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March 03, 2010 | | Comments 6

Space Miner: Space Ore Bust in Review – We Will Rock You!

The Californian Gold Rush which lasted for 7 years in the middle of the 19th century was arguably one of the most romantic periods ever. Some people think that once we finally truly step into space the rush will come again, but this time people will go hunting for rich asteroid deposits the scientists are predicting. How long do we have until the next Gold Rush is a mystery, but Venan Entertainment will be ready for it. Space Miner: Space Ore Bust – is the future miner’s guide to all things asteroid mining -minus the bad puns of course. Feel free to discuss this review of Space Miner: Space Ore Bust in our forums.

Space Miner: Space Ore Bust is a top-down Shooter/RPG game that plays a lot like Asteroids but with a serious makeover. The story follows the adventures of a young pilot who arrives to his uncle’s space mine in search of fame and fortune. With no ships of his own the young lad is sent out to collect ore in his uncle’s Old jalopy. Having returned from his first trip out the young lad finds out to his horror that the uncle not only grabbed a huge loan, but wasted all of it on a giant billboard. Meanwhile,  the bank wants to foreclose the loan already. Now he has little choice but to go back out and earn the cash to save his uncle’s business.

The gameplay of Space Miner is centered around going out, destroying asteroids, collecting ore to fill up your cargo bay, and getting back to base. But all is not that easy. For one thing the MegaCorporation, that is after the uncle’s mine, has sent out robots to do their own ore gathering, which you’ll have to dispose off. Furthermore the asteroids themselves often offer surprises, like unexpectedly exploding or shooting out ice spikes. And finally all of this is punctuated by side-quests that require you to save tourists, defend the ship of the “Galactic Hero” and some other minor ones.

One of the features that make Space Miner really stand out is the excellent RPG system neatly tied into the gameplay. You can upgrade your ship’s hull, weapons (including special stuff like an actual drill), shields, etc. You can either buy the upgrades from the shop on the mine or search the areas for derelict ships or even alien artifacts. More upgrades are unlocked as you level up your license. Just make sure you don’t overload your reactor. The item progression is excellently designed at the start though I felt the developers could’ve done a bit more since I maxed out everything roughly a bit after half the sectors were cleared out.

The graphics in Space Miner are simply gorgeous. Space is colourful and a joy to look at. The music score has been written specially for the game and does an excellent job of putting you in the “Gold Rush” mood. The characters are beautifully drawn with a pinch of humour on top. The story and dialogues are really above all praise and this is one of the few games I didn’t have to force myself to read through. And finally the interface is excellent and easy to use with a direction pad on the left and the thrust/fire buttons on the right.

Space Miner: Space Ore Bust launches  the spirit of the legendary “Gold Rush” in space with excellent graphics, moody music, humorous dialogues and an extensive RPG system serving as the engines for such a feat. I have no trouble believing that when space mining becomes the next gold rush, it will be like in Space Miner. This is definitely a must have game and among the best games I’ve ever seen on the AppStore.

With this I declare Space Miner: Space Ore Bust officially touched!

App Summary
Title: Space Miner: Space Ore Bust Developer: Venan Entertainment, Inc.
Reviewed Ver: 1.0.1 Min OS Req: 2.2.1
Price: $1.99 App Size: 113 MB
  • Gorgeous graphics with flawless performance on the older iDevices
  • Fun storyline and dialogues
  • Atmospheric music
  • Nice variety of enemies and upgrades
  • Full Plus+ support with achievements
  • Upgrades are maxed out too early

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Filed Under: Games • Review • Shooter