Space sims on Valve's Steam

The real news is that X3 is now disinfested from Starforce. Which was a good reason for me to not buy it when it was released.

Now the game and its previous chapter (X2) are available on Steam. The price is also quite good since X3 is being sold for $17.95 (will be $19.95 after the 28 July).

These days we don't have many space simulations and the X series is a very ambitious one (and planning a mmorpg as well). I haven't played the game yet (downloading more than 3Gb will take a while here...) but I know it has accessibility issues and the graphic engine is absurdly laggy even if it shows some of the best graphic ever. It's not a well-polished, well-designed game nor easy to get into, but my experience tells me that these kind of games are very rewarding if you give them enough time. It won't be perfect but at least it offers something that you cannot find somewhere else. Huge scope and completely open ended.

I mean, if you like these kinds of games what is left is this one or... Derek Smart.

The way they keep working on the exact same project, fixing problems, adding new ideas, expanding some parts and so on. I love it. It's so close to the ideal "ongoing development" of a mmorpg. A "world" (universe, in this case) to make and develop that never ends and continues to be perfectioned and expanded.

Bring on more sandbox-y games!