Shattered Galaxy was released by Nexon in 2002 but not by the same Nexon that brought us Maple Story. The company split in two a while back, the part that kept Shattered Galaxy is now called Kru Interactive. While Shattered Galaxy is '€œonly'€ 6 years old, it looks much older. The 2D graphics and angled camera view give it the feel of a game from the mid to early 1990s. While styled a '€œMMORTS' Shattered Galaxy could be more accurately be described as a tactical MMO since players don'€™t exactly gather resources or build buildings. Each player simply controls a small squad of 6-12 units and must work with other players belonging to their faction to take over territory from the opposing factions.

There are three nearly identical factions at constant war with each other in this post-apocalyptic universe. Each player acts as a Commander and is not involved directly with the fighting. Instead, players field troops and control them during battles. There are 4 basic types of units; Infantry (ground), Mobile (artillery), Aerial (air), and Organic (living). Participating in battle yields units experience points which can increase their levels. Similarly, Commanders can level and distribute points among the four stats. The most important stat is Tactics which allows the Commander to field more troops in battle. All players start with a cap of 6 units which is raised by 1 for every 20 points in tactics up to a maximum of 12 units. (120 tactics) The Clout stat allows players access to units with more defense and the Education stat opens access to damage dealing units. Generally, players should specialize in either Clout or Education to specialize in either defense or offense. The forth and least important stat is Mechanical Aptitude which increases the amount of weight your units can carry, allowing them to use more equipment.

The key activity in Shattered Galaxy is to participate in multi-player battles between the factions over territory. The in game tutorial will show you the ropes through two practice battles then teach you how to participate in real fights. Overall the tutorial is deep enough that it doesn’t leave you confused, but short enough that its a chore to complete. There are four similar battle modes which all involve capturing strategic points on the map and controlling the majority of them before the 15 minute time limit is up. Naturally, destroying all opposing forces will also net victory though this is rare since each player can have over 40 units in reserve.

Shattered Galaxy is the only game of its kind and anyone interested in 2D tactical / Real Time Strategy games should give it a try. Kru Interactive has stopped supporting the game several years ago and there is never likely to be another update but Shattered Galaxy still has a decent sized and active community. Shattered Galaxy is not for everyone, and you'€™ll probably know if you'€™ll enjoy this game or not within the first few minutes.