Since reviews are invited by General Battuta via this thread (
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=65655.0) . . . here's mine.
SPOILER ALERTWow. So much is done
right in Blue Planet. It could be sold and I bet few would know that it wasn't created by a successful gaming company.
In my view, the greatest part of Blue Planet is the atmosphere. Alternate universes aren't anything new in the sci-fi world, but Blue Planet is one of the few alternates that I've really gotten into (and certainly the only one in a FS campaign). You feel so alone, and at times I was even able to feel dread, particularly in the beginning. When returning from SOL to find out that . . . nothing's there, and then chasing the
Duke. . . just wow. I was so drawn into the story that I was forced to feel dread and dismay. I credit the atmosphere for giving me these feelings. Blue Planet simply
feels different than other mods. I can't quite explain how you've managed to pull this off, but damn, great work here. Maybe it's the music, or the characterization, or the plot, or a combination.
Another superb success is the mission design. There's a reason Forced Entry is widely regarded as the best mission of all time (or at least a great contender). The missions in Blue Planet combine the right amount of classical FS feel with the new advances of the SCP, giving an end result of a "new classic" kind of feeling. If there's a campaign that shows just what the SCP can do for fun gameplay, this is it. They're not repetitive either, which is always a plus.
The storyline is deep, intriguing, and well-developed. Further, it's consistent with FS canon. Since we'll see
Duke Nukem: Forever before we ever see a FS3, I find it interesting to see explanations for the Shivans. While I personally think a lot of the horror and dread is removed by making the Shivans a sort of deity-like species (at least when compared to humanity), this doesn't detract from the fact that it does everything you want a story to do--hook you in, keep you there, and love it. Call me biased in favor of humanity, but I personally enjoy believing that there are no higher power (ish) things in charge, and the Shivans/Vishnans sort of seeing whether we're worthy or not just isn't my type of thing. Regardless, Blue Planet does a fantastic job of making me see how this isn't at odds with FS canon, and as I said before, the story does what we all want it to do. Besides, part of the fun of a campaign is seeing someone else's work.
Simply put, Blue Planet is an inspiration to FREDers out there. It's definitely on the must play lists, along with Derelict and Transcend. If I ever get back into making my campaign, I'll take pride in looking at Blue Planet to get ideas and to see how things are done correctly.
