Freelancer

"Its painful to so how close this game was to perfection"

Let me start off by saying that I bloody LOVE this game, but that won't affect my review. This takes place in the Sirius Sector with the descendants of the people who have left earth. You are a Freelancer looking for a job after the station you where on blew up. That is the basic story. Now let me tell you about the game play.

This is a ship-simulator, you have a ship (duh) and there are a variety of weapons at your disposal, from mines to Tachyon blasters, this game has an amazing amount of weapon versatility. The types of guns are each unique and different, and depending on your playing style, you could chose a different set each time. Do you like fast, swift attacks? Lasers is your route, but what if you like power and range? Particle is your way. And that is only with guns, you can also have mines, countermeasures, which can prevent you getting hit with a missile, torpedo launchers, disruptor, the list goes on, unfortunately, these aren't balanced so there is one definite top to all of the latter, but they are a sub-section of fighting, so it really doesn't have that much of an impact. There is also the ship diversity, between the maneuverable light fighters to the bulky freighters to the Colossus-like Very Heavy fighters. There really is a ship for every person, they are all unique and different both in looks and game play. One problem with the game play is that there are three choices, one of which is boring and tedious that consists of buying a item and selling it somewhere else for more money. Then there is the job taking, which is the way I recommend for starters, this consists of taking a job from a fraction (Universal forces to pirates, its your choice) and fighting ships, space stations, capturing information, etc, etc. The bad thing about this method is that it makes this game temporarily turn into a grind, which should be always avoided, especially after the story is done. The third method is to explore space and loot the dead bodies of ships, but they died in hostile environments, so you must best these challenges, from minefields which you should avoid like the plague, to radiation damage. This is the method where Freelancer shines beautifully. It can be a bit hard for new people, so I wouldn't recommend it for first game. This game, however, loses points for not allowing the player to level up until the story is complete, and the rushed feel in the later parts of the game. The main story combat is well done, and the ships properties consist of maneuverability, power, and defense. Your allies have pretty good AI, and they are competent. This game does fall a bit short by making all story-unimportant characters have the same 4 voice actors. And when the Non Player Characters say their identification key (ex. Alpha Delta 7) They had the actors say each of the words, then they randomly spliced them, this makes them sound like bloody robots. The big battles are well put together, but you may experience a slight slow down in some of them, the capital ships where perfectly designed in terms of health, no paper-thin walls or hulking behemoths of indestructible metal. The fractions are vast and special, although some are more important than the others. (Ex. Corsairs and Outcasts are the main pirates but there are the LWB or the Farmers Alliance but these aren't very big or important factors) Now for the really bad part. Enemy AI. This is where the game slips off the empire state building and lands face first on rusty spikes. The enemies do the same moves and twists all the time so its really easy to kill them, and they don't use shield regeneration at all, nor do they use all of their weapons to max capacity, it is one of the things that makes the battling such a grind.

Game play: 8/10

Graphics: Oh god, I love these!!!!!! The guns and the ships are done beautifully, the space stations are amazing, the cruisers well refined, it is just beautiful. The cut scenes may be a bit out of date, but they are perfectly fine. The best part of the graphics is the space. Yes you heard me right. Not the desolate, black space that you would typically think of, but the amazing arrays of Nebulae, asteroids, and the backgrounds of these. They are like a painting, sometimes I cut my engines and just take a long look at the background. Most of the unique backgrounds are in the unexplored parts of space, so the game gives you a high-five if you choose to explore. The guns and ships look wonderful, and so does everything in this game. If felt like they took time and carefully and painstakingly did each system with great detail, most systems are chock-loaded with bases, asteroids, nebulae and planets. This game almost is begging you to view and explore the wonderful planets and environments, The alien systems held me in breathless shock when I first saw them, this game reveals how beautiful space can/could be.

Graphics: 10/10

Sound: The sound is remarkably similar to the graphics in terms of caliber quality. Each system has a different set of choir-like music that fits the system and is pleasing to the ears. The battle music can get annoying or slightly repetitive, but you usually don't have that problem. Again, with some of the far out systems, I will cut my engines and listen to the symphony that I am hearing. The guns sounds are a bit obnoxious, but they fit well with the situation.

Sound: 10/10

Story and Atmosphere: The story is very unique, although appearing to be shallow, it gradually gets more and more complex. I can't really say too much but this game will remind you of a less creepier version of aliens. But don't worry, there are no face-hugs you have to worry about. But I will tell you that the story is well refined and rounded. The Atmosphere is wonderful, the info on the planets can tell you many things, you just have to look for it, another way which the game rewards you for exploring. It also helps atmosphere by having information be different and unique for each place you go, from the religious like Golden Chrysanthemums, to the honor-based Blood Dragons. It also does a very good job in making the world seem alive and does a simulation of an economy which sort of works, but it has problems. The voice acting is wonderful though, featuring John Rhys Davis, Christopher Lee and a number of other, well known actors. This game also does a fantastic job of politics between fractions, giving you a sense that this world has depth and culture, the news feature in the planet bars help solidify and press the game deeper into creativity

Story and Atmosphere: 9/10

Now I bet a couple of you are scratching your heads in bewilderment and wondering why the heck I rated it so low and why I didn't mention the on line function. Well the two main problems of the game is the unfortunate lack of closure. The farther parts of the galaxy are desolate in comparison to the rest, which I learned that the company sold itself to Microsoft just to finish this game. I said finish, not complete. They could of made it much, much bigger, just in the sense that they need to make the further out place bigger or added more. That and the fact that the story severely limits you while not limiting your allies, so in the end, you feel out of place. And I didn't mention the on line function because I haven't played it and the few people I know who have gone on there have said that it isn't special.

By it or rent it? You may want to rent it if you want a quick space combat simulator, but if you like deep and intricate universes, you should considering buying it.

There be ye review.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/18/08

Game Release: Freelancer (US, 03/03/03)