Hermitworks long-awaited Space Trader is now available [App Store] for a very reasonable $0.99.
While the game is set in first-person perspective view based on the Quake 3 engine, it is not a shooter. The core game resembles a much enhanced version of Dope Wars where you buy and sell items from individuals between locations in an effort to make a profit. The values of these commodities can change from place to place and over time based on market events. Opportunities also present themselves in the form of missions as you interact with individuals you run across in your trading.
The goal of the game is to make as much money within a given amount of time (“180 days"). Traveling to the different planets (there are 3 in the initial version) can take anywhere from 8 to 25 days, so you need to plan ahead to maximize your profits.
The game’s offers dual control pads for navigation: left side controls movement, right side controls view. Space Trader has the advantage of not having to deal with combat situations (yet) so these controls seem to work quite well for exploration.
Hermitworks is considering future expansion of the game, including additional missions, achievement system and combat.
Given the high quality of production and novel use of the Quake 3 engine, it seems Space Trader is an easy pick-up at $0.99 if you have any interest in this commodity-trading genre.
App Store Link: Space Trader: Moon Madness, $0.99
