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Friday, January 30, 2009

Smugglers 4 v. 1.1 Space-Trading gets Even Better, video game for the Visually Impaired (free demo)

smugglers 4
Niels Bauer Games has released Smugglers 4 v. 1.1, a Windows turn-based science fiction space trading game. You have complete control over your life, from managing the actions of your crew, to boarding enemy ships and taking over their fleets, and using these captured ships to conquer entire star systems. Before starting the Smugglers 4 adventure, you choose to be a greedy trader, an ambitious bounty hunter, a ruthless pirate, or other denizen of space.

New features in the latest version of Smugglers 4 include support for the visually impaired. The program is compatible with the popular screen reader JAWS, allowing blind people to play the game without any help from their sighted friends. The new version also features a new battleship class, a moveable trade window, and the ability to directly attack enemy starbases.

The flaw with most space trading games is the painfully long time that players must wait while they fly to a distant star system or planet, with much of the game's fun being sucked into the vacuum of space during the seemingly endless flight. Smugglers 4, by contrast, is a turn-based game, and it takes only seconds to arrive at a destination on the other side of the galaxy.

Smugglers 4 is fun to play, and fun to replay. Players' decisions directly affect life on your ship, in your star system, and across the galaxy. Each time you start a new game, you'll enjoy a completely different experience, with new challenges, and different results. Smugglers 4 simply cannot get old because it is completely different each time you play.
You can earn money through trading, pirating, or by fulfilling missions. And as you grow in your career, you earn awards and medals. With financial and personal growth come the additional resources and skills to buy new ships and upgrade your equipment. Smugglers 4's open-ended gameplay offers virtually limitless opportunities, and your actions will ultimately have an impact on a galactic scale.
There are 24 star systems with 75 planets. The professionally crafted planet art adds to the enjoyment of the game. There are four different factions, with different ship designs and different uniforms. There is a wide range of ships, each with unique weaponry and defense systems.

Smugglers 4's enhanced non-linear war and campaign system provides new ways to influence your battles. The program's unique text engine provides an enormous variety of story lines and mission descriptions, and more than 10,000 different descriptions of your battles and outcomes. Smugglers 4 is family friendly, and is fun for children, adults, and seniors. Smugglers 4 may also be enjoyed by the visually impaired. Using the program's special mode and a standard third-party screen reader, Smugglers 4 can be enjoyed by people who cannot see the screens well enough to use the standard mouse or keyboard controls.

Smugglers 4 v. 1.1 runs under Windows XP and Vista, costs $29.95(US), and may be purchased securely online from http://www.nielsbauergames.com/. You can download a free trial version from the same web site. The program comes with a 14-day money back guarantee.