Freelancer

The Good
First of all I was a big fan of the old Privateer games so when I heard this game was supposed to be a Privateer remake I was pumped. If you haven’t played Privateer it’s basically a game where you can go anywhere do anything and be anybody. The storyline only progressed as you wanted it to so you (the player) had complete control. That kind of freedom of gameplay coupled with excellent controls, hard hitting gameplay, and a decent plot made Privateer one of the greatest games of all time..

Like Privateer this game has the same type of elements and potential, you can try running cargo, being a merc or just following the storyline. (a bit more on this later) Basically the core of this game is just like Privateer. Your fun comes from earning new weapons, ships and seeing new sights.

Speaking of sights, the visuals in some parts of the game were jaw dropping. A few times I just stopped playing to feast my eyes on some of the greatest visuals ever. The vastness of space is fairly well represented but only to the point where you begin to notice it. At that point the jump gates, wormholes speed up the travel portion so it doesn’t interfere with game flow.

Battles are fun and enjoyable and easy to learn using a mouse which was unique for a traditional flight sim.

The storyline is what I would say is good not great but decent. I think I have to wait for the bad area to explain more.

Replayability is fair to good, with some mods you can really expand the game a lot so I would say you get your money's worth after the plot is finished.

The Bad
With out a doubt this game falls into the category of "should have could have but didn’t". I know from reading a few articles about the game that the designers had much more intended for this game but were overruled to create a game where more casual gamers could enjoy. In my opinion this is evident in many areas of the game and it in my eyes takes a potential hall of fame game to an ok forgettable game.

1. Economics - The designers had intended to make this dynamic so that a player who wanted to be a merchant instead of a killer had a very in-depth game element. Instead Microsoft dumbed it down and made it very basic.

2. People interactions - This one is huge and takes so much fun out of this game. When designed the game was supposed to have hundreds of interactive folks you would deal with in game. They were supposed to be able to enhance the ambiance of the setting and change as your rep changed. They were also supposed to have original dialog and different voices. Instead all the characters on all the planets and stations say basically the same exact things, sound all-alike and look all alike. You heard one person talk to you on one planet you have heard them all. A total waste of a great possibility, in privateer the ambiance of each town and station made it unique and interesting. You WANTED to visit it just to see it, in this game the only reason you go anywhere is for the money making or plot advancement purposes. Had this one area been allowed to be completed it would have in my opinion raised the score of the game by 20 points.

3. Dude someone stole my flight controller. - So you design a hard-core space flight game and then say you want to encourage casual gamers by having mouse control. Ok I can live with that, but what in heck was Microsoft thinking not even supporting a flight stick! It’s all part of the experience; you use a flight stick so you feel like you are really a pilot. Somehow the mouse doesn’t quite make it feel that way. What a total joke and rip off, what makes this even worse is it comes from the very same company that sells the force feedback flight sticks for over 100 bucks and then doesn’t support it in a major flight title!

4. Freedom from the plot - Remember what I said about Privateer being a free game where you could follow the plot when you choose to?. Well in this game that just isn’t so, you are purposely limited to small areas of the game world during each part of the game. This is determined by the plot, which you are basically forced to follow. The same freedom you had in privateer just isn't the same in this game. Way too linear.

5. Lack of depth - Once you eliminate the story line and a few small areas of the game its basically rather boring. What made the privateer world interesting was its diversity in people, places, missions, and challenges. While on the surface Freelancer has all the trappings of this diversity in practice it doesn’t. Because of the dialog issues with characters and the lack of interesting side story’s it makes your non story line missions get boring after the first few missions.

6. Expandability - The game is in a serious need of an expansion pack. More systems, more ships, more challenges and for heavens sake better dialog for characters.

7. Plot - Frankly in some ways this game had a better plot or I should say a larger plot than privateer. However it isn't enough to carry this game alone. The whole idea of a "freelancer" is to be free and have complete control. Tying down the plot and forcing you to play it kind of kills the whole concept and makes you resent the plot instead of enjoying it.
   
   The Bottom Line
   Now that 4 years have passed clearly you aren’t going to pay 49.99 for this title now. For 10 bucks this game is definitely worth the price. Just keep in mind it never lived up to its promise and remember to go look for player made mods to make it fun after you beat it.

The Good
The controls for the ships were one of the best parts of this game. To make a real-time space game easily be controlled without a joystick is not a simple task, yet that's exactly what this game does. I love to use a joystick, but this game had great controls without needing the joystick and that really helped. There aren't too many space sims out there that have good controls... and this is one of the top.

Graphics in the game were also very nice, though they could use some work in various areas. The fact that you can fly through a planet's rings is a first (as far as I know) in space games. Usually the rings are part of the background.

The missions themselves were very nicely done as well, though there were too few.

The Bad
The thing I disliked most in the game, and the reason I went from playing constantly to rarely touching the game almost instantly was the ending of the story. The story just stops and leaves you hanging. Perhaps there is meant to be a sequel or an expansion... if so, great! However, the ending of the story could have been handled better.

The game was too linear for what it was supposed to be. Sure, once the "game" ends, it is no longer linear and you can do anything you want. But for the main part of the game, it is very linear. In a game that is supposed to be so open, the game should allow you to start out and act in whatever manner you want and follow that in the story. For example, the advertising on the game says you can be a pirate and prey on unsuspecting ships. That's great.... but until you finish the story, you really can't choose that option. The same for if you want to be a trader... or anything other than a mercenary.

Multiplayer also could use work... Unless the server you are playing on stays running, you always start out at level 1. This makes advancing to high levels difficult unless you're playing on a stable server.

Also, for a game like this, I would expect most things to be destructible. After finishing the story, I wanted to act like a pirate and really go after the big stuff. First target I chose... a pirate base. I easily defeated their fighters (even the wave after wave that just come out of nowhere... which is unrealistic). But the base turns out to be totally invincible. What a let-down. The same goes for all bases and major ships other than mission-based ships. No taking out battleships in the game unless you're in a mission where there are battleships you can take out. Granted, that's not an easy target... but neither are the SDs and SSDs in the TIE Fighter/Xwing series of games and you could take them out if you were good at avoiding being hit.

The Bottom Line
This is a great game to play if you like Space sims. You will love the game until you finish the story and then you'll feel cheated. This game starts out as a great game with great potential, but it really feels like it was supposed to be completed at a certain time and they ran out of time, so they just threw together what was completed and sold it as-is.

The Good
Graphics were very nice and very detailed. Controls were extremely polished. Simple, yet functional and fit the game very well (not too many functions to memorize makes it easy to master). Being able to fight and trade for money and buy better ships/weapons is great, and this game allows it (to some extent). The universe is big and well-crafted.

The Bad
For the kind of game it set out to be it's way too linear. Being tied to the storyline means the game chooses when to upgrade your ship (you have to travel to certain systems and planets, and can't go back. And if you don't buy a specific kind of fighter the missions become impossible to pass). All the way, even when you're set free from the storyline after completing the final mission, the game suffers from a felling of "been there, done that", only the ships and weapons change names and get more expensive. There is no "aspiring for the dream-machine" in this one, and it takes out all the magic from it. Storyline is not good, yet well executed. But character interaction is ridiculous (again, suffering from the same problems as before).

The Bottom Line
Do not confuse this one with a Privateer-clone. It is a space simulation with a "freelancing" excuse. Look for other Privateer titles or a copy of Nomad, if trading and open-ended play is what you're looking for.

The Good
I like the graphics and the film-noir feel of the game. The acting is a little overdone, but I also think that's part of its charm.

The Bad
Like the above reviewers point out, the game plays out in a linear fashion, which I (and apparently everyone else) feel is not how such a game should work.

After a few failures and re-starts (and a couple of PC failures), I got tired of watching the very familiar cut-scenes. I still haven't yet found a way to avoid them.

As a space fighter pilot, I'm pretty lame. So I would have preferred to trade my way to success. But that really just isn't do-able in this game, is it? I thought there were other options, but there aren't... so I haven't even finished the game. I just keep getting killed off.

I have a love-hate thing with making outer space look like a US road atlas. Yeah, it's kinda cool to know what sort of place you are going to... The Colorado system, the California system, the New York system. But then again, what the heck? Couldn't outer space be a little more alien, and a little less like driving across Interstate 70, for crying out loud?

The Bottom Line
Space shooter meets the US interstate highway system. The asphalt isn't as bumpy in the game.

The Good
Freelancer shines in the area of space battle and storyline. Playing Freelancer in multiplayer is a definite rewarding experience, it's not just about the best equipment, it really does come down to who is a better pilot.

The storyline was very well done, albeit a bit short. You have to reach a certain level before the next story mission will open up, so you are forced to run missions from bar patrons, and other personalities. These missions are HIGHLY repetitious. Even the conversations seem to be on a random generator of about 20 different sayings.

The game is pretty to look at, and the ship graphics still hold up at this late date. While it's certainly no longer pushing the cutting edge of graphics, it still holds up quite nicely.

I must admit that a lot of my good will towards this game, comes from its VERY strong similarity to Wing Commander: Privateer. One of my favorite games of all time.

I always end up coming back to Freelancer though, to get my "space" on. It is my favorite game for traveling through space and blowing things up.

The Bad
The non story-line missions are highly repetitious, and the conversations in the game have little variance. Although not important to most people, this game will not work in Linux (wine or cedega), no matter how hard I try. I hope someone proves me wrong some day. As it is a Microsoft game I won't hold my breath.

The Bottom Line
A very decent space simulation, that is pretty to look at and fun to play. The drawbacks don't completely overshadow the gameplay. If you are one who sticks to the storyline you will enjoy this game immensely, but if you are playing the game for the "freelancing" you will be mildly disappointed.

The Good
The control of this game is flawless! Never have I had so much control with my fighter. The game's graphics are not top-notch, but they get the point through. The coolest thing is that there is basically an endless opportunity of things to do within the game. The RPG/Space-Combat touch is real nice, and the performance of the game is wonderful. Voice-acting is accurate, and the game itself is just a joy to explore. (FYI: Hot-keys are plentiful)

The Bad
The sounds and music could use work, and that means a lot. The story may seem linear to some, personally it did to me, but there are many more things to do than the average "missions". The trouble of travelling through "trade gates" gets tired after a while, but the occasional "firefight" pops up here and there. The final flaw of this game is the shortness. It may seem endless, but it all comes to an end before you realize you wanted to do some "off-the-subject" gaming.

The Bottom Line
Overall, this game is absolutely a must-buy. Fans of space-combats, simulations, first-person shooters, and RPGs will certainly enjoy what this game has to offer. Take your time in the game and explore what the developers made for you. This is truly a work of art. Go out and get Freelancer and start blasting rogues today!

The Good
De nombreux systèmes et région avec leur propre politique, une histoire suffisamment intéressante et original et une bande son honnête.

The Bad
Le gameplay "full mouse" est rébarbatif au fil de temps, peu même devenir douloureux et poser problème. Impossible de jouer au gamepad ou au joystick (alors qu'une sortie sur la xBox était prévu !) et sans trop m'étayer sur ces sujets, le commerce est intéressant mais manque d'économie en temps réel (limite d'unité à vendre, stock trop important...) alors que même Elite de 1985 incluait ce concept (!) et les combats sont intéressant mais le ciblage de sub-systems (réacteur, armes...) est rarement utile. L'exploration elle aussi intéressante mais les bonnes trouvailles sont rare. Quand au multijoueurs, le manque de contenu adapté à une jouabilité multijoueurs prolongé le rend chronophage (ont devient puissant trop vite) et seul le PvP garde l'intérêt de ce mode.

The Bottom Line
Malgré que le jeu soit intéressant et pleins de bonnes intentions, il aura fallu des mods développé par la communauté pour le garder encore un minimum actif jusqu'à nos jours. Je recommande particulièrement le mod Discovery qui use du contenu original et non utilisé en plus d'apporter du nouveau contenu parfaitement en raccord avec le jeu de base et le rend beaucoup plus intéressant en solo et en multijoueurs.

The Good
The graphics on this game are pretty good. Each system that you go to is unique, and there are many different types of missions to take on. The story missions can be long, but are never really hard. The totally unique thing about this game is that they didn't copy ships or forms of transportation from Star Trek or Star Wars like several space games have. They created everything from scratch, so it makes everything more believable.

The Bad
This isn't as opened-ended as the box leads you to believe. You can't join any groups, and the worlds just have five places to go. You can't walk around the streets or anything. Also after you beat the game, there is really nothing left to do. Your only choice is to go from system to system taking on random missions over and over again. There are also some cuss words in here that really didn't help the game at all.

The Bottom Line
This is a good sci - fi game, but not totally open ended. If you find it for twenty bucks buy it, but otherwise don't waste your money.

The Good
Not much I liked about it - the storyline was pretty good if typical - government abducted by aliens and sinister plot, but I liked it anyhow. Music was up to date also, can not say same about graphics at all times, but they were at least decent....

The Bad
Horrible experience for me. I expected something like Privateer reborn, but instead got more or less shooter, and on top of it - one you dont even require joystick to play with, so it feels like one of the free windows all-mouse games. Missions are way WAY too repetitive, only 3 kind exist - kill someone, destroy ship and capture escape capsule or kill all alltogether. I am talking about the random missions of course, 13 plot missions are fine - but 13 is such short number. People in bars talk in same sentences (and voices) - there is abundance of weapons, but unlike in Privateer where you could just feel difference between shooting laser and tachyon cannons, they feel all same. Even ships are same, with only difference that larger ships are making mouse slightly more clumsy to turn around, creation illusion of bulky ships. Its an Earth and Beyond, stripped down and called Freelancer and just like Earth and Beyond it gets very boring after relatively short time.

The Bottom Line
If you are old Privateer fan like me, dont get this one, better to dig out two old Privateer games or Elite ones, or even X-tension (or what was its name) or at least decent space shooter that doesnt pretend to be Privateer reborn. No hard feelings, Microsoft, but trying appease everyone in crowd never really worked out fine.