Writing for Apple’s Games site, Chris McVeigh takes a look at the forthcoming game Cosmic Encounter Online. It’s the long-anticipated online version of the classic board game that first appeared in the early 1970s and has gone through numerous iterations, revisions and publishers over the decades.
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Cosmic Encounter Online is, at its core, a turn-based strategy game in which you can wage war or establish alliances with alien races as you seek to colonize the stars. Each alien race has one unique attribute that enables them to manipulate the way the game is played. The game’s designer, Peter Olotka, told McVeigh that Cosmic Encounter Online offers “a unique form of social gaming” that most players won’t have experienced before.
The game features colorful vector-based animation, along with sound effects and music. And as an online game that’s delivered using Macromedia Shockwave technology, there’s no special software to buy or install — though you will have to sign up for an account in order to play.
A free trial membership gains you access to a limited number of aliens, while a paid membership gives you full access to the entire range of aliens and to a ranking system as well. Cosmic Encounter Online is currently in the late stages of development and its designers anticipate that it’ll launch soon. In the interim, you can sign up for a membership, get some free time, and send “eMailiens” to your friends to encourage them to sign up too.