Eight years ago, games on Java enabled mobile phones were played on screens that were roughly the same size as a modern day app icon. With a host of awards under their belt, German developers Fishlabs have been there from day one, making premium mobile games with top-notch graphics that constantly strive to push what technology can do. After huge success with over 20million downloads of their flagship title Galaxy On Fire which rocketed to the top of the AppStore charts in 2010, Fishlabs are now swimming in an even bigger sea as they make the transition into PC land.

Galaxy On Fire 2 in full HD looks incredible. Fiery battles blaze across a black sky dotted with white stars, glowing marble planets and cloudy, brick dust nebulas. With over 25 hours of story, hot headed hero Keith T. Maxwell battles in a war-torn galaxy against a devious and seemingly untouchable alien race known as Voids. Causing chaos by attacking the four governing rival factions, the Voids threaten the peace that delicately exists between the different races. There are more than 20 star systems and 100 individual space stations to explore in the stunning, vast and swirling space vista. During a recent play, we scrolled though dozens of menus crammed with scanners, rockets and black market merchandise that can be used on 30 fully customisable space ships in the hangar which has some classic sci-fi design. As well as the story-based missions, there are loads of freelance freight missions to take on and a complex trading system to uncover whilst cruising around stars.It’s interesting to note that as well as being available to download from Steam and Origin, Galaxy On Fire 2 will also be available as a boxed version. Marketing manager at Fishlabs, Marc Morian told us “We recognise that there is something special about having a physical version of this game. We have been very successful with the digital market and will continue to offer the very best games to mobile gamers, but a boxed version was something the studio wanted to see happen – it feels the right time for this”. A sentiment echoed by Michael Schade, CEO of Fishlabs Entertainment, “Because we’ve all grown up playing the timeless sci-fi classics for countless hours on our PCs, it feels just great to know that our flagship title will soon also be available on that platform”. As well as it being one of the best looking sci-fi titles we’ve seen, by using their own Abyss engine to create the game, it’s possible to play Galaxy on Fire 2 on almost any mobile device. However, the extra sense of control when piloting a spaceship via mouse, keyboard or controller rather than swiping fingers over a smartphone screen when weaving around and exchanging fire with enemy crafts is perhaps the most satisfying reason to play this on PC.

Galaxy On Fire 2 HD is out on August 21st for PC. Also available to download via Steam and Origin.