Have You Played... Salvation Prophecy?

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.

Loners are odd sorts. We all know this. Salvation Prophecy, for example, is a third-person shooter, space dogfighter, and real-time strategy all rolled into one by a lone creator. No committee would even try that.

Pick one of four sides, jump into a fighter or dropship on command to blast spaceships or spray gunfire at ground troops, and keep doing it until you're the one giving the commands, and have basic diplomacy to deal with too. (Plus occasional trips to weird places with basic puzzles and plot, in return for special powers and the ability to summon a dinosaur for no apparent reason, AKA the best reason). The RTS layer kicks in just in time to give the game some direction, but it still drags, however well it fits together.

It's all pretty simple, none of the constituent parts are outstanding, and repetition becomes a big problem, both before and after you assume the lead. It definitely needs more options, or at least more variety, but it works, and while it lasts it's a competent arcade blastfest; anyone capable of putting it all together alone is worthy of a respectful nod. And a couple of empty seats as a precautionary buffer.