Welcome to my adventure - day eight

The End

Welcome to the eighth, and final, instalment of my adventure through the virtual cosmos. Yep, this will be the last time you hear me blabbering about this game. I am ending this run with my final thoughts.

Okay, Cosmos Chronicles may look like Ultima but it is a different game. It may have a Sundog vibe but it is a different game. You may think you're piloting an Eagle Long Range Fighter but it is a different game. A generous slice of each classic is used for a fantastic result. Regardless, make no assumption, it isn't a ripoff.

As in Frontier, this is a fantasy adventure living an alternative lifestyle in cyberspace. Virtual reality is constructed within 2MB RAM on an Atari ST/e (Blitter support). Facts like that never cease to impress me.

This game is ginormous with near-limitless possibilities. There are "open world" games with immense possibilities but this is better described as an "open universe". After considerable time, I learned much but still feel I've only scratched the surface of this tremendous adventure. I wonder what else is still awaiting me!

Fancy a recap? Well, here are all the other web pages from my playthrough...

Reference pages of previous articles...

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Original Preview     - New game released with the download. [ link ]

My Adventure Day 1   - Storyline and keyboard controls. [ link ]

My Adventure Day 2   - The quest begins, and we eat meat! [ link ]

My Adventure Day 3   - I created a map of the spaceship. [ link ]

My Adventure Day 4   - Learning how to fight! [ link ]

My Adventure Day 5   - Health and trade. [ link ]

My Adventure Day 6   - Wealth. [ link ]

My Adventure Day 7   - A diary of progress. [ link ]

My Video Recording   - I made a brief recording for newcomers. [ link ]

The CryptO'pinion?

By now, you must know how much I've positively enjoyed this game as it provides countless opportunities to travel, trade, battle, and explore. If not, where have you been all month?!! I'm eager to give my opinion but I won't go over topics like controls, stats, trade, etc. These have already been covered (above).

Cosmos Chronicles offers an unrestricted adventure like few can. Not only that but I appreciate anything that grants the player freedom to do "his own thing" alongside the primary objective - so the plot never gets in your way. By that, I mean the storyline isn't something to blindly follow like a trail of breadcrumbs.

There are no restrictions so take a breather and make money, enjoy a beer, meet girls or do something even sillier like skimming by the edge of a black hole. You might learn how to freely replenish essential supplies using a planet? Why not go cave diving or roam the plains of a remote planet looking for monsters - all whilst watching day turn into night in real-time. Such immense opportunities constantly amaze me.

However, I have some quibbles (oh, here he goes!!). Remembering this isn't an RPG, the stats are overkill. The main stats for health, fatigue, hunger, etc work well but there are extra layers for battles. Not only for bravery, strength, etc but the weaponry held/not held. Far too much so I ignored them!! Also, character communication needs to be fully implemented rather than meaningless one-line responses. I would prefer the ability to "talk" removed as it's pointless unless that character is part of the storyline's chain of events.

My other grumble (the weakest) is the sound. Sure, a game like this doesn't require flashy effects or a chiptune. Nevertheless, I would love to walk a planet and hear its weather. I've endured an alien planet's wind and rain many times hungering to hear anything but silence. That DMA audio is gagging to be used :)

Cosmos Chronicles is remarkable; star-hopping through the galaxy takes hours of dedication with near-unlimited destinations to investigate. Each is unique with different planets, people, wildlife, towns, and monsters. Make no mistake, this is a roguelike stuffed to the brim with adventure. And what an adventure it is!!

Laurent must be proud of Cosmos Chronicles and I'm sure his heart and soul went into making a 16-bit universe. This game is instantly playable and never overly convoluted with a hideous difficulty. Considering the time and effort I've put into it, I could live another 50 years without fully exploiting every possibility. I hope he completes the remaining English translations and improves the audio (oops, there I go again).

Thoroughly enjoyable far beyond my meagre words, and my rating is an exceptional 95%.

Many star systems were searched beyond The Runaways system.
Eventually, I managed to find a church in a small town.

Inside that church, people are friendly with information.
Pray using the floor tile near the altar.

Another church this time on Vaticum One (458096-563905).
Lo and behold, it's Shaoth!! And he's a priest. :o

Unfortunately, he is only willing if we complete a side quest.

Mercenaries are approaching the village of Donbas...

...And you know what that means, don't you?

That's right, save the game before you go looking for a fight!

On returning, Shaoth tells us of a planet called Athanor (ohh, nice name lol)

Let's head out there and see what we can find?

Orbital views show nothing but something glints in the north.
Father's ship!! But now I must find someone called Tot to decode the black box...

A fella called Tot has the skills to help but he is far away in the Canna system.
After a long journey, we are finally here but............!!!

The ship malfunctions and crashlands on Amestradh!
Wilson provides the coordinates of a signal but it's quite a dangerous walk.

The planet is full of nasty monsters but I finally found Tot's house.
(He decodes the box and provides a boost for my ship)

The walk back to the ship is another exhilarating experience.
Monsters chase, so use rocks or trees whenever possible and RUN!!

Having left Tot, I've returned to my ship with a new mystery task.
How can I reach 470733-551942... I'm stuck & need to think about this!

La fin

Well, this month has been a blast and I'm about done with the writing - which takes me a long time! I now need to play and dedicate my time to completing this journey. I hope this month has been as much fun for you as it has been for me? Don't forget to vote using the link at the top of this web page (completely free).

My greetings to Laurent who I've enjoyed talking with. He has exciting plans for the future!!