Freespace 2

The Good
Freespace 2 takes size to a whole new level. The capital ships in this game are HUGE, and they have neat beam weapons that they use to cut eachother to pieces. There is also flak cannons on them, which makes big battle really intense to be a part of. The game has very good graphics, with highly detailed ships, colorful space backgrounds, and my favorite, thick and soupy nebulas that you must navigate through from time to time. It features voice acting from professional actors, and the storyline follows the progression of the war closely, you really feel a part of it. The sound in Freespace 2 is great as well, with strong EAX booming from your speakers during the larger battles. Hits rattle your cockpit and flak exploding outside your ship has to be heard to be believed. The music is equally absorbing, thrusting you into the moment. There are a large variety of missions, and the game is LONG. Some missions have you sneaking through a nebula with no radar trying to locate a missing ship while others are all out attacks on an enemy fleet. The flight model is what you would expect from a Wing Commander type Space sim, there's no newtonian physics here. Bottom line: Turn on EAX sound, crank up your 5.1 surround sound, turn up the detail and graphics and use a heavy force feedback stick and nothing else will compare.

The Bad
The larger battles can be a chaotic at times with so many ships on screen. You will sometimes find yourself frantically searching for buttons on your keyboard to target the next enemy or open communications. Some missions involve some degree of timing which can be frustrating. Otherwise, I see very few faults in Freespace 2

The Bottom Line
Freespace 2 is the sequel to Descent: Freespace which was originally an offshoot of the old Descent games. My how far they've come. Freespace 2 is a fantastic game. Great story, great graphics, perfect force-feedback, voice acting by famous actors, and huge sweeping battles between capital ships with fighters swarming all around. I love this game