X4 is one of the only games I've started up, played for 4 hours straight, realize what time it was then shrug and proceed to play for two more hours until I pass out during a hands off transit.

I bought X3 a couple years ago and never really got into it. Found it too difficult to find missions and a motive for playing. When I saw X4 release, I hesitated because of the price tag but it has been a great investment. I hate writing reviews, but EGOSOFT deserves to hear applause.

I started off not knowing what the loving hell I was doing. I think I started on a station in Argon territory and I quickly found the tutorial section in the menus. I praised the tutorial menu until I found it to be limited. I kept going. I figured out how to take off, fly fowards, backwards, up/down/sideways, and how to group weapons to fire groups (at first I go whaaaat does that mean?). So then I was at the same position, what do I do now? I never like trading, even though I love living economy aspects driven by players. I found missions easily, learned to craft easy items to sell to traders, xenon raiders to blast away in addrenaline fueled ecstatic rage, bought more planes, hired more people to assist me in my squadron, even started sending people to fetch components for wharfs after the storage was hit by a pirate and they couldn't finish my heavy fighter.

I started to find the fights easy and unchallenging as they were just against small xenon recons or raiders. Then one mission did me in. I destroyed some laser turrets that an organization placed around a wharf I used after being asked by the company to destroy them as they were detering people from coming to the wharf. I did so (very fun mission as well, grinning and gritting while yelling about the fracking lasers hitting my hull as I was dipping in between each turret attempting to break angle of attack, back to topic) which caused the faction that placed them to put me on their S list while the company that needed help called me an ally. The next engagement that I participated in was involving this new faction. As I closed in to the weapon engagement zone, I see a heat seaker fly off the starboard side of the Falcon in front of me. I have no flares, I've never seen this before, I try to break right but it was too late. The missile struck my bow and depleted my shield as well as around 65% of my hull. Luckily, my ion cannon disabled his shield and my wingman's pulse laser tore his hull apart. I escaped, but had to do an EVA to repair my hull, which took a while (but I didn't have to pay an equipment dock to repair it.. I'm cheap).

I thought, cool, that was interesting. Kind of spices things up. But still seems easy. On my way to a mission, my opinion about being a BAMF took a turn as I came out of a warp gate with a fleet of xenon raiders and two raider capital destroyers in territory I'd been transiting for a while. I turn and begin an ascent to engage the fighters above me. I take out two of the dozen or so, while security drones and sector faction ships assault the rest of the fighters and begin engaging the capital ships. I watch the friendly ships give their best effort to defend their home, but ultimately buy the farm in the end. I turn to make a last ditch effort to escape through the warp gate, but as I turn around I'm met with another two squadrons of xenon fighters. My hull is destroyed in about five seconds. Game over appears on the screen as I watch my scorched and destroyed heavy fighter float through the vast space. I laugh and hit the quick load from the quick save at the beginning of the fight. I love this game.

TL;DR (don't blame you, I ramble): If you love free form sandbox space simulators with a living universe with a simple formula with a very deep and broad depth, get this fracking game. Regular price can seem intimidating, but I've gotten more enjoyment out of this title than a lot of AAA games I've spent more on.

If I see you in my universe, make no mistake, I will blow you out of the sky.. See you out there.

X4 is one of the only games I've started up, played for 4 hours straight, realize what time it was then shrug and proceed to play for two more hours until I pass out during a hands off transit. I bought X3 a couple years ago and never really got into it. Found it too difficult to find missions and a motive for playing. When I saw X4 release, I hesitated because of the price tag but it has been a great investment. I hate writing reviews, but EGOSOFT deserves to hear applause. I started off not knowing what the loving hell I was doing. I think I started on a station in Argon territory and I quickly found the tutorial section in the menus. I praised the tutorial menu until I found it to be limited. I kept going. I figured out how to take off, fly fowards, backwards, up/down/sideways, and how to group weapons to fire groups (at first I go whaaaat does that mean?). So then I was at the same position, what do I do now? I never like trading, even though I love living economy aspects driven by players. I found missions easily, learned to craft easy items to sell to traders, xenon raiders to blast away in addrenaline fueled ecstatic rage, bought more planes, hired more people to assist me in my squadron, even started sending people to fetch components for wharfs after the storage was hit by a pirate and they couldn't finish my heavy fighter. I started to find the fights easy and unchallenging as they were just against small xenon recons or raiders. Then one mission did me in. I destroyed some laser turrets that an organization placed around a wharf I used after being asked by the company to destroy them as they were detering people from coming to the wharf. I did so (very fun mission as well, grinning and gritting while yelling about the fracking lasers hitting my hull as I was dipping in between each turret attempting to break angle of attack, back to topic) which caused the faction that placed them to put me on their S list while the company that needed help called me an ally. The next engagement that I participated in was involving this new faction. As I closed in to the weapon engagement zone, I see a heat seaker fly off the starboard side of the Falcon in front of me. I have no flares, I've never seen this before, I try to break right but it was too late. The missile struck my bow and depleted my shield as well as around 65% of my hull. Luckily, my ion cannon disabled his shield and my wingman's pulse laser tore his hull apart. I escaped, but had to do an EVA to repair my hull, which took a while (but I didn't have to pay an equipment dock to repair it.. I'm cheap). I thought, cool, that was interesting. Kind of spices things up. But still seems easy. On my way to a mission, my opinion about being a BAMF took a turn as I came out of a warp gate with a fleet of xenon raiders and two raider capital destroyers in territory I'd been transiting for a while. I turn and begin an ascent to engage the fighters above me. I take out two of the dozen or so, while security drones and sector faction ships assault the rest of the fighters and begin engaging the capital ships. I watch the friendly ships give their best effort to defend their home, but ultimately buy the farm in the end. I turn to make a last ditch effort to escape through the warp gate, but as I turn around I'm met with another two squadrons of xenon fighters. My hull is destroyed in about five seconds. Game over appears on the screen as I watch my scorched and destroyed heavy fighter float through the vast space. I laugh and hit the quick load from the quick save at the beginning of the fight. I love this game. TL;DR (don't blame you, I ramble): If you love free form sandbox space simulators with a living universe with a simple formula with a very deep and broad depth, get this fracking game. Regular price can seem intimidating, but I've gotten more enjoyment out of this title than a lot of AAA games I've spent more on. If I see you in my universe, make no mistake, I will blow you out of the sky.. See you out there.