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Boldly go
Art and graphics
In terms of visuals, "Artemis" is not much to write home about. The graphics are dated, and look somewhat jaggy, even at high resolutions on small screens. That said, the game is rather pretty, especially when exploring sectors with undulating space whales, gaseous purple nebulae or fiery green stars.
Otherwise, the spaceship design is pleasantly varied, both on the Terran Stellar Navy and alien sides.
If you get close enough, the alien races each have distinctive ship designs, and the space stations and interstellar phenomena you'll encounter are interesting to watch. The maps and individual station screens get the job done, although, as with a real military ship, don't expect much artistic flourish.
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The game is extremely lightweight with regard to processor demands, and as long as you meet the minimum system requirements, you won't have any trouble running it without lag or tearing. If you have a powerful system, though, you won't be able to leverage it; the game looks and runs plainly either way.
Note that although "Artemis" is also available on iOS and Android, the mobile versions are somewhat different from the PC one, and the three versions are not cross-compatible.
Music and audio
When you boot up "Artemis," you could be forgiven for thinking that the game comes with a copy of a "Star Trek" film score. It's clear where the game's audio influences come from, although as homages go, it's not a bad one. Exploration music is sufficiently soothing, and battle music is rousing enough.
Beyond that, there's no voice acting, and the sound effects are minimal, if functional. You'll hear beam weapons fire and torpedoes explode — there may be no sound in space, but there's sound in "Artemis."
The bottom line
Although its system requirements are minimal, you need a lot to run "Artemis." You need six players and six copies of the game. You need a working knowledge of "Star Trek." You need the ability to role-play and get into character.
If you can provide these things, though, "Artemis" is more than willing to meet you halfway and send you on a convincing interstellar operation.
The title is rough around the edges, and could have benefited from some more traditional video game elements, but if you've ever watched your favorite sci-fi serial and dreamed of being on the bridge, this is almost as good as the real thing.
Publisher: Self-published
Developer: Thom Robertson
Genre: Simulation
Price: $6.99 ($34.99 for a 6-pack)
Release Date: Available now
Platforms: PC
Requirements:
OS: Windows XP
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Graphics: Shader Model 2.0
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Hard Drive: 200 MB available space
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