The graphics in Battlecruiser Millennium are a bit dated and are more on par with games released several years ago.  The ships themselves look pretty good, but the weapon effects and explosions are certainly nothing to write home about.  The textures used for the planets look adequate from a distance, but close up become quite blocky, somewhat ruining the effect of watching your ship in close orbit.

The sounds in the game are disappointing.  Sound effects are quite minimal and not very good at that.  The voice acting for the voiceover's informing the player of various game events is barely passable, and the voiceovers have an annoying tendency to overlap - needless to say this can be quite distracting when the action heats up.  The voiceovers in the first-person mode are particularly bad, and the screams of pain of your fellow soldiers sound almost comical.  The background music sounds a lot like those European techno-trance tracks that you can download for free from places like mp3.com.  They are somewhat interesting at first, but their repetitive nature quickly grows to be annoying.  Turning the music off remedies this problem, but then you'll really be able to hear the poor quality of the sound effects.

The game's biggest draw is definitely commanding a starship in free roam mode.  Hardcore sim fans will enjoy the level of detail in the ships and their systems.  Players have access to a wealth of information, once they learn where to find it all.  They also have a good degree of control over the various ship systems.  Directing power to different systems, directing crew members, managing cargo, and selecting weapons configurations are just a few of the things over which players have control.  Ultimately, it's these detail oriented gamers that will enjoy Battlecruiser Millennium the most.  Those who are explorers at heart might be a bit disappointed, though.  It can take a long time to get from place to place, and for all the space the game gives players to explore, there's just not that much motivation to explore it.  The game's universe lacks a compelling mythos or story, and in the end serves as just a place to look for your next battle.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 62%. The steep learning curve will be a huge deterrent to a lot of game players - Battlecruiser Millennium is certainly not a game for the computer gaming mainstream.  Those who love a lot of detail, and can look past the game's shortcomings, will probably appreciate its depth and be quite happy with it.  Also, if you enjoyed the game's predecessor, Battlecruiser 3000AD, you'll probably be quite pleased with Battlecruiser Millennium.

System Requirements:  300 MHz Pentium II CPU; 64 MB RAM; 16 MB Video RAM; 8x CD-ROM; 500 MB Hard Drive Space; Mouse.

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