Note:
If you haven't been assailed by me and my incredible obsession with this game yet, you're very lucky.

Welcome to the world of Elite: Dangerous.

As written on the offical website:

"Take control of your own starship in a cut-throat galaxy.

Start with a small starship and a few credits, and do whatever it takes to get the skill, knowledge, wealth and power to stand among the ranks of the Elite.

400 Billion Star Systems. Infinite Freedom. Blaze Your Own Trail.

In the year 3300, across the vast expanse of an epic, full-scale recreation of our Milky Way, interstellar rivalries flare as galactic superpowers fight proxy wars.

Some may know you as an ally; others will call you a pirate, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, an explorer, an assassin, a hero... Fly alone or with friends, fight for a cause or go it alone; your actions change the galaxy around you in an ever unfolding story."

And they mean every word of that. Now, in 3301 (note that in game time is set to GMT, due to the game being created and hosted in England), there are BILLIONS of star systems that you, as the pilot of your own spaceship, can explore, trade with, bounty hunt in, or pirate to your hearts content.

You can do literally anything.

Now, to the actual gameplay.

As a newly "trained" Commander (CMDR), you have been given a Sidewinder class ship and 1000 credits (Cr) by an anonymous source. You start out in Trevithck Dock, a spaceport in a busy system called LHS 3447. It is up to you to learn how to fly and shape the course of the story in this unique and infinite universe.

Pick your side, and get ready for a wild ride. Elite: Dangerous actually allows the players to plot the course of the story, by fighting for their faction and what they see as right. Already, a few systems have been completely faction flipped purely through player influence. Actual players caused a civil war.

There are three factions you need to be aware of:
- The Empire: "Reputation and Honor" This faction is very fair and free. You're allowed to display your wealth, but it is very important to honor all people, regardless of status. Most people are willing to sell themselves into Imperial slavery in order to clear a debt, which would be unseemely to be left unpaid. The current Emperor is bedridden and dying, and he has denounced his own son as no longer eligible for the throne, and many people are trying to make themselves eligible to be the next Emperor.
- The Federation: "Democracy and Wealth" Think America in space. You've got the Federation. This faction is run by blind loyalty and money bribes. "Corruption is not unusual - and considered as "getting one over the system". Social class is determined between "haves" and "have-nots". There is much poverty, as well as conspicuous wealth." There are a few systems who have voted to leave the Federation, and frankly, I don't blame them. (This one was kinda biased, since I don't like the Feds much.)
- The Alliance: "Diversity and Unity" This faction is a small upstart, and they only control a small section of the currently populated star systems. These systems are independent and they have united under the banner of the Alliance, ready to fight back against the Empire and the Federation when it is needed.

Let me tell you right now, it's going to be hard enough learning how to take off and dock. (A favorite fan video of mine that shows how hard docking really is for the newbs. warning: there are a few curses in this one)

But once you have mastery of your controls, whether you choose to stay with the good ol' keyboard and mouse, or you use a Logitech Gamepad (I recommend the gamepad), you're basically free to fly to your heart's content.

Just don't run out of fuel.

There are also official tutorial levels if you need some help getting started. I highly advise going through these until you're comfortable with your controls, and you only risk blowing up a tutorial ship, not your own.

This game is rated T, but that's a very flexible T, especially since some CMDRs have a pretty colorful language. Don't want to deal with that? Play solo, where there is no human players, just a lot of CPUs.

I didn't cover a whole lot of the technical details, but that's better for you to learn in your own time.

To wrap up this really unfocused ramble about one of the coolest games I have ever heard of (and really I'm at a lack for words on how to describe this game), let me tell you what you're gonna need in order to actually play this game.

You're going to need:
- $60/€50/£40 depending on where you are in the world
- A really good computer with a lot of RAM and an excellent graphics card.*
- Optional, but recommended by myself: a Logitech Controller.

(*I'm really stressing this because I literally only have one computer powerful enough to run this game out of the many laptops and computer boxes in this house.)

Do you have all of the above?

Well then, I'll see you out there, Commander.

Fly safely.

(Look for me in Qama (CMDR Jean Pelham Roker)!)