Mars Quest

Mars Quest points toward the old adventure idea of reaching another world and making progress one task at a time, so it naturally suits players who like exploration, route-finding, and a little resource pressure. By our assessment, the good part of a game like this is the sense of forward motion: Mars gives a clear setting, and the quest part promises objectives instead of pure wandering. The downside is that the name does not promise much beyond the premise, so the whole thing can be thin if the missions and systems are not varied. In practice, that usually means a mix of travel, small goals, and problem-solving rather than heavy action. Mars Quest sits beside other space adventure games that rely on setting and structure more than spectacle. The title itself leaves the ceiling fairly low unless the design underneath is doing real work.