I don't want anyone to start reading this review and say "Oh, another voxel-based sandbox game, yee haw." Because yes, Planet Explorers IS another voxel-based sandbox game... kinda like Minecraft was "like" Infiniminer and World of Warcraft was "like" text-based MUDs.

This game totally changes the genre of sandbox-style games. Using OpenCL based on the Unity 3D engine, this game allows the gorgeous, immersive terrain to be changed by the player in any way, any where. As well, the creation system takes crafting to the next level... it lets you create your own objects, voxel by voxel, and use them in game. And I mean ANY objects. Weapons, vehicles, decorations, armor... YOU create it, YOU import it into the game, or export to share with friends. Giant flying air-fortress anyone?

The planet Maria seems almost prehistoric. The animals and monsters are large, dinosaur like beasts. Many are peaceful, but some are not. We were coming down to colonize this planet, but something caused our ark-ship to crash, sending lifeboat pods of survivors all over the planet surface. As one of the colonists, you can find and rescue other survivors and have them join you on your quests. You can purchase (for meat, because food is most important) new schematics for your replicator to better your tools and weapons. User-created items have calculated prices based on the materials needed to make them. This means you can create the flying air-fortress, IF you're willing to mine all the necessary ores to make it.

There are three different single-player game modes: Story (a rich storyline, which is still growing in complexity, with various tasks for you to complete to help you upgrade your equipment and learn the backstory of the colonists and planet Maria), Adventure mode, which gives you a random, seed-generated map 40x40km square with quests and bosses to defeat, and Build mode, which gives you the same 40x40km map but with unlimited building materials and no pesky critters to bother you.

Oh... did I mention MULTIPLAYER?

Multiplayer mode in either LAN-based games or online servers will let you build true colonies together. You can play cooperatively or PvP, with the various factions (Martian-born vs. Earth-born) or create your own faction! Just don't forget that the planet already HAS an indigenous population....

This game is in ALPHA currently, and is available on Steam for $24.95US. Is it worth the money? I really believe it is. The vision of where the game will go in the future is really exciting. Oh, I completely forgot to mention the gorgeous soundtrack. That alone is worth the price of admission. For more info on the game, check out http://planetexplorers.pathea.net/ and give it a try.