<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
is	O
an	O
open	O
world	O
sandbox	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Australian	O
developer	O
Jay	O
Watts	O
 '	O
video	O
game	O
studio	O
,	O
Murudai	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
17	O
June	O
2011	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
on	O
19	O
June	O
2011	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Device
Live	I-Device
Indie	I-Device
Games	I-Device
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
developed	O
with	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
XNA	B-Device
tools	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
development	O
was	O
inspired	O
by	O
indie	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
flOw	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
follows	O
the	O
player	O
in	O
their	O
mission	O
to	O
accumulate	O
enough	O
mass	O
to	O
become	O
several	O
astronomical	O
objects	O
,	O
eventually	O
becoming	O
a	O
Big	O
Crunch	O
,	O
which	O
then	O
produces	O
a	O
Big	B-Application
Bang	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
received	O
mainly	O
positive	O
reviews	O
from	O
video	O
game	O
journalists	O
,	O
scoring	O
72	O
out	O
of	O
100	O
on	O
aggregate	O
website	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
is	O
an	O
open	O
world	O
sandbox	O
video	O
game	O
played	O
from	O
a	O
two-dimensional	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
ends	O
when	O
and	O
if	O
the	O
player	O
manages	O
to	O
accumulate	O
enough	O
mass	O
to	O
become	O
a	O
Big	O
Crunch	O
,	O
which	O
then	O
produces	O
a	O
Big	B-Application
Bang	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eight	O
different	O
objects	O
are	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
:	O
asteroid	O
,	O
small	O
planet	O
,	O
life	O
planet	O
,	O
small	O
star	O
,	O
medium	O
star	O
,	O
large	O
star	O
,	O
neutron	O
star	O
and	O
black	B-Application
hole	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
the	O
spaceships	O
in	O
the	O
map	O
are	O
controlled	O
by	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
(	O
AI	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
will	O
constantly	O
engage	O
in	O
combat	O
against	O
enemy	O
ships	O
,	O
asteroids	O
or	O
planets	O
to	O
destroy	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
also	O
includes	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
achievements	O
and	O
object-oriented	O
missions	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
played	O
at	O
any	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
allows	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
save	O
progress	O
at	O
any	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Jay	O
Watts	O
under	O
his	O
video	O
game	O
studio	O
Murudai	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Watts	O
,	O
who	O
received	O
a	O
degree	O
in	O
biotechnology	O
from	O
an	O
Australian	O
college	O
,	O
had	O
no	O
previous	O
knowledge	O
of	O
video	O
game	O
development	O
prior	O
to	O
coding	O
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
predecessor	O
,	O
Solar	O
,	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Solar	O
started	O
in	O
July	O
2008	O
as	O
a	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
game	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
interview	O
with	O
FleshEatingZipper	O
,	O
Watts	O
revealed	O
that	O
Thatgamecompany	O
's	O
indie	O
game	O
flOw	B-Application
was	O
an	O
inspiration	O
for	O
him	O
:	O
"	O
I	O
loved	O
the	O
simplicity	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
the	O
ambiance.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
lasted	O
for	O
at	O
least	O
ten	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
developed	O
using	O
Microsoft	B-Device
XNA	I-Device
,	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
tools	O
focused	O
on	O
video	O
game	O
development	O
created	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Watts	O
,	O
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
was	O
"	O
mainly	O
expanding	O
on	O
 [ Solar ] 	O
original	O
idea	O
and	O
polishing	O
it	O
to	O
perfection.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
were	O
developed	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
About	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
version	O
,	O
Watts	O
commented	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
keyboards	O
and	O
the	O
aging	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
hardware	O
were	O
a	O
bit	O
tricky	O
,	O
and	O
updating	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
version	O
is	O
a	O
huge	O
pain	O
to	O
do.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
17	O
June	O
2011	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
on	O
19	O
June	O
2011	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Device
Live	I-Device
Indie	I-Device
Games	I-Device
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2012	O
,	O
Watts	O
announced	O
that	O
he	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
and	O
Linux	B-Application
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
given	O
that	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
was	O
developed	O
using	O
the	O
Windows-only	O
XNA	B-Device
platform	O
,	O
he	O
expected	O
the	O
ports	O
to	O
be	O
ready	O
sometime	O
before	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2012	O
,	O
the	O
Mac	O
port	O
was	O
announced	O
and	O
released	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Device
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
March	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Android	B-Application
version	O
was	O
also	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
March	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
received	O
a	O
positive	O
response	O
from	O
video	O
game	O
journalists	O
upon	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
was	O
also	O
among	O
the	O
ten	O
indie	O
video	O
games	O
showcased	O
at	O
the	O
10th	O
Penny	O
Arcade	O
Expo	O
,	O
held	O
in	O
August	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Device
and	O
Android	B-Application
versions	O
of	O
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
were	O
also	O
well	O
received	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
App	O
Spy	O
's	O
Andrew	O
Nesvadba	O
,	O
on	O
his	O
review	O
of	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
highlighted	O
the	O
overall	O
sense	O
that	O
"	O
nothing	O
about	O
the	O
game	O
feels	O
like	O
a	O
waste	O
of	O
time	O
or	O
effort	O
,	O
"	O
but	O
criticized	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
life	O
forms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
Andrew	O
Martonik	O
from	O
Android	B-Application
Central	O
acknowledged	O
that	O
Solar	B-Application
2	I-Application
had	O
all	O
the	O
elements	O
necessary	O
for	O
a	O
great	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
