I think this was an overall great game exept for a few things.
1:as you get further into the game you have to constantly get rez (currency for ships weapons etc.) or you cannot do anything.
2:It is very hard to get new tougher ships because you have to defeat them multiple times to get the ship.
3:As you get further you have to waste about 5,000 rez per warp gate just to progress, and if you dont have many friendly mining stations it gets very difficult to collect more.
Other than these things, SPAZ (Space Pirates and Zombies) is a great game!

“I prefer face-to-face conversations. In case the situation turns bad, I know exactly who needs to be blown up.”

Space Pirates and Zombies (SPAZ) is a hybrid 2-D space simulation crossed with a real-time strategy game developed by the company Minmax Games with emphasis on combat mechanics and tactics.

Atmosphere & presentation:

+ Large amount of ships with creative designs guarantee a lot of variety and enable a corresponding learning curve.
+ The salvage and mining mechanics keep up the motivation to explore new star systems.
+ Size and mass of ships influence movement and inertia of each vehicle.
+ Late game introduces an ever shifting equilibrium of power.

o The faction system adds an interesting dimension to the game, but it has little impact on the behaviour or decision making of the player.

- Amount of side missions and randomly generated events throughout the galaxy are limited and repetitive.
- The musical background lacks variety.

Combat & gameplay:

+ Fluent combat mechanics create a dynamic battlefield with focus on tactical positioning.
+ Each ship offers different customization options for weapon and auxiliary systems, which benefits the tactical spectrum of the game.
+ Easy-to-learn-but-hard-to-master skill tree challenges the player to gain more experience.
+ Late game requires a more strategic approach of the evolving situation.

o Everything on the map can be attacked and destroyed.

Characters & story:

+ Story telling has a surprising and refreshing twist.
+ Well done integration and development of the zombie threat.

o Stereotypical portrayal of characters.

- Very little voice acting during the entire game.

Summary:

Minmax Games succeeded in creating a well-rounded game with only a few rough edges. SPAZ delivers much more action and tactics than one might expect of this indie title. The urge to unlock the next ship class, spending points on the elaborate skill tree or collecting credits for the next weapon upgrade will keep you up late into the night. And the entertaining zombie plot will come around the corner when you least expect it.

Achievements:

Estimated time for 100 % completion: +50 hours

Singleplayer achievements: 48
Multiplayer achievements: none

Chronology:

Space Pirates and Zombies 2 (PC)
3-D space simulation + real-time strategy
(Science-Fiction) – Planed release in 2016

Space Pirates and Zombies (PC)
2-D space simulation + real-time strategy
(Science-Fiction) – 2011

I finished this game in 64 hours. That wasn't a wasted time, not at all. Because I like tactical strategies and I like RPGs. This game is mainly strategy with active pause. RPG elements is mostly for technical purposes like skills and leveling. So don't expect tons of talking.
But be prepared for tons of space explosions, destroyed and captured star bases, lasers, missiles, dozens of skills, upgrades, ships and all that stuff which should be in game like that. Yes, this game has it all. And all of that in open, procedurally generated world.

VERDICT:
If you like space adventures, you will like this one.
If you don't, better change your mind.
If you really don't, why the hell did you start to read this at all?

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SPAZ is an awesome game, you gather resources and manage your own fleet of starships, everything can be customized, from engines to missiles. Took me about 22 hours to finish the campaign, the map is huge, the more you explore the more ships and technologies you unlock, and to complete the package the game support mods, you can simply download a Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica mod that will customize all your ships!

SPAZ does almost everything right as a 2D arcade space shooter. The game is fun, features a considerably deep ship designer; as challenging as you wish it to be and it looks good. The low points are the dialogue, which is thankfully sparse; early balance (good luck getting anywhere if you choose to research beam weapons instead of cannons!); lack of information regarding the effectiveness of your ship design and, for some, though not for me, the control scheme. These issues, however, do not detract from the experience in a significant way. 8/10, looking forward to the sequel.

Gets repetitive after 350+ hours :'(

Awesome top-down shooter space game! Free space to fly with highly customizable spacecraft. Lots of tech-tree skills to upgrade and tons of weapons, ship components, hull to discover. Gorgeous graphic makes combat seem so cool!
Definitely a masterpiece for a 2-man work!

Generally review:
+Gorgeous graphic
+Random generated space system and events
+Highly customizable space ship
+Various skill trees
+Command a whole fleet with tactical view
+Fractions, and more, such as zombies and bounty hunters


超棒的俯視射擊太空遊戲！高自由度的太空世界與完全可自訂的太空船，大量可升級的科技樹技能與多樣武器裝備等待發掘，而精美的畫面讓戰鬥看起來更加酷炫！
以兩人開發的遊戲來看絕對是一款佳作！

簡評:
+精緻畫質
+隨機生成的宇宙星系與事件
+高度可自訂船艦
+多樣技能樹
+使用戰術地圖指揮整個艦隊
+派系勢力，還有殭屍和賞金獵人

完整的中文心得與介紹
http://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Steam/M.1407589912.A.759.html

I love SPAZ! This is a game that I played endlessly for a long time and hand a Ton of fun. You know that game where you check on steam and it says you've played 200+ hours and you are just like.... holy.... That's this game.

Btw If you are a soldier and you are deploying to the land of crappy internet. This is a must buy. It will really help pass some of that extra time you've got.

For a uncomplicated repetitive game its extremely addictive, maybe thats where simple beauty lies in this game. The atmosphere to the game is great, the graphics look really colorful, the combat is frantic and fun and the universe you explore is massive. Plus you get to unlock tons of cool stuff to have a laugh with.

When I first got SPAZ, I remember playing about 5 minutes and just not being interested; I never gave it a chance and now I really regret my initial judgements.
Space Pirates and Zombies is a top-down, twin stick style shooter set in a randomly generated solar system. You operate out of a main “mothership” and tackle quests and missions piloting smaller craft alongside AI Wingmen. The combat is difficult, but rewardingly so, and requires thought and sound tactics especially at the later stages of the game. I definitely judged this book by it’s cover when it was first released, but it is certainly no run of the mill twin stick shooter.
The RPG elements are shockingly deep; you gain levels, rescue crew specialists upgrade weapons, collect ship designs, outfit your wingmen, and participate in a simple but very effective economy trading rez (currency), goons (crew) and data (xp).
Visually the art is great, lots of vibrant colors, really unique ship designs, combat effects are satisfyingly meaty, characters are well drawn and the dialogue, while crude, is interesting and humorous.
The only issue I have come across is playing SPAZ via in home streaming. Considering the visual fidelity of the game, it seems like my gaming rig has an abnormally hard time encoding the video of it. I’ve found that using “DirectX Compatibility” and “Capture Mouse” helps make it playable, but there are still numerous visual artifacts and glitching seen on the remote computer.
Overall a brilliant game, and I’m truly looking forward to the sequel!