Mars, The Next Frontier: A ROKH Preview

Picture this, Earth’s resources have been used up. The population is out of control and our only hope of salvation, because we took too long to react, is our outpost on Mars. However, we lost communication with the Mars colony after a massive nuclear explosion. Which brings us to you, the player who takes on the role as one of the new recruits to head off to Mars and find out the mystery behind what happened to the first colony. Well that, and destroy the nuclear reactor that is constantly pumping out radiation, destroying all the work of the first Colony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpxMboos4F4

Welcome to the ROKH space program that put a colony on Mars. You are part of the mission team to reestablish a home base on the Red Planet, doing so by using the tech readily available, even if that means salvaging materials from the recently destroyed Colony. The game though, being an open-ended survival game, looks to offer story elements not often found in the genre. In my time with ROKH I have already stumbled upon little clues to the potential story arch. I’d come across things like dead colonists and their cryptic logs, all subtly pointing to the mystery of what caused the nuclear meltdown (Side Note: I hope your Geiger meter skills from Modern Warfare are still sharp – they will come in handy when in a high radiation zone). Right off the bat I can tell you this is no MineCraft re-skin, nor is it Rust-like. If I had to pinpoint a game in the same vein as ROKH I would compare it to a boots-on-the-ground EvE, reason being the depth of which the game brings via character interaction/navigation. Creation of your character is currently limited to selecting between a male or female (you’re in a space suit the entire time).  

One element that may be hard for the casual player is the crafting system itself. It is huge and a bit confusing in its current form, however, being a preview title, ROKH has all the time it needs to iron things out. Let’s dig a bit more into the crafting system though. Unlike the average survival-crafter where you make and place a forge and a work bench, or even a fireplace, ROKH uses tools like a screwdriver, crowbar or wrench. Each tool degrades over time like the average survival game, but these tools are your forge’s and crafting bench’s. The urge to take a crowbar and beat it on the metal remains of the old colony ruins scattered throughout is there, but the dismantling of materials requires very specific equipment, none of which are the tools used to craft other items.

The building in the game is where I feel, in these early stages, the game shines. I took my time with this preview and was invited to a private server where I was able to tour multiple large structures and see the current end-game. The Voxel-based building mechanics are probably the easiest part of ROKH to get your head around. The complexity is still there, but once you have the pieces in hand building is second nature.  

PvP is not currently active but is in development. I’m confident in the potential here though due to the credentials sported by the teams over at Darewise Entertainment and Nvizzio Creations. A number of their staff were behind excellent titles like Thief, Half Life 2, Dishonored, Age of Conan and Assassin’s Creed, so I feel the combat mechanics are in capable hands.

I for one will be checking back on ROKH as development continues to see the exciting progress that Nvissio and Darewise are making with the use of the Unreal Engine. Be sure to keep yourselves tuned in to Rectify Gaming for all your future ROKH news.