X: Beyond the Frontier#X-Tension

Set in the year 2912 AD, the player takes the role of Kyle Brennan, an Earth test pilot for the X-Shuttle, better known as the X-Perimental Shuttle, which has the ability to jump from one part of the universe to another via a wormhole without requiring a jumpgate.

During the test jump, something goes drastically wrong and Brennan ends up in an unknown part of space. He encounters an alien race, the Teladi, a highly capitalist, profit-focused culture. Finding Kyle helpless, they repair his ship and loan him some money. They also give hints on trading in the X Universe, and may tell him (if he asks) about the Argon and other alien races in the X-Universe. The X Universe is a network of sectors linked by jumpgates. With his jumpdrive destroyed, and no idea how to return to Earth, Brennan finds himself stranded, alone and indebted to an alien race.

The player is free to choose how to continue the game, and if or when to pursue the main plot.

Through trade and exploration, Brennan eventually encounters the Argon, a race who appear human. However, it quickly becomes clear that the Argon have no knowledge of Earth, and most dismiss Brennan as a crank when he claims to be from Earth.

He is subsequently led to a group of scientists and scholars known as the Goner, which is an organisation dedicated to preserving information about Earth. He works with them to discover the forgotten history of the Argon - that they are descended from humans who were cut off from Earth centuries ago in a war with rogue machines known as the Terraformers. After convincing the Argon that Earth is real, Brennan works with them - specifically, with Ban Danna, Head of the Argon Secret service - to prevent the Terraformers, now known as the Xenon, from developing a super-weapon.

Depending on his status with the different X-Universe races, Brennan finally forms an alliance to attack the Xenon forces and destroy their super-weapon, thus completing the game, but Kyle is stranded in the new sector of the Galaxy and is unable to return to Earth. The Argon federation welcome him into their ranks and offer him the means to make himself comfortable in his new home.

There are fifty-four star systems in the X Universe, and within each one there are numerous installations. There is at least one space station in each system, and they range from ordinary factories like solar power plants to shipyards. By trading with them the player makes a profit, which allows one to upgrade the X-Perimental Shuttle with new weapons, better shields, and increased cargo space.

It is possible to trade within a single system, but the player can earn credits much quicker by exploring other systems via the jump gates. Eventually, the player will be able to buy factories and thus earn much greater income.X-Tension instruction manual, p. 52.

Although each system has at least one planet, it is not possible to land on any of them. Factories, space stations, and other installations are located far from the planets and stars.

{{Video game reviews

| title = X: Beyond the Frontier

| MC = 67/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/x-beyond-the-frontier/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=X: Beyond the Frontier for PC Reviews |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=July 31, 2017 |archive-date=January 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250120155147/https://www.metacritic.com/game/x-beyond-the-frontier/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |url-status=live }}

| CNG = 7/10{{cite web |last=Werner |first=Nash |date=February 29, 2000 |url=http://gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-3808,00.html |title=X: Beyond the Frontier |website=Gamecenter |publisher=CNET |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815085535/http://gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-3808,00.html |archive-date=August 15, 2000 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 20, 2021}}

| CGSP = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web |last=Markell |first=Dave |date=December 21, 1999 |url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/025/031/xfrontier_review.html |title=X: Beyond the Frontier |website=Computer Gams Strategy Plus |publisher=Strategy Plus, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030626162632/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/025/031/xfrontier_review.html |archive-date=June 26, 2003 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 20, 2021}}

| CGW = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine |last=Nguyen |first=Thierry |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_191.pdf |title=X-treme Tedium (X: Beyond the Frontier Review) |magazine=Computer Gaming World |publisher=Ziff Davis |issue=191 |date=June 2000 |page=104 |access-date=July 31, 2017 |archive-date=October 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141002230326/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_191.pdf |url-status=live }}

| EuroG = 3/10{{cite web |last=Bye |first=John "Gestalt" |date=October 21, 1999 |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/x |title=X : Beyond the Frontier |website=Eurogamer |publisher=Gamer Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816031620/http://www.eurogamer.net/content/x |archive-date=August 16, 2000 |url-status=live |access-date=July 31, 2017}}

| GI = 6.5/10{{cite magazine |title=X: Beyond the Frontier |magazine=Game Informer |publisher=FuncoLand |issue=85 |date=May 2000}}

| GamePro = {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite magazine |last=Olafson |first=Peter |date=April 18, 2000 |url=http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/5287.shtml |title=X: Beyond the Frontier Review for PC on GamePro.com |magazine=GamePro |publisher=IDG Entertainment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212090429/http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/5287.shtml |archive-date=February 12, 2005 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 31, 2017}}

| GameRev = D{{cite web |author=Johnny B. |date=February 2000 |url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/32871-if-the-wall-street-journal-had-written-star-wars-review |title=X-Beyond the Frontier Review [date mislabeled as "February 1999"] |website=GameRevolution |publisher=CraveOnline |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001209004100/http://www.game-revolution.com/games/pc/action/x_beyond.htm |archive-date=December 9, 2000 |url-status=live |access-date=July 31, 2017}}

| GSpot = 8.1/10

| GSpy = 68%{{cite web |last=Buecheler |first=Christopher |date=March 17, 2000 |url=http://www.gamespy.com/legacy/reviews/xbeyond_a.shtm |title=X - Beyond the Frontier |website=GameSpy |publisher=IGN Entertainment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010210095511/http://www.gamespy.com/legacy/reviews/xbeyond_a.shtm |archive-date=February 10, 2001 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 31, 2017}}

| GameZone = 6.5/10{{cite web |last=Reed |first=Aaron |date=February 7, 2000 |url=http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r12360.htm |title=X-Beyond the Frontier Review |website=GameZone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031110628/http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r12360.htm |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 31, 2017}}

| IGN = 7.7/10

| PCA = 7/10{{cite magazine |last=Brenesal |first=Barry |url=https://archive.org/details/PCXL21May2000/page/n71/mode/2up |title=X: Beyond the Frontier |magazine=PC Accelerator |publisher=Imagine Media |issue=21 |date=May 2000 |page=70 |access-date=June 20, 2021}}

| PCGUS = 70%{{cite magazine |last=McDonald |first=T. Liam |url=https://archive.org/details/pcgamer200006/page/n113/mode/2up |title=X: Beyond the Frontier |magazine=PC Gamer |publisher=Imagine Media |volume=7 |issue=6 |date=June 2000 |page=112 |access-date=June 29, 2021}}

}}

X: Beyond the Frontier received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Computer Games Strategy Plus gave it a mixed review over a month before it was released Stateside.

The game was praised for its open-ended gameplay and the large number of systems to explore. The economy in the X Universe is dynamic, with the price of goods varying with supply and demand. For example, selling a large amount of one particular product to a single station will result in the price for further consignments dropping in proportion to their demand.X-Tension instruction manual, pp. 48-49.

The atmospheric musical score of the game was also praised,{{cite web |last=Jojic |first=Uros "2Lions" |date=March 10, 2000 |url=http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/x-beyond-the-frontier.phtml |title=X: Beyond the Frontier Review |website=ActionTrip |publisher=CraveOnline |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711051736/http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/x-beyond-the-frontier.phtml |archive-date=July 11, 2011 |url-status=usurped |access-date=July 31, 2017}} as was the varied dialogue one can have with many different aliens, although several reviews complained that the voice acting, while atmospheric, was hard to understand and could make it difficult to follow the plot.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

The game was also praised highly for its "spectacular background graphics", such as "gorgeous colored lighting effects and the highly detailed rotating planets".

However, the game received criticism from some for giving the player so little equipment to start with. For example, the X-Perimental loses its weapons in the accident that brings it to the X Universe. These can be purchased once the player acquires sufficient credits to do so. Until then, the player is defenseless. The ship is also quite slow, and traveling between installations at first takes a long time. A time-accelerator device reduces the transit time, but it needs to be found and purchased, which means the game moves at a frustrating "snail's pace [for] the first 10-20 minutes". Still, "[a]fter as little as an hour of gameplay, with some shrewd trading... you should be able to outfit your X ship with a pair of lasers ... and the time-accelerating 'singularity time distortion engine'", said one review.

The combat system was lightly criticized as "being more of a goal to be overcome than a challenge to be relished", especially given the "suicidal as hell" "kamikaze" nature of enemy pilots, who appear constantly to wish to ram the player. A final criticism was the game's "skimpy manual", which leaves the player to work out most things for themselves. Others felt "the documentation was extremely well done" and that "the game actually uses your complete ignorance of what's going on around you to add a sense of adventure and mystery to the tale".

{{clear}}

{{Infobox video game

|title = X-Tension

|image = X-Tension box Small.jpg

|developer = Egosoft

|publisher = THQ
SouthPeak Games (EUR)

|director = Bernd Lehahn
Darren Melbourne

|producer = Ole Mogensen

|programmer = Martin Brenner
Bernd Lehahn
Thomas Maier
Marco Nowara

|artist = Alexander Preuss

|composer = Thomas Egeskov Petersen

|engine = X TECH 1

|series = X

|released = {{vgrelease|WW|June 1, 2000|WW|October 8, 2010 (Steam)}}

|genre = Simulation

|modes = Single-player

|platforms = Windows

}}

X-Tension (2000) was released as an expansion to Beyond the Frontier, but many gamers and reviewers consider it more a "sequel" than an "add-on".{{cite magazine |last=Shoemaker |first=Ritchie |url=https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_Issue_096_2000-12_Dennis_Publishing_GB/page/n91/mode/2up |title=X-tension |magazine=PC Zone |publisher=Dennis Publishing |issue=96 |date=December 2000 |page=93 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226015903/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=3671 |archive-date=February 26, 2008 |url-status=live |access-date=June 20, 2021}}{{cite web |last=Bye |first=John "Gestalt" |date=November 11, 2000 |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_xtension |title=X-Tension |website=Eurogamer |publisher=Gamer Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010322221518/http://www.eurogamer.net/content/r_xtension |archive-date=March 22, 2001 |url-status=live |access-date=July 31, 2017}} It follows on after the story in Beyond the Frontier, with "the evil Xenon vanquished" and the player "still stranded light years from home". The player once again takes on the role of Kyle Brennan, who now has "time to kill" as his X-perimental ship is reverse-engineered. The player is given a ship, some credits, and left to make his own way in the X Universe. In a canon aspect, the events of this game would be assumed to see the player start a business empire, which would become Terracorp in the sequel.

There is no overarching plot in X-Tension. It is an open-ended, sandbox game, filled with "microquests".{{cite web |last=Neary |first=Harry |date=April 7, 2000 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/04/08/x-tension-interview |title=X-Tension Interview |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |access-date=July 31, 2017 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306090919/http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/04/08/x-tension-interview |url-status=live }} The player is free to choose "to be a trader with an unarmed Argon Lifter... or a bounty-hunter ... armed to the teeth with plasma throwers"; free to choose "where [they] want to go, what to trade in and who to pick on". Egosoft's managing director, Bernd Lehahn, described X-Tension as a space game that allows the players to live freely in a virtual universe and do whatever they want to do.

The graphics were improved for X-Tension, adding new effects and scenery, and removing "visible seams which blighted many of these backdrops in the original game". The musical score was also extended, and the X Universe was expanded to a total of ninety systems.

X-Tension addressed many criticisms of the original game. The player's craft is pre-equipped with some upgrades - weapons and a time-acceleratorX-Tension instruction manual, p. 21. - so that players can defend themselves from the beginning, although the weapons that the players start out with are useless against most of enemy ships. The player can leave the ship and space walk in a space suit, purchase new ships from shipyards, and even capture enemy ships that can be flown by the player.

The in-game interface was expanded to include new features, including an automatic navigation system that allows the player "to easily access information about any sectors" visited, and includes a full map of the galaxy showing everywhere the players have been. When combined with some upgrades and equipment, this system allows the player to monitor the X-Universe's economy, traffic and prices remotely, a new feature which makes trading less difficult than it was in the original game. The interface also allows the players to control many of their assets - factories and ship tasks - remotely. They no longer need to land at a factory to adjust it, nor even to be in same region of space.

One criticism shared by both games was the combat system; while improved in X-Tension, it could still be summed up as "unremarkable". Notably, Egosoft's managing director, Bernd Lehahn, mentioned appealing to the Wing Commander audience as a high priority in the design of 2005 sequel X³: Reunion. He defined this as "people who... expect a story and cool fighting missions" but who may be won over to "the freeform gameplay and the advantages that a realistic economy adds to such a game".{{cite web |last=Blyth |first=Jon |date=January 25, 2007 |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=156252 |title=Looking Back... X3: Reunion |website=PC Zone |publisher=Future plc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603014709/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=156252 |archive-date=June 3, 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 31, 2017}}

{{Video game reviews

| title = X-Tension

| EuroG = 8/10

| PCZone = 83%

}}

The extension pack received "favorable" reviews, although no aggregate score exists.

{{clear}}

• List of PC games

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.egosoft.com/games/x/info_en.php}}
• {{moby game|id=/windows/x-beyond-the-frontier}}
• {{moby game|id=/windows/x-tension|name=X-Tension}}

{{X computer game series}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:X: Beyond The Frontier}}

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