Freelancer

"Elite meets X-Wing: Great but flawed"

Introduction:

The modern Elite seems to be the holy grail of space simulation. There have been many amateur attempts that fade out over time. Earth & Beyond promised it in a massively multiplayer arena, but the promise never came true. And then there's Freelancer: the original ambitions were vast; it was going to be the modern Elite: with a deep story AND multiplayer. But over the long (5 year) development period, the leadership changes have meant features have been dropped like flies, and ambitions scaled back. What remains is a beautifully crafted universe that contains so much potential, but falls just short of gaming greatness.

Story/Background:

A sequel to the distinctly average Starlancer, the games introduction sequence sets the backdrop for the space system you will be playing in: after a large scale war, ''sleeper ships'' from 5 colonies who were on the losing side of the war are sent out into the universe in an effort to escape and start afresh. Where you start, the colonies have all grown and flourished and doing well; but mysterious ships uncloak themselves to destroy a space station.

From these very opening sequences right until the end, the story keeps you hooked: it may not be the most original or complex of stories; it's a typical sci-fi plot with only a few twists, but the characters and the world your in all help in creating a great atmosphere.

Controls:

There were a small uproar over Digital Anvils choice to not allow joysticks in any form, instead forcing you to use its own unique method of control with the mouse. And it works perfectly. Left click, and the further away the mouse pointer is from the centre of the screen, the faster you will turn that way. Press space bar and you don’t need to left click to steer, leaving you to just move and fire with the right mouse button. A great leap from the old days of Lucasarts' X-Wing series where you're arms hurt after half an hour of playing do to having to constantly move the mouse around. While one hand is on the mouse, the other is on the keyboard around the W,A,S,D keys: which provides movement similar to in First Person Shooters such as Quake.

The user interface is amazingly intuitive and useful: all the battle information regarding weaponry, shielding and targeting is clear but not intrusive, while buttons along the top provide quick access to all the information you could ever need: nothing is more than a few mouse clicks away.

Visual:

I can't say I'm amazingly blown away by the looks of the game, but everything looks right. The systems and planets are all unique, with a nice visual variety in the ships as well. Unfortunately there aren't the absolutely huge battleships we were first promised, and the space stations do look a bit small and samey after a while: but they still do their job. Nice touches include the asteroid fields and gas clouds, though the former does suffer sever popups with asteroids appearing from nowhere, even on full detail. The cut-scenes are also done using the in game engine, and they look very good, if not brilliant. The cut-scenes are constructed well: characters don’t just sit around while one person drinks, characters may look at each other and shrug, or one may pour a drink and offer it round, which all helps give the game a soul and character.

Audio:

Audio wise, there are fair amounts of problems experience from people. From not getting any in game sound at all, to it suddenly skipping in game, or it being choppy: I've experienced it all, and it is a pain to get it all working again, though some useful advice is included in the read me. One your able to hear the sound, however, you will be grateful that you went to all the effort. The voice acting is generally done well, with all the voices matching the characters. There is also general chatter over the radio when in space: from police talking to other ships asking to scan cargo, to enemies talking to each other. However, this chatter can get repetitive, and is generic: whether the ship is Japanese or German, they will all chatter in the good old American accent. It helps with the atmosphere however, as does the music. It won't be a soundtrack you'll want to buy and listen to again and again, but the music suits the mood. There is a great sense of expectation and excitement as your cruising to a location when slightly sinister music starts to play in the background. Sound effects are the general kind, and don't stand out in either a good or bad way.

Gameplay:

The most important thing is of course gameplay, but with a game like Freelancer this needs to be split up into two sections. You have the single player structured storyline with the missions is contains, and then after that (and during at certain times) the Freelancer section: which is also what the multiplayer is all about

Storyline in single player:
As mentioned, the storyline is quite engrossing, and keeps you going throughout the game. It is paced very well, from a very easy first mission that you can't really lose, to large scale battles with plenty of fighters on both sides, and it lasts a fair amount of time too: taking most people around 17-18 hours to complete. There are 13 missions in the storyline: but these are split up into several objectives themselves. Some will be completed quite quickly and easily, while others are a tough nut to crack, requiring you to change your tactics and have another go. The missions are quite varied and keep you interested; of course its all going to involve shooting and killing: but the situations keep you on your toes. One moment you may be attacking and in the heat of the battle, and the next moment you have to make an escape as quick as you can. In this respect it often reminds me of the X-Wing series again, but nothing can beat the variety of missions that these classic games throw at you.

As missions go by, you will earn money that can be used to buy new ships or upgrade your current ship in a variety of ways. As long as your not stupid with your money, keeping your ship competitive for the fights is never a worry which is good to know, and keeps a good sense of progression (though I don't like how the last missions just throw a cheap but brilliant ship in your direction with brilliant and cheap weapons as well).

There are flaws in the battle system unfortunately: It seems as if you are the centre of attention all of the time. You may have 4 wingmen, but the enemy will always target you: and you have to do pretty much all the objectives. This somewhat dispels the sense of being part of a bigger picture: its made clear that YOU are the player so YOU will be the one that gets everything. And again, X-Wing is better in this department: I remember once just flying away when I kept dying in a mission and let the wingmen clear things up for a while. No change of that here.

Freelancing in single player / multi-player:
How much you enjoy this will vary from person to person, and how much you enjoy exploring and levelling up you and your ship in an RPG like fashion. There are ''randomly generated'' missions in pretty much every planet / space station that you can dock at, though in reality the randomness is just the location and difficulty. There are only a few types of mission that are actually generated: Either killing ships in an area: destroying an item in an area or destroying a certain persons ship and bringing them back. Doing these missions soon get very very repetitive: there’s none of the variety of the single player storyline missions: and as such lets down the game.

Another option is to become a trader: however this aspect of the game although rewarding in terms of money to be gained, is very unrealistic. The prices for items stay the same everywhere: there are no fluctuating economies to contend with, and it will quickly become apparent that the best way to earn money will be to repeat the same profitable trade route over and over. It is amazing how a game like Elite that is so old can still beat modern competitors.

Of course, pirates trying to steal your cargo will always keep you on your toes, and this is part of the strengths of the game. You can be whatever you want. You can join a multiplayer game, and team up with someone to become a pirate yourself: targeting undefended transport ships, looting the cargo then making a getaway from the police. And of course, with a large amount of different groups: doing one thing for one group will make a different group like you less. It's near impossible to get everyone to like you unless you spend a fortune on bribes, and very easy to become an enemy to everyone. And with so much space to explore (just to visit each system in the game will take a good few hours, let alone explore each one), and different groups controlling each section, there's a lot to do. But exploring like this isn't something everyone will enjoy, since to explore everywhere you will need great ships, and to get great ships you need to do the more boring things to earn money.

Conclusion:

The game is worth the money alone just for the single player storyline. A lot of games struggle to last for 10 hours these days, let alone a guaranteed 18. And if you love exploring, or the idea of going online and playing with others, then the play time could potentially go into the 100’s of hours of fun. It doesn't quite have the mission based variety and sense of being a part of a larger battle that the X-Wing series have, and I doubt anything can beat the freeform nature and exploration that Elite has, but Freelancer since nicely in between.

Final Score: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/03, Updated 04/09/03