game!! ( And let me know if theres any extra content you find, as in secret ships or weapons!)

Combines the feeling of getting that epic Legendary drop from games like Diablo or Borderlands with solid 3rd person spaceship combat. Coupled with some nice customization options, lots of weapon variety and a fun story and you have a real winner on your hands.
For $5, it's an insane bargain!