Kerbal Space Program Review

Kerbal Space Program (kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.p…) is a rising star (sorry) in the indie gaming world. What is it? Simply, Kerbal Space Program (KSP for short) is Orbiter-lite, yet more. Simulation, yet game, yet some strange amalgam of the two.

Gameplay is refreshingly easy, despite the simulation aspect, and occurs in two "stages" (sorry again): vehicle assembly and flight.

Vehicle assembly is straight forward (click and drag) on the surface, but reveals layers of depth as you get into, and better at, the game. You have various capsules (both manned and unmanned), fuel tanks, engines, solid rockets, scientific instruments, parts to build planes, and multitudes of doohickeys and nurnies with various purposes, from power generation to keeping you rocket from tipping over on the ground. The variety of parts on hand allows for pretty much any vehicle and mission imaginable, from weather satellites orbiting your home planet to landers to manned space colonies orbiting the sun.

During this stage, you can also map various actions (unfolding solar panels, opening antennae, turning an engine on or off, etc.) to the number keys directly above your keyboard, allowing for complex ballets of motion at the push of a button.

Here is where one of KSP's many modding opportunities really shines, with multitudes of user-created parts and part sets, many of which were later incorporated by Squad, the developers, into the game itself.

Flight is where the simulation aspect comes in, and is again, straight forward on the surface while revealing layers of depth as you get into it. WASDQE control your rotation, T activates your "SAS", a sort of autopilot-lite that helps keep your spit-and-bailing-wire contraptions steady, R turns on your maneuvering thrusters (if you have them), and space controls actions such as launching your ship and separating stages.

Once you launch you are placed smack dab into the hard-as-rock simulation.  Orbits, orbital mechanics, Newtonian physics, and more, not to mention resource management, all have to be taken into consideration and dealt with, and here is where the game can be its most unforgiving. Timing is, while not everything, 98% of it, and waiting too long, or not long enough, to make a burn can do anything from sending you careening past your target (sometimes with a miss the proverbial hair's breadth short) into deep space to smashing you headlong into it with no chance of stopping your frantic decent, to stranding you in the middle of nowhere. Frustration is ever present, and ever ready to strike at a moment's notice.

This same environment, however, is also a perfect environment for triumph.  From watching your first rocket make it into space, to landing on the moon, to landing on a distant planet, or even just getting into orbit, each is a victory, whether it's the first time or the hundredth.

But don't think that KSP is just some space-sim fanatic's toy. The game is designed to be accessible. Multitudes of easy to read gauges and graphics, coupled with an intuitive map and a feature that allows you plot your course on the fly (planning a trip to the moon is as simple as clicking and dragging) and several tutorials, all conspire to make the game easy to use, and even easier to learn. The humor that practically oozes out of the game helps too.

Right now, there is only sandbox mode, where you have unlimited budget to do...well...anything your (inevitably twisted) imagination can come up with, but there is a campaign coming. When is unknown, but it is only alpha 0.19.1 right now.

I give this a 4.5 out of 5. KSP has something for everyone. From rock-hard simulation for space sim enthusiasts, to wacky antics, humor and explosions for even the most casual gamer, but the degree of difficulty will frustrate you often.

With native Windows, Mac, and Linux clients, anyone and everyone can pick it up and play (and by everyone, I mean EVERYONE...even the professionals at NASA love to play). Buy it now for $23 USD, and get free updates until release, or download the trial (based on version 0.18.3) and take it for a spin before deciding. But if you're planning on getting it, get it now; it goes up in price each release.

(One little note before I go, however: If you do download, make sure to extract the .zip file to somewhere that you easily find. I made the mistake of not doing just that and had to download it again.)