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Fun and incredibly annoying at the same time

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 86 / 93
Date: March 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is beautiful to look at and really makes a strong effort at being an open-ended space combat/exploration game. A literal universe of planets, space stations, debris fields, wormholes, ships, and other encounters wait to be explored. Docking areas are all fairly interchangeable, typically comprising a bar, store, supply depot, and ship dealer. You can talk to people for gossip or side-missions, load cargo for trade, upgrade weapons and equipment, and buy new ships.

Now, I say 'effort' because hidden beneath all the trappings of a free-range space game is a very restrictive main mission. Following the main mission of the game is fun and its elements are interesting, but in order to shoehorn you into it, Freelancer made the extremely poor choice of tying it to your pilot's progression. In other words, if you ignore the main quest and light out on your own, you won't ever get any better. Sure, you may win a thousand dogfights or earn a million credits from trade, but you won't advance.

For example, my current character is a mere 5th level pilot. In order to progress to 6th level, he has to complete a certain mission tied to the main quest. This character, however, has already completed over 50 side quests, blown up over 250 enemy warships, and earned about $300,000 in trade and resold looted equipment. None of that affects his level. Now without going up another level, he cannot buy a better ship, nor can he buy better weapons. Ship equipment, like the ships themselves, is tied to one's level..hence he is unable to buy anything that requires level 6 or higher. So he, despite being wealthy and highly experienced, can not get the many advanced ships and weapons he's already encountered in his explorings.

This scheme makes absolutely no sense. It generates innumerable Catch-22s where one must complete a mission in order to fly back to the base you *just came from* in order to get a better ship, yet completing the mission is nearly impossible with the crappy ship you're currently stuck with. It also makes side-missions nearly pointless unless you've already gone up a level and just need some money to outfit your new ship, or perhaps want to alter your standing with a particular faction. I could, using any number of clever tricks, take my weak ship and explore hidden planets, gaze in awe on their awesome vessels and equipment which I can already afford, yet unless I cleave to the main plot I will never be able to get one.

Thus while the game theoretically lets you explore however you want, that exploration is almost meaningless if you're stuck up against one of the level-requirement missions that happen pretty much in succession for the entire game. Even the fight-induced nausea of 10 swirling enemy fighters attacking you (they always all attack you, ignoring even anyone else you may be traveling with) pales in comparison with the knowledge that you'll be back to fight that particular group over and over and over again if you ever want to go up a single level, without the ability to upgrade your ship or equipment until you do.

In short while this game can be a lot of fun, don't be fooled into thinking it's even half the open-ended 'freelancer' game it makes out to be.

Privateer Revisited...Great play, needs better economy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 46 / 46
Date: April 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

A strong story line made this a good game...having things to do other than play the story makes this a great game. The universe is large enough that you don't feel like you are wearing a straight jacket while it is just small enough that most locations feel unique. The mouse flight seemed a bit odd at first but I quickly adapted to it. The guns on the ships have a limited amount of pivot built in, the mouse seems to work better with this than a joystick would have.

From an interface standpoint, more of the options need shortcuts. The manual also failed to fully detail the interface, leaving out a CRITICAL piece of information...what the changes to your cross hairs mean. It also fails to give enough information on the basics of weapon systems, so you are left on your own to experiment with when missiles are locked and how to use mines and turrets.

This is clearly a remake of the Wing Commander Privateer game (which is unplayable on machines over 200 mhz because its too fast). Unfortunately, two things are missing... Wingmen (a nice to have, but acceptably missing given the story line) and an economy that MAKES SENSE! It is difficult to be a merchant when the planet/station that produces an item charges the most for it in most cases. For instance, I traveled to a station that was advertised as producing "basic alloy" figuring I could take the basic alloy to a planet that focused on manufacturing and sell it there for a markup. The reality was that basic alloy cost far more on the planet described as "producing" basic alloy than almost anywhere else by a very large amount.(like $80 per unit vs $20 a unit). I've had to learn that "produces" USUALLY means "buys for the highest price". It would be nice to see a realistic system (which has been done time and time again in games before), and even a dynamic system that if you tried to flood one system with a product, the price would go down somewhat.

Another issue I had with the manual was its description of asteroid mining. It led me to beleive that I should go blow up large asteroids in an effort to find minerals to sell. The reality is you can blast big rocks all day and not get anything, they are just eyecandy. What you have to do is look for the little ones that zip by (and cause your cross hairs to spin when you put them on it) and blow those up. If you are lucky, you may be rewarded with some bit of mineral, water, metal, etc.

Another problem with the merchant/mining road is too many of the "advanced" systems (the ones you don't get to until you've been playing for a while) seem to have "mined out" asteroid and ice fields. This greatly limits your ability to move your home base to outside of the starting area if you are trying to be more of a merchant.

This game has a good degree of replayability. I've finished the story line and still am having fun flying around exploring and blowing stuff up. The story takes you on a wide circuit of the available star systems, but there is plenty of stuff hiding in asteroid fields and what not.

This game is a great flight sim, a nice change from what dominates the action market these days (first person shooters). I'd give it 5 stars if only the economic model made a little more sense.

Excellent... but understand where it's coming from

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 33 / 34
Date: March 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Picked up this gem on release day. Have only played for a total of 4 hours, so I'll give my initial impressions here. (The other reviews sum up the feature set nicely.)

Understand that FREELANCER IS NOT A SPACE COMBAT SIMULATOR (as I believe the Amazon reviewer pointed out). It really is more of an action RPG set in space.

There's little micromanagement here, which, in this setting, is a blessing. There's enough going on without having to account for shield facings, energy management, and Newtonian mechanics. It's no Independence War.

(But I am annoyed that YOU CAN'T ROLL YOUR SHIP. At least I couldn't find a way to do it. Stinks not being able to do a break maneuver. I do like the "strafe" feature... adds a fun element to combat.)

Combat is fast and furious and fun. So far, it seems almost too easy. Perhaps that's because ship guns aren't fixed forward, allowing you to train firepower on targets even if they're not dead center in your HUD.

....

My hope for the game was not its simulation aspects but its dynamic universe. The key to making this work is adequate feedback to the player, and Freelancer does this superbly with news items (available at bases/planets), radio chatter, conversations with NPCs, and "reputation meters" with various factions. This was a major failing in the BattleCruiser titles (well, those currently available anyway), where it was much harder to get a sense of who's zooming who. Derek Smart take note (that is, when you can take a break from puffing yourself up).

Oh, and for those wondering if it will run on their system, here's my subjective benchmarking: I have a 1.4GHz Athlon and a GeForce3 card. Looks absolutely beautiful in 1024x768 with superb frame rate.

Sounds great, too. The music and SFX add much to the experience. (The occasional appearance of non-professional voiceovers detracts, but I've encountered them only in bars--where you pick up jobs, hear rumors, etc.)

Hardcore simmers will probably avoid this title, but they'll be missing one hell of a ride.

Believe The Hype!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 34 / 40
Date: February 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Freelancer must be one of the most anticipated games of the last 5 years and given its sordid production history many have been left wondering whether the game would live up to their lofty expectations. Well, the wait is over and I'm here to say that its been well worth it.

Freelancer draws you into the game universe right from the beginning. You're going to want to watch this game's intro cinematic as it's not the usual gratuitous FMV and does an excellent job of setting the stage for the game to come. After selecting the 'New Game" option you are drawn straight into the game via one of many well directed in-game cinematics. Once things get going there is a minimal amount of handholding, which is helpful without hindering your in game experience.

As a fan of the space-sim genre I was apprehensive about the absence of joystick control in the game but after my first dogfight it all went out the window as I was weaving in and out of a debris field chasing rogue ships with guns blazing.

Having only progressed so far in the game as of this writing I can't really make a definite judgement on how the game will shape up. The story campaign seems well thought out and executed and while there are plenty of options beyond the story, I find myself looking for a bit more structure. Perhaps it will show itself later on based on my actions. Either way, Freelancer is a great game that looks great, and plays great even below the recommended spec. The dialog is well spoken and the in game cinematics are well directed. Mutiplayer could be a very interesting experience on large enough servers and takes a form more reminiscent of Diablo where solo, co-op, and free-for-all play styles are all up for grabs. It will be interesting to see how the online community shapes up. If this review is any indication then Freelancer might just be the shot in the arm that the space-sim genre has been looking for.

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.

Great Expectations

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: March 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Let me preface this by saying that I am a die hard Privateer & Wing Commander fan. No other series of games has ever captivated my interest as much as the 2 prior versions of Privateer did. Obviously, I have been waiting a long time for Freelancer to arrive and I had great expectations that this installment would be better than both of the other versions. Well, it is.... almost.

The story line is excellent. However, you must complete certain elements of the story line to open up the huge universe beyond the starting system of Liberty. Unless you are very careful, your actions will force you into a certain side of good vs. evil and this will limit your options very quickly. Random combat missions are similar in feel to Privateer 2. The trade system is better than before (it is imperative to have the Freelancer Strategy Guide to plan your trade routes).

The graphics are decent, but a bit dated. Space is an improved version of WC: Prophecy. Minor tweeks on the ship HUD display are better than the Wing Commander series. Dirtside graphics are ok. The interface system is very good and simplified, but NO joystick option. The mouse works very well in controlling your spaceship, but the "feel" is not right for any space sim fan. The music and ambient sounds remind you of Privateer and are of excellent quality.

The lack of the joystick for flight control and the somewhat dated graphics are my only reservations for a very polished and entertaining product.

Pros: The look and feel is still reminiscent of the old Privateer. The story line grabs your interest and makes you want to carry on to the end. The number of systems to explore are simply incredible. There are enough equipment options to make everyone happy. No apparent compatability issues with my computer.

Cons: Somewhat dated graphics. No Joystick option!

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!

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.

For all you Privateer Fans

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 16
Date: April 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I think that is this a really good addition to this much ignored genre of games. Although short, the story part of this game was really well done. The main plot had a nice balance of different type of missions, several breaks where you can go off on your own for a while, as well as good voice acting (George Takei and John Rhys Davies among them).

Probably the greatest aspect of this game is the in-flight graphics and the take off/landing sequences. Space combat is really dynamic; as you tear down other vessels, wings fly off and explode, the ship catches fire and the enemy pilot gets really panicky on the horn. You can then tractor in guns, launchers, or cargo hold items in afterwards. Combat in the mulitude of various asteriod fields is really well done. Zipping along after an enemy in there, dodging and weaving is a big strength for this game. The mouse control thing was a little disconcerting in the beginning, but after a mission or two, you get use to it. The universe isn't static in the sense that all the worlds and stations, and battleships to land on are already set on the map. I have already discovered new systems and bases.

I really recommened this game to all you Wing Commander and Privateer players, you'll feel right at home.

Sure there are negatives that are addressed in other reviews, but I think they stem more wanting this very good game to be that "great" game rather than serious flaws that steer you from getting it.

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