Star Crusader, the first release by Take Two, is what people in the industry like to call a Wing Commander clone since it falls into the space/action category.  Fortunately, Take Two is an experienced group of game developers that have worked for other companies, so they know what they're doing.  Star Crusader is not just another Wing Commander with a different storyline. In fact, it's not even close.

	Star Crusader is a complex combination of strategy and action, intertwined with an incredible sci-fi story.  After watching the demo, briefly reading the sell sheet, and not concentrating on the information being thrown at me, I made up my mind that the plot of Star Crusader was nothing more than that of a corny "B" movie.  But fortunately, after about my second or third look at the demo, I realized that I was totally wrong.

	Star Crusader's plot is a complex story that revolves around a race that is trying to control a little section of space called the Ascalon Rift. The Gorene empire is the most powerful race in the universe. In its exploration of the outer reaches of the universe, it often runs into weaker alien races that are asked to submit to the Gorenes.  The Gorene empire is not a band of evil aliens trying to kill everything in sight - to the contrary, they are an intelligent race of humanoids that wish to bring prosperity to the aliens they encounter.  Unfortunately, they will not take no for an answer, and if need be, they will crush any uprising.

	This brings us to the alien races of the Ascalon Rift, who have been warring among themselves for quite some time.  There are nearly a dozen races in the Rift, ranging from warmongers to peace loving, philosophical types.  These alien races have banded together to resist the powerful Gorenes.  However, the Gorenes have begun construction on a giant space station on the outskirts of the Rift, which would give them a swift victory.  Unfortunately, the war would be extremely bloody and millions of people would be killed.  So, the Gorenes have assigned their best fighter squadron to the Rift, hoping that some swift blows will break the alliance and allow room for a diplomatic compromise.  The space station is slated for completion in six months, but the fighter squadron has been given three months to weaken the Rift alliance and avoid the larger battle that could follow.

	This is the point where you come in.  Your first choice will be which side to play - the Ascalon Rift alliance, or the Gorene Empire.  The actual game is a mix between strategy and space action.  The player controls almost everything in the game, while still retaining the ability to jump into the battles.

	  The graphics of the ships are polygonal, with gourad shading insignias covering almost every inch of the ship, and the rendered cinematic scenes look promising.  But surprisingly enough, the biggest thing that stuck out in my mind was the quality of the voices.  During the demo, the actors actually sounded sincere and very professional, which is something I can say, I haven't witnessed in quite some time.

	Overall, even from the early demo, it looks like Take Two has a hit in its first game, Star Crusader.  The graphics are good, the sounds are good, and the story is excellent, which all adds up to an enjoyable game to play.  I'm looking forward to this one.