Space science fiction has loads of fans around the world, so I wouldn't be surprised to see hundreds of players having fun in DarkOrbit.

This free online web game sets you behind the wheel of a spaceship as a pilot who works for a company, which you can choose from Earth, Mars or Venus. Your main objective in the game will be to collect raw materials for your company, as this is the only way to generate energy and therefore become ruler of the universe.

Being a web game, you enter DarkOrbit right in your web browser by entering your username and password. In this way you access your user profile, containing a summary of relevant data you can check at a glance. But if what you want is some action, go ahead and click on the Play button.

This will open a new window where you can actually play the game. Graphics are quite basic, but they do the trick. Now all you have to do is travel around space (clicking on the screen with your mouse – cursor keys don't work) and collect raw material, while you gain experience by killing enemy ships and other space creatures. Experience points can also be earned by doing quests.

DarkOrbit works fine for casual gamers who just need some easy fun for a while, but I don't think it will appeal that much to hardcore gamers, who will probably feel disappointed by the game's simple plot and even more simple graphics. The connectivity issues I had while testing the game won't help either.

DarkOrbit is a free, web game that challenges you to command a spaceship and wander around space in search of raw materials for your company. However, I don't think it's the kind of game you would spend hours playing.