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There IS 1st person mode...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: March 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My title is just there to help out the other 2-star guy. It's Ctrl+V. Also, you can shrink most of the HUD with the Backspace key, in case you were wondering...

This game is great. The demo is probably the longest and most entertaining I've ever played. You can't get to level 2, but you can explore an entire start system and gain many weapons during that time. You can play the demo for dozens of hours. And the full game has dozens of systems with the same scale as the single one in the demo. Dozens x Dozens = WOW! Also, because of the extended development time, the system requirements are relatively low, and the bugs are few (haven't found any yet). So just about everyone can play this game, and it looks beautiful.

The mouse support has been as principle design aspect for the whole development process. All the other space games using the joystick is the exact reason why this game doesn't. It's this way to appeal to a larger audience. Fast and furious action like a FPS, but sci-fi like, well, sci-fi games. And even if you did have joystick support, you'd invariably have to use the mouse for the menu-driven part of the interface. That's a LOT of desk space to take up, and it'd be unnecessary as the mouse is perfectly capable in both movement and menus.

Getting bored of the random missions is exactly like getting bored of random encounters in RPGs - if you are like this, the game probably isn't for you. But for those that like exploring and acquiring higher levels to get higher-level equipment, this will be great for you. And it has multiplayer so you can do this with your friends too. The mod community has already begun, and the game hasn't even been released yet. Get ready for some entertainment!

Amazing game in unlimited space.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: August 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Freelancer is a space flight game. It's not quite a sim, but it's not arcade. Many people have addressed the No Joystick issue, but let me tell you, it's not an issue. When you hear "Flight game with no Joystick," you probably scoff, but you shouldn't. The game isn't controlled like most other flight games. It's hard to explain, but if you're interested, download the demo and see for yourself. But I will say that given the interface, I don't see how it could have possibly worked using a joystick.

The interface is great by the way. You can see which guns are selected, enemy status, your status, and it all looks nice.

The single player mode has an engaging, interesting storyline. I won't spoil it, but has it's share of twists. The missions are diverse and CHALLENGING. It takes more than a basic understanding of the controls to succeed at them. While not super long, the game takes up a substantial amount of time. Plus, when you're finished, you can roam about the universe completely freely and continue playing with your ship. One thing I should mention, is that by the end of the storyline, you won't have the best ship, guns, or be the highest level. If you want to be the best, you still have work to do. Plus, the story has good replay value, giving you hours upon hours of singleplayer fun.

Multiplayer is possibly even better than the single player. There are many servers to play on. Each server is just a duplication of the same universe as in the singeplayer mode. No story, of course, but there are other players to trade and group with, so you can take on missions together.

The game has some RPG elements, but they aren't blatant. You don't earn XP or have skills. You earn money, and when you have a certain amount of Net worth you gain a level. Higher levels allow you to purchase better guns and ships, and you improve by purchasing those and other improvemnts for your ship. The guns aren't simply on a bad, better, better, basis. Each has advantages and disadvantages, as do ships. Some guns use less, some shoot faster, and some do more damage. There are also significant differences in ships. There are different kind of ships as well, like light fighters, heavy fighters or freighters. Plus, there are missles, torpedoes and mines to get. You also have access to better shields and thrusters.
Who you can or can't take mission from depends on a great reputation system. Kill a certain type of guy, and they won't like you. Your reputation also greatly affects where it is safe to go and how you travel. If you're bad with the police, you'll have to take jump holes instead of the registered jump gates. And some sytems you'l get murdered in if you don't have a good enough rep.

You can make money by many different ways. You can buy and sell goods from bases, or you could be a pirate and loot other trading vessels and sell that. Or you can take missions, which there are several different types of.

You should also know that there is a substantial mod community for this game. You can download new guns, new ships, new parts, mods that change your speed, or enemies, or reputation. It's great, and they're easy to use, too.

The universe you're in is huge, and they actually managed to make outer space diverse from place to place.

The graphics really depend on your computer. You can change the graphics settings to accomdate most computers, and the lowest to highest settings have a wide range of beatuy, from "Look, I'm in space." to Awe-inspiring "WOW, I had no idea space was so pretty."

The only downside to this game is that when you're at the top, there's not much to do, except start over. In single or multi player, it's not too hard to get to a point where you have the best ship and guns, and millions of dollars, and nothing to spend it on. But starting a new character always lets the gameplay keep flowing.

I love this game, and I reccomend it to anyone who's even remotely interested in a space flight game.

The Grand Theft Auto of Space

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 16
Date: February 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is so open ended. It is amazing. You can get jobs from the cops, navy, bounty hunters, rogues, and almost anything you can imagine. There is a reputation system so you have to choose a path of good or evil. If you work for the police the criminals won't like you and vice versa. This is the first good space combat game of the decade. This game won't dissapoint. I nominate it for game of the year. This game runs flawlessly on my Athlon 1.3ghz and Radeon 9500 pro system. The requirements don't seem to be so high since the engine is fairly old. After all, the game has been in development for 4 or 5 years. The graphics in the cities remind me of Anachronox. Sort of blocky, but it's not that bad. The graphics in space are some of the best I've seen. The explosions are amazing as is the variety of ships. I've heard that if you play straight through the game without doing the side mission that it takes well over 60 hours. I would imagine doing everything would be almost 100 hours. ... Order this game now, you won't regret it.

Some Things That Might Help You Out!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: March 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is an awsome Game. I would suggest that you get it buy it, and play it. The games strength is it's diversity. You can be a trader a pirate and it has infinite single player potential. I wish that some things could be changed for example if you could have a stockpile or a base on a planet to harbor ships. That would make it infinetely more fun. There are additions that could be made to the game that would make it more interesting. But it is still a great game. Some things that will help you out. One on the way gates you can do a fast dock by watching the lights. The green lights mean that this is the active waygate, red mean that it isn't the active waygate. Fly at top speed right towards the middle of the circular waygate with the green lights and right before you get to it (Make sure it is selected) hit F3 to dock or push the dock icon. This will make traveling through the dazzling universe a lot faster. This fast docking is also true with the planet gates and the different places to dock, it is just harder because you have to learn where exactly the docking area is and then get as close to it as possible. This can save you hours of game play. The dialouge with the missions is boring so to get to the good stuff early just hit your esc key and you can read the hints etc. I would suggest not rushing into the missions. You can take as long as you want exploring the universe and earning credits. I really love this game because it can be relaxing as well as intense. You can explore the beautiful universe or fight people, and pretty much do it at your whim and pleasure. To get to an in cockpit view hold down ctrl and press v. This isn't found in the manual so you have to learn it. So for those people that have this game and love it. I hope this helps you. For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about buy the game. I was frustrated with the multiplayer, you can't save your guy from one server to another, and because servers have a limit of how many people can play at a time it is hard to get into a public server so all the work you have done on your guy is lost. If this weren't the case then multiplayer would be awsome. I am sure the multiplayer is fun if you have a group of friends that do your own passworded server. Overall the game is addictive and a fun ride. Hope this helps.

Based on the Demo - A worthy successor to Elite, Privateer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: March 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you have played the Elite or Privateer series, you are familar with the basic game structure - an open-ended trading, fighting, adventuring space combat sim.

The dog-fighting is fast and furious. The graphics are on par with Freespace 2. In the single system you get to play in the demo, there are about 12 different places to buy and sell. There are Nebulas, junk fields and hidden bases where pirates lurk. The full game has 48 systems and 30 ships you can purchase. So far I have seen over 40 different weapon systems you can buy or loot off your kills.

When I first read there was no joystick support I was disappointed. I figured that you would just click on your target, hit the 'a' key and hope for the best; then loot the rusty shortswords and run to the merchant to sell - I mean loot the machinery parts and sell at the starbase. But after playing the demo I was pleasantly surprised to find the dog fighting fast and furious. I am not sure the agility and precision provided by the mouse guidance could be matched with a stick.

Given the different types of ships, weapon systems, defensive system and other ship components available, the combat should provide a wide range of tactical possibilities.

The AI pilots I have encountered haven't been overly sophisticated, a well-timed lead turn is always victorious in one-on-one. But groups of them are capable of launching some dangerous ambushes on you, especially once you have bad faction with them. Perhaps the flight skills of opponents get stronger outside the first system.

I suspect that the programmers did the voice acting for the toon story sequences, and some of the dialog seems to have been written by their grade-school children. But these are minor flaws as far as I am concerned.

I have played Freespace, FS2, X-wing, Tie, Privateer, WC, Elite, etc., etc. I tend to get bored with the sims that provide static story lines and missions pretty quick. Here is a space combat sim that looks like it will provide many, many hours of fun.

I am buying this one. A resounding 4.5 stars!

Very pleased...Freespace is back, and better.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: June 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It has been years since I've found a computer game that hooked me. I'm a big sci-fi fan, but really hadn't found anything since the old Freespace games from years ago that interested me. Everything in the genre seemed to be marketed around television and movie themes like Star Wars or Star Trek, and though I enjoy those shows, I'm not a big fan of computer games that are built around those universes. I wanted a great stand-alone game.

It was by chance that I found myself complaining to a friend once about my inability to find a cool new sci-fi game that he mentioned Freelancer. I was VERY pleased-- it has an interesting story, but so much more. Once you play through the story, you can keep going (unlike the old Freespace games, where it was basically "The End" after you finished the storyline).

The addition of the freelance element is perfect. The game gives you free play time along the route of the embedded story, and sometimes it's even annoying when you level up and are pulled back into the story-- sometimes you'd prefer to keep roaming around freely. But the story is interesting, and once you finally finish playing it, you CAN keep freelancing, leveling up, and exploring a huge variety of star systems, cultures, etc. You can be a good guy, a bad guy, a smuggler, a merchant, an astroid miner, etc. There's just so much to do-- you can pick and outfit your ship, make or break alliances, and even play online. It's like a sci-fi epic combined with a RPG.

I can only hope that enough people buy this game to merit a sequel or at least an expansion pack to add more systems for exploration. Please, take a break from the Star Wars universe and try something new! I'm buying another copy from Amazon today, just so my son can play on our other computer and meet me in outer-space where we can work together to smuggle alien artifacts from place to place to get rich.

Morrowind in Space

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: October 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First things first: this is not a sim, and those who play Freelancer expecting it to be like X-Wing are going to have their expectations adjusted. That said, this adjustment needn't be for the worse, and despite the lack of a steep learning curve or some of the more 'realistic' space combat elements, the game delivers a whole galaxy of fun.

Freelancer is more an RPG than either an action game or sim, which is why I don't hesitate to liken it to The Elder Scrolls III. It is open-ended, with few obligations on the part of the player unless you so desire them. Focus is largely placed on exploring new areas, encountering exciting new people, and of course killing them. There are a host of factions you can interact with, each with alliances, unique weapons, distinctive ships, and bases.

As the name of the game suggests, you are your own boss and can go anywhere and do pretty much anything. If it suits your fancy, you can smuggle drugs and prey on hapless merchants; or you can choose to protect those same merchants and declare yourself the local sheriff. You gain levels as you advance your worth, and this allows you to purchase better weapons and ships. There are a whole ton of each to check out, all with strengths and weaknesses.

Freelancer's single play campaign is simply fantastic. It's not particularly hard, but neither is it dull or monotonous. There are non-linear elements that facilitate replay, and the game doesn't end when you finish the main story. Throughout the missions you explore only a fraction of the total worlds out there, which definitely gives you an idea of how big the game universe is. Be advised that wandering around could get you into very big trouble, which is quite realistic in my opinion but might disturb some gamers.

The game's controls and mechanics are extremely simplified, also more fitting to a shooter or RPG than a sim. You have energy, shields, and armor. Energy is for firing your guns, afterburning, and recharging shields. The other two can be instantly recharged by batteries or nanobots so long as you have them. Additionally, individual weapons and pieces of your ship can be damaged and even destroyed if you take too much punishment (the latter happens quite rarely and you'll often be dead by that time anyway) and are repairable only in dock. You use the mouse to both aim and guide your ship, and can fire one of four weapons- guns, missiles, torpedoes, and mines. Additionally, you can launch decoys to fool incoming warheads if you're too lazy to pull an S-turn. Enemy craft are listed in your HUD just like in most other space sims, but there is no radar- you just get an arrow pointing to the target you selected. You can see straight ahead in 1st or 3rd person, or straight back in 3rd person, but nowhere else. To reduce the tedium of flying through nothingness, you can activate cruise engines that increase your speed by about 3x but deactivate weapons. This might sound like a good way to escape from a fight, but it takes a while to charge the cruise and there are weapons that can disable it.

Graphics are quite impressive, especially for the system requirements on the box. Some of the effects get a bit repetitive, but the combat is well done and the locations all have unique looks. All of the ships also have their own look, and the explosions are nicely done. Capital ships will break into blasted chunks when they die, and fighters will fly to pieces and burn up. If you manage to do enough structural damage to a target, it will show it. Missiles leave incandescent trails and shields flash when struck.

The sound is at times both good and bad. The music is well done, with unique tracks for most of the worlds you can land on. Voice acting on the part of the major character cast is also well done, with such notables as Jennifer Hale, George Takei, and John Rhys-Davies taking part. The comm chatter, however, is a bit of a disappointment. Most of the speakers sound like my next door neighbor, and I could swear they were all the same two people (one male, one female) despite the many different nationalities they're supposed to represent. This is somewhat mediated by the dynamic nature of the dialogue, which is quite interesting to listen to sometimes. If you can't get enough of it, you can hail random ships as you go by, and they'll be glad to give you a full ID.

All in all, the best thing about Freelancer is that you can do almost anything you want. If you have the firepower to pull it off, you can try to conquer the whole galaxy on your own. It's not a sim, as demonstrated by the fact that freighters seem to perform just as well as light fighters, but it's not supposed to be a sim. This is one heck of a space RPG, and anyone who can appreciate that should check it out.

An excellent game for those new to Space Sims and open-ended

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: May 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Wow, I read the other reviews, most were critical. This reminds me of how much Battlezone II was slammed by the gaming press, its one of the best 3d RTS games, except for Homeworld & Catyclsm

I have played X-BTF, X-Tension, IWar2, and Battlecruiser Millenium. All are good games and more open-ended than Freelancer. I-War2 is closest to Freelancer, and graphically was ahead of its time. I admit, Freelancer should of been out in late 2001, but I won't ring my hands over it.

Freelancer brings this genre, open-ended space to the Mortal Man. Mortal meaning most people don't have the time to invest in the aformentioned games, esp. BCM.

Gameplay
Like in Battlezone II, this game introduces the gamer to the game "during the game", no optional tutorial. I am a big fan of this type of introduction. Freelancer allows you to run your own server, mine is "Salt Lake City - Lancer Reactor". It provides players with cooperative gameplay much like NeverWinter Nights. NWN is a superior game, but for a space-sim, Freelancer gets an A for gameplay.
So, the new gamer gets a good introduction to open-ended space games. This genre just got a shot in the arm, a badly needed one. Freelancer is open-ended, just not as open as Morrowind.
When you run your own Multiplayer server, you can play the game totally open-ended. I love to play it in short bursts, do 2-3 missions, then logout. I like it when outside people join in my small server and work with me.

Graphics
Some say the graphics are dated. Not sure what other space-sim games have better graphics, EVE possibly. I enjoy the graphics and with my Athlon 1700+ and ATI 8500 128MB, runs smoothly in single player, and gets a little choppy sometimes in Multiplayer. This is fine with me. When I played Battlezone II in 1999, it was choppy with a 16mb TNT and Athlon 500. Not till I built this machine that Battlezone II runs without any chop, and this is 1 year old. So I am glad Freelancer is a bit ahead in terms of graphics requirements.

Sound
Voice acting is superb, the best since Homeworld. In fact, not since Homeworld have I been so drawn to a game. Microsoft, my hat is off to you. Compare the voice acting here to Hegemonia, which was a joke of a game, and I am a Imperium Galactica II fan.
Hegemonia was a waste...BR>Space music is not as good as Homeworld, but still good. I am a fan of Morrowind, Homeworld, Battlezone II, I-War2 and NeverWinter music.

Summary
Including Freelancer, those games I just listed are the best I have played, along with Half-Life and Imperium Galactica II.
I like open ended games, like X-Tension(good music too), but
Freelancer brings those hauty open-ended games down to the level that most people won't loose interest.

So, if you are a total newbie, I recommend Freelancer.....

Freelancer deserves to be ranked with those games.

Five Star Freelancer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 19
Date: February 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is the best! With over 40, yes 40 systems to explore and 1st class game play this game is the best. Also you pick jobs that influence your reputation with other people. For example: If you go shoot on every liberty ship in the system don't expect themto let you land at their docks. This game will be released pn March 6 and I'll be one of the first to have it!

Who Cares if There's no Joystick

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Yea yea I know that everyone is saying that this game is messed because it has no joystick support. Be happy. In the sequel I'm sure they'll honor your request. For now this is the best game that I'm playing now. Its awesome how you get to choose your storyline based on who you want to be your friends. You start out with a mediocre ship. Plasma repeating rifles. Being a mercenary for the Liberty Police or Navy you can make enough money to buy a new fighter or even, as most games would never allow, a CARGO SHIP. Yea you heard me. You can make tons of money shipping Boron and other materials from mining planets to industial or commercial planets. I love the short trip from Pittsburg to Manhattan making $10,000 on a single run. This game rocks and everybody should have it. The graphics are beautiful and you don't even need a great card. The save scheme is a little weird. For instance you can only save on a planet or in a space station, and not directly in space. The conversations are also a little dull. "Hey you new here? Yea. I see, I'm from blah blah blah. Got anything for me. Yea well i got some gossip but it'll cost u a million dollars to get it from me." But you can click out of them. Buy this game. Its worth the money.

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