Pardus

Pardus is a browser based massively multiplayer game set in space.

It looks (and feels to a certain extent) like Galactic Civilizations. The graphics are not what you come here for, they are simple and “cutesy”, but the gameplay is anything but.

Tactics and planning play a big part and the game rewards those who are prepared to stick at it.

It includes an interesting “Action Point” system which limits you to a certain amount of activity (moving costs action points for example), this means that players with “a life” are not at a disadvantage compared to those who play 23/7.

Striving to improve your ship is a big part with attack and defence modules able to be purchased (in game, not with real currency) and upgrades abound.

The community is a big part of Pardus, with a friendly, helpful and mature player base that makes playing it more of a pleasure that a lot of games.

I ran through the excellent tutorial and got a feel for the game – it reminded me also of a very graphically simple Eve Online…but less serious and heavy duty (which, when comparing something with Eve, isn’t hard!)

I liked Pardus and will certainly be going back for a deeper look (don’t tell the wife!)

A snapshot of player numbers as of 7th September 2011 looks like this…

Active characters: 11,584
Registered characters: 383,585

EDIT: 5 days later – 13th September 2011….I did hang around and play the game in a little more depth. The action point limit is very unique, it really does limit you to 30-60 minutes of game time per day! You can up this slightly and get more bang for your buck in terms of what you can achieve in an hour (ie, the standard Nuclear Drive expends 39 Action Points for a 3 tile move, whereas the Anti-Matter Drive uses only 30 for the same 3 tile move), but on the whole, this is a game that doesn’t WANT you to play all day long! This really does add a tactical element as you have to maximise your results given such a limited scope for “doing stuff”. But it does make a level playing field and it does make you think and, most importantly, it keeps the game fresh and calling to you for a lot longer than if you just gorged on it for 3 days. Bizzare!

EDIT: 10 days later – 18th September 2011 Ok, Ok…I splashed out the $17.95 for a premium account for 3 months and have read the manual and am in discussions with an Alliance re joining…thank heavens it has the AP limit otherwise it’d be divorce all over again! But seriously, for the gamer who tends to get “rather too sucked in”, this is perfect! It allows only a ‘healthy’ hour or so of play per day…and then it’s all over, the fat lady has sung and the cows have come home. The Premium Account is in no way essential, but it does give you 10% more action points capacity (say 66 minutes of gameplay instead of an hour) and your screen view is 9×9 sectors instead of 7×7...plus a few other bits and bobs that don’t seem to be overly amazing (change the colour on my chat screen etc?)