Privateer 2: The Darkening

aka: The Darkening
Moby ID: 363
DOS Specs

Description official descriptions

Privateer 2: The Darkening is a follow-up to Wing Commander: Privateer. The player takes control of Ser Lev Arris, who is searching to regain his identity and memory. Like its predecessors, the game combines space combat simulation with exploration and trading. Along the way, the player can trade commodities, go on missions, attack strange mutants, rescue damsels in distress, meet weird characters, and visit unusual planets. It is possible to hire wingmen and cargo ships, as well as upgrade the current ship or buy new ones. Live-action movies advance the story.

Spellings

  • 银河私掠者2:黑暗之渊 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (DOS version)

262 People (253 developers, 9 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 17 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 65 ratings with 10 reviews)

Space shooter with a story

The Good
This game has a very good and involving story. Once started you just have to finish the game to know what'll happen. If you don't like the story or have finished the main-plot, you can just fly on and on, it never stops, that was the original strength of Privateer 1 and is the main reason why you'll never get bored with this game.

The Bad
The original version had a lot of terrible bugs. To make it even worse, even the savegame system was buggy, so once it went wrong, there was a big chance that even your savegames couldn't help you. There's a bug fix available, so that shouldn't be a problem any more, however, the game is completely unplayable on a Pentium II or higher, the spacefight is just way to fast.

The Bottom Line
If you like space shooters, this is a must have. If you don't like them, this might be the game that changes your opinion.

DOS · by Baxter (37) · 1999

For you to like this game you have to forget that this is a sequel and treat it as a totaly different product.

The Good
Great plot, large universe to play in and easy controls. I didnt like the idea of cargo ships at first but after a while it grows on you. Now i doubt that I would want to go back to the old way.

The Bad
The bad parts of this game are all well covered by the other reviews. And mostly I agree with the many problems that Privateer II has. However I do not think it is fair to totaly hate this game. Yes the designers went way off track with this title and yes they made parts of the game that were so great in the other game, terrible in this one. But for me when I started to play this game I fell in love with the story line. So what I did was treat this as a brand new title and didnt compare it to Privateer. At first I was angry that this had little to do with the orginal. But after you spend your allotment of cash (for single guys when you are married you go back to the allowence system again) you try to make do with what you got. (note: I could not return it) When the game was over I didnt think it was a great great game, but I though it had a place in my top 50 of all time. However I can totaly understand why Privateer fans hate this game with a passion. I can because I am a avid Privateer fan and when I started this game, like I said before I was ticked off.

The Bottom Line
To non privateer players give it a try just remember that the orginal is TOTALY different. To privateer fans if you cant seperate the two games dont bother.

DOS · by William Shawn McDonie (1131) · 2001

Decent space trade/combat sim with decent FMV

The Good
For once, a full motion video game with decent actors. You've got John Hurt from Alien, Jürgen Prochnow from das Boot and even Christopher Walken. It's got a nice range of ships and weaponry (except perhaps for the Nuke'Em device which is a bit of an overkill) and an interesting plot-line.

The Bad
The game is not completely free of bugs, sometimes escort missions are virtually impossible to carry out and you run the risk of gnawing your own leg off in frustration before you manage to actually get it right. Also, the sound engineering/leveling is off the scale, it's often hard to hear what people in the game are saying because there's just too much background noise/music.

The Bottom Line
If you're into either space sims or full motion video, this game is something you should try to get hold of.

DOS · by mobster_lobster (24) · 2003

[ View all 10 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Will editing money make you skip side quests? Kreshna Aryaguna Aug 15, 2012

Trivia

For as much of a new game as it is, there is at least one nod to the original Privateer in the sequel. There's a random mission in which you have to approach and identify a derelict starfighter. Nothing major, but upon contact with the ship you'll see that it's a 3d-rendered version of the Talon, the singlemost common ship in the original Privateer. Look for it in the manual also.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Raphael.

Windows added by Reptil3.

Additional contributors: Zovni, Silverblade, CaesarZX, SGruber.

Game added November 2, 1999. Last modified March 26, 2024.