Freelancer

Rating:
Summary: Fun for awhile!...7.5/10)
Review: Quick thoughts:

Single player mission is fun although about as linear as they come. There is no obvious way (feel free to correct me) to play single player without being involved in the "mission" or running your own server and connecting to it.

The game is fairly static in terms of economy, planets, bases and ships. Reminds me of the feeling I got playing Dungeon Siege. Very little depth to the non-mission aspects of the game beyond fighting battles, trading goods, exploring, and upgrading your ship.

Multiplayer games are organized and run like quake 3 servers. In theory dozens of people can join a server, depending on the settings. Most servers allow about 16 or less players to control lag. Controllable wingmen are not possible in the game, which is unbelievably [weak] -- even so, the single player missions have only "temporary" wingmen.

Unfortunately, the character you start and build on a particular multiplayer server is not transferrable to other servers. Since nearly all of the servers are player run, it's very likely you'll lose your character as gamers propagate into new games and stop playing this one. Also you cannot take your single player character into a multiplayer server.

Graphics are "par" for recent 3-D titles, some of the backgrounds are really nice, textures are realistic.

The main jewel in Freelancer's crown is the care that went into the voice acting and scenes in the single player mission. Minus a few glitches and some repetitiveness, this aspect alone lends a fresh feeling to a typically "dull" genre.

The mouse driven combat system is smooth and easy to learn, although my clicking muscles were out of shape from not playing Diablo 2 much, so I found myself feeling tired after a couple hours playing.

Overall: Fun, addictive at first -- although lack of game depth is a big minus, cheating is common (another big minus), universe is big and takes days to explore. I expected more: something along the lines of persistent state servers with dynamic economies, random encounters with a purpose, a larger variation in enemy AI, more variety in quests/missions, variations/bonuses in ship/pilot capabilities per your faction allegiance.

A truly fun space sim involves getting clobbered sometimes, and running away while on fire. Each "system" is geared toward a particular player level, so you're hard pressed to feel a challenge if you stay in a particular system for long.

My rating is a 7.5 out of 10 on a linear scale.

Rating:
Summary: Good form, bad flight
Review: Overall I liked the game. It is the same great type of space flight simulator that we have come to love from this production team. However this game has some detractors that made me put it down and walk away. The primary and most serious of these problems is the flight control. The game is controlled exclusively by mouse. There is not even an option for joystick flight. I think their intenet was to make the HUD interface better. I had a horrible time with flying and shooting and the targeting system was off as well. The voice acting (at least in the demo) was pretty deadpan and uninspiring. The graphics were ok but not any better than Privateer 2. The only good aspect was that the ganme seemed more open-ended thatn P2 and the universe was larger. I recommend getting Privateer instead, at least until they (I wish) come out with another Privateer game.

Rating:
Summary: I actually bought this game - It's a gem
Review: As my title suggests, I actually own this game, so my review does not talk about the demo, or about what a friend told me, or whatever <like so many of these reviews seems to do>.

The game does not use a joystick - all movements are with your mouse. So, only people who can use a mouse should consider buying this game. For some people, this seems to be an issue - I did not find it a problem.

Overall, this game is very fun and really drew me in with the storyline and intuitive gameplay. Freelancer mixes elements of a trading game, a space combate/sim game, and an RPG. The RPG sequences reminded me in an odd way of *real* oldies like "Burn Cycle" and "Angel Devoid", which were cinema-based sci-fi story games most people probably don't remember. Other reviewers have detailed the plot, so I won't bother - suffice to say that it did keep my interest and really added to the game.

The game has 2 places where it really shines - one is "atmosophere", which is hard to define. When playing, the user interface, game graphics and sound really create a sense of future tech and add to a suspension of disbelief that can make you forget how long you've been playing. The other area is the game's attempt to be a "jack of all trades" by combining elements of many different game genres. For me, this was a real succeess and rounded out the world-building done by the developers. Gamers looking for a hard-core space sim should avoid this game, but if you are looking for a space game experience that is broader - albeit not quite as deep - Freelancer is a really good find!

Rating:
Summary: Could have been, should have been, but utimately wasn't...
Review: I just finished this game hours ago. It has been a long time that I have actually played a game all the way through, but the plot managed to hold my interest, a rare thing indeed. I felt that the storyline in this game was excellent. Well Almost. Everything was good up until the ending, which was completely anticlimactic and made very little, if any, sense. That is my major complaint with the game. It is not my only complaint; it is however the only thing that was strong enough of a let-down that I feel as though I wasted my money.
I also felt that the control system was excellent; it allowed me to divert much of my attention to gaining victory over my opponents and not over the keyboard. Flight/space-sim orientated people may find it over simple and even ridiculous, but for me it was great.
The graphics were beautiful, and ran great even on my poor machine (Athlon 700, GeForce2, and 512 Mb). And the game ran flawlessly, except for the sound system would sometimes crash, but I think that is more a flaw with my ancient first-gen sblive! card. At least the QA department did its job for once.
This game touts itself as being open-ended, if only this were true. Yes you can do whatever jobs you like and you can choose to ignore the main plot and never turn back. Unfortunately you will never advance in level, will be locked out of the better equipment, and therefore will never be powerful enough to effectively leave the Liberty System in the game. Not that linear game play is a bad thing, but come on Microsoft, that's just false advertising. And they say that it is similar to a role-playing game, if that is so, where is the character development?
This game just feels unfinished. So much hype was built around it that was just rushed out to the public, when more time could have been used and polished this game into a true gem.
I give it three stars, fun to play but there are better ways to spend your fifty bucks.

Rating:
Summary: Some Things That Might Help You Out!
Review: This is an awsome Game. I would suggest that you get it buy it, and play it. The games strength is it's diversity. You can be a trader a pirate and it has infinite single player potential. I wish that some things could be changed for example if you could have a stockpile or a base on a planet to harbor ships. That would make it infinetely more fun. There are additions that could be made to the game that would make it more interesting. But it is still a great game. Some things that will help you out. One on the way gates you can do a fast dock by watching the lights. The green lights mean that this is the active waygate, red mean that it isn't the active waygate. Fly at top speed right towards the middle of the circular waygate with the green lights and right before you get to it (Make sure it is selected) hit F3 to dock or push the dock icon. This will make traveling through the dazzling universe a lot faster. This fast docking is also true with the planet gates and the different places to dock, it is just harder because you have to learn where exactly the docking area is and then get as close to it as possible. This can save you hours of game play. The dialouge with the missions is boring so to get to the good stuff early just hit your esc key and you can read the hints etc. I would suggest not rushing into the missions. You can take as long as you want exploring the universe and earning credits. I really love this game because it can be relaxing as well as intense. You can explore the beautiful universe or fight people, and pretty much do it at your whim and pleasure. To get to an in cockpit view hold down ctrl and press v. This isn't found in the manual so you have to learn it. So for those people that have this game and love it. I hope this helps you. For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about buy the game. I was frustrated with the multiplayer, you can't save your guy from one server to another, and because servers have a limit of how many people can play at a time it is hard to get into a public server so all the work you have done on your guy is lost. If this weren't the case then multiplayer would be awsome. I am sure the multiplayer is fun if you have a group of friends that do your own passworded server. Overall the game is addictive and a fun ride. Hope this helps.

Rating:
Summary: A Little Mislead
Review: I gave this 5 Stars because, heck, it is fun.. But I was a little mislead. Somewhere, I read that it was based on the adventures of Han Solo. Now, this guy's name is Trent.. Never mind..
Anyway, cool game. Looks great, runs great.. Easy to get lost in space, though. I'd recommend it to people of old school flight games.. even though the mouse flight is a little difficult to get used to.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful engine, fantastic combat...but where is the meat?
Review: I waited with sheer delight for this. The graphics are unprecedented and the developer has managed to recreate space perfectly. Ships, combat and ship handling are the best I have ever experienced in a space game like this. I'm afraid thats where it ends...

The names of places, storylines, the jobs you take on in free play and the things NPCs say to you are so unbelievably unoriginal I almost wept!

A planet called Manhattan!? And what is it with EVERYONE who seems to "not run the place but have an understanding with the people who do"?! By the 50th time someone said that to me I was in tears.

The story is quite literally totally linear. Its 2003 guys come on! The factions and the basis of the main plot are so clean like this game was made for a 4 year old (The only plot that really exists is the main plot as there are NO side quests only the dumb 'fly out and kill' jobs you pick up in the bar).

The free play jobs that you take on (most of which seem to go down in sector 2E or 4E) are all exactly the same with names and locations changed at best. This isnt free play its torture.

Its seems that so much effort was put in to creating the NPC's and interaction with them. In this day and age I was surprised at the simplicity of the characters and thier animations. There is obviously a system of building up relationships and reputations but after a while I lost interest in talking to NPCs as they seem totally underdeveloped. They all start off saying the same thing, so after talking to 30 or 40 NPCs the ears start to bleed like you've been listening to a broken record playing the same chorus over and over again. The rumor mill is sheer tedium and many tell you the same thing anyway so its a real effort to find good info. Oh and none of the rumours relate to side quests or side jobs (as far as I can tell) seeing as there are no side quests and free play jobs far too simple. They relate to the main quest only or nothing turning it into a 'point and click B movie' rather than a 'GAME'.

If you are a space game freak, buy it. Otherwise save your money, better is on the way.

Rating:
Summary: Missing one vital feature: Character!!
Review: For those of you out there who played (and loved) 'Privateer' with the speech pack, Freelancer will be a disappointment. Despite it's positive features, such as fluent gameplay and an expansive universe (to name a couple), Freelancer is missing the humour and 'homely-feel', if you will, of it's antecedent.

In Privateer, you would encounter Retros who yelled "heathen taste riteous fire!", pirates with Texan accents ("this crate's about to explode!"), Kilrathi, confeds, bounty hunters, militia and aliens. Even better, you could communicate with them. You could ask them how they were or if they needed help; or you could insult them, provoking them into a fight or persuading them not to attack you. This feature added enormously to the feel of Privateer - it truly felt as if you were part of a rich environment.

Conversely, Freelancer lacks this option entirely. Enemies are faceless and numerous. 'Rogues' are simply that - rogues. They have no discernible character. In fact, it's the same with all enemies in the game. This makes each journey into space something of a bore. It's just a matter of take off, fly to the way-point, take out the enemies, etc. etc.

Worse still, the in-game cinematics are perhaps the dullest cutscenes ever made. 'Trent', the Freelancer you play, is as boring as he is monotone. The rest of the characters are as well. In Freelancer's future, personality apparantly has devolved out of humanity entirely. In Privateer, you would meet interesting characters with whom an interplay would develop. There was a spark about the repartee.

Despite how pedantic all this may sound (I too would be skeptical of a criticism of a game that's based entirely on character), it's incredible how much the game suffers as a result. Other reviews will tell you the game is well made, looks good, feels good, and plays well. It is all these things, without a doubt. But when you enter the world of Freelancer, you enter an entirely functional, and dull, gaming environment.

Rating:
Summary: Had some potential... but...
Review: I've been playing space combat/trade games back when people were logging onto local BBS's to play Trade Wars. The last one I played was X-Beyond the Frontier. It brought me back to the days of Tradewars again, but needed a bit more. I was playing Freespace1/2 at the time too, so I knew there could be more depth to the controls over the ships. I figured Freelancer would continue the tradition and have a sprinkle of Freespace and X-bTF mixed in together.

Well, it wasn't. So I'll just start off with the bad then get to the good. If it this game was trying to be more of a space sim, they could have tweaked the way the shields and hull repairs are used. They feel much like Diablo's potions : "Gulp! All my hull is repaired!" and "Gulp! My Shields are back at full!" - Which just the shields would be a bit believable for a space sim. Would have been nice to take energy from your weapons and put them into shields so they would remain strong for when you're being overwhelmed. Not to mention having to adjust the side at which you'd want the most power of the shields goto when you're running away from the fight a little.

Now there's the gameplay. It feels too much like an arcade/console game. You just have to put the mouse cursor when you're flying over the crosshairs and you'll hit their ship everytime if you have some quick reflexes. But that's if you can see the crosshairs with all the text being overlaid and the space backgrounds as you're flying. It also looks as if the game could be quickly ported to the X-box or any other console that has analog sticks on their controller.

Then there's the prices of the items you could trade. I have yet to see the prices change at all while I'm trading. I traded enough Engine parts and Diamonds back and forth to NEVER see the price change. Which for a static economy is fine, but the economy should never be static.

Ok. Onto the good. The graphics, even if the game's 5 years in the making, looks just as good as if it had came out 2 years, Which was the original release year. The point to point waypoint mapping from system to system is very intuitive and a breeze to use. Makes those long 30 waypoint trades alot easier to have a target path.

I would have to say, if you're new to the world of space combat/trading, then I would suggest you pick up Freelancer. But I would tell anyone to wait for the next games coming out that will make the genre even more rich. Like Eve-Online (MMORPG/FPS) and X2-The Threat (X-BTF 2).

Rating:
Summary: Freelancer
Review: Reviewer: Vudine from Colorado
Visually, this game is extremely good. However, I kept experiencing game crashes, even after I followed Microsoft's advice about disabling all programs prior to playing the game. To avoid this, I finally ended up saving the game after visiting every station.

To say the least, I found the game to be very frustrating. Unlike Earth & Beyond, you cannot decide whether you want to be a Merchant, Looter, etc. even though the web site claims you can and the manual implys this is possible. No, you end up having to accept combat assignments if you want to advance, so don't bother buying a freighter at the beginning of the game even if you do want to be a merchant. You finally have to accept a combat mission that the main NPC claims is only "moderately" difficult. It's not moderately difficult, it's extremely difficult. In the second stage of this mission, there are only 2 "good guys", you and LT King, and there are probably 7 or 8 bad guys. It doesn't matter how many times you shoot a bad guy, they are very, very difficult to destroy. You can shoot for only about five seconds max before your ship shield level is destroyed, so you are constanly flying away from the combat in order to restore your shield level. In addition, this combat takes place in an debris field, so not only do you have to watch out for the bad guys, you need to watch out for the space junk. If you hit one, it can consume half your shield protection. After about 10 defeats in a row, I said the heck with it. In addition, the game doesn't offer optional levels of difficulty, it has just one: "Very, Very hard".

From now I'll stick to my existing sims.

Microsoft games have a big time problem with their games crashing, and this one is no exception. I am not saying this to be spiteful; go to the Microsoft Intenret site and see for yourself. Individually, I would rate this game a 4 for graphics and sound, 1 for reliability, and 1 for game play. The bottom line is that I made a mistake buying this game.