Freelancer

I bought this game on eBay having heard that it was a similar game to Elite. The gameplay is indeed very similar, and is very addictive. Once I'd played it a couple of times, I immediately went back on eBay and bought copies for all my kids so they could join in the fun too.... I have played this game right through and the storyline makes it feel as if you are actually in a movie, it's brilliant. If you have trouble feeling free to explore because of the restrictive nature of the storyline in the single-player game, simply set up a Freelancer server on your own PC (easy to do and the software is included) and play to your heart's content. There are still a huge number of Freelancer servers on the Internet, so multiplayer is no problem and is not all that threatening, because you don't often meant other players unless you want to. So go get a copy of this game, learn it by playing the single-player campaign, then set up an online presence and enjoy yourself. The depth of this game is staggering, with huge systems to explore and wrecks to find, as well as all sorts of other things to discover - hidden planets, wormholes, secret bases, the list is nearly endless. Fantastic game and especially as you can get it for a couple of quid on eBay. Get one with the full written manual if you can (blue box, not Xplosiv red box), it's loads better!

This is one of the Chris Roberts titles, he's the same designer behind the Privateer/Wing Commander Series. Not only is Chris Roberts quite the visionary but he's also one of the few people that still makes offerings into the non-linear Space RPG genre.

Freelancer is the sequel to Starlancer, both of which were sequels (in spirit) to the Privateer/Wing Commander series. The game starts off with an intriguing story that just pulls you in. From the beginning you're free to do missions, explore (which the game rewards via hidden bases, planets, jump holes, mining, and abandoned ships etc.) and you can land on almost every ship/base/outpost/planet/etc. in the game. When you land somewhere you're free to purchase ships, many different kinds of commodities for trading, take on jobs, talk in the bar, read the news, buy equipment etc.

Thats just a brief summary of all the good things this game has to offer. Now onto the bad. The story, while excellent, begins to go downhill about half way through. It feels rushed and the ending was a bit cliché. The first half is definitely the most intriguing. Some features weren't completed as designed and you can tell that the team was probably pressured to ship despite the loose ends. Namely the reputation system, the minor character cut scenes and dialogue, and non storyline jobs. The minor character cut scenes (talking to people in the bar) gets very repetitive, I would have liked to see a feature that lets you skip those and get right to the text of what they have to say. The reputation system works in relation to the story however it's importance after that dwindles..part of it ties into your ability to take on missions after you complete the story. The missions you're able to take are all exactly the same. They are basically combat missions with the names changed. I would have liked to have seen exploration, shipping, spying/espionage, investigative, scientific, and other types of diverse missions. It would have added much more to the re-playability of this already re-playable game. Because you're limited on the types of jobs you can take, you tend not to care about your reputation hence the fun kind of ends. It would have also been cool if you could buy you're own base or something along those lines which would have added to re-playability.

Despite it's shortcomings, which become obvious during game play, this title is still very much excellent and if you're into space at all you'll enjoy this one. It's definitely immersive. Hopefully Chris Roberts won't give up, because only he has the vision to combine next generation features with Hollywood quality storytelling and cinematics.

This is a great game! Okay perhaps it didn't have some of the features it was meant to have but Digital Anvil have still come up with a good game. There is a certain similarity to Elite(you can trade, pick up weapons and cargo off destroyed ships, go on missions)however this game features a heavily scripted mission. It is a great mission. The control system is different it uses the mouse! You basically fly you spaceship around a system and work your way up! The game features some pretty good graphics even through it was made in 2003. It should run well on even a modestly specified PC. The story features some great voice acting from John Rhys Davies, George Takei, Jennifer Hale(she appears in every computer game). Stick with the story it gets better and better as it goes on. There is even a race section, where you and an opponent have to race your spaceships around a course(it involves you going through rings). This section took me a while to beat. It adds variety to the game. Some sections are a little tough here and there but overall you can beat this game. The game has an active mod scene on the Net. Pick up some mods to extend the game. I haven't played any of the mods yet.

Sadly a sequel to this was cancelled, a shame!

Freelancer is the greatest game that never was. Chris Roberts original idea was for a huge fully dynamic universe were your actions could in one system could affect another system eg pirating all the gold going to New Berlin thus increasing the price of gold on New Berlin. Unfortunately after microsoft bought digital anvil in order to get its hands on freelancer they became impatience with Roberts and sacked him his number 2 took over and sped up production abandoning alot of the stuff that should have been in the game, Scripted sub missions, subplots, upgrades to the sensors, the ability to actually join a group rather than just freelancer, and most importantly the ability to actually affect the universe in any real way. However it is a good game just not what it should have been. they laid the foundations of a mansion but only built a terrace on top. a missed opportunity. lets hope they make a wing commander 6

While there certainly are aspects that can be improved on in Freelancer, that can be said about any game.

First off, it should be noted, Freelancer does not support a joystick even though you are flying a spaceship. All movements are supported through keyboard and mouse. While this can take a little getting used to, you are free to remap your controls to suit your style. I feel the use of mouse controls allows for greater accuracy, although some people may disagree. The game does give you the choice of flying via 3rd person view or 1st person view. I find 1st person view to be more enjoyable, and you'll find that the sounds from the ship are more distinct in this view.

One of the mistakes I think some people make is trying to 'rush' through the story in the game. I believe that the faster you try and rush the story, the less satisfying it will be. This game is designed to be peeled open like the layers of an onion. It's meant to be explored and enjoyed. Think of it like a cross between a flight simulator and a combat flight simulator. The extent of combat you face can often be dictated by your choices. Take time to explore.

Although there is no 'skill' setting, you can impact the difficulty by the choices you make. Some lasers fire at a fast speed, but do low damage, good for a player that isn't that good a shot since they can fire more often without running out of energy. Alternately, you can choose a low speed/high damage laser, but if you miss too many shots you'll find your batteries drained before your enemy has been killed.

You can also choose to play as an 'enemy of the state' by befriending outlaws and attacking law enforcement. Since the major routes are primarily controlled by legitimate agencies, a life of crime will mean more fights with the law and a greater need to find 'back routes' between locations.

Missiles are also an option in your load-outs, but this too will impact the game's pace. If you choose to use missiles, the game will progress slower because you will be spending money to restock them after a fight. If you want a 'faster' story progression, choose a load-out that sticks to energy weapons.

Overall I found the graphics to be stunning, and considering that this game was released in 2003, CPUs and video cards will render beautifully even at higher settings.

They certainly didn't skimp on voice talent, as there are many well known actors that do voice work in the game. Here's a short list of some you may recognize:

Christopher Lee - Lord of the Rings (Saruman) | John Rhys-Davies – Lord of the Rings (Gimli) | George Takei - Star Trek (Sulu) | Kenneth Mars - Malcolm in the Middle (Otto Mannkusser) | Xander Berkeley - '24' (George Mason) | Maurice LaMarche - Futurama (Morbo/Lt. Kif/Kroker) | Tony Jay - Reboot (Megabyte) | Charles Shaughnessy - The Nanny (Maxwell Sheffield) | Michael T. Weiss - The Pretender (Jarod)

There are plenty of other voice talent actors that you may recognize from other popular games as well.

One aspect of the game that lends itself to flexibility is that the story will 'wait' for as long as you want it to. Want to do more exploring? Just avoid triggering the next part of the story. There is no time limit when the game tells you that you need to meet a character, so take your time.

Is there a downside? Sure. I found that some aspects of the game can become repetitious, especially the choices of 'job' missions. However, the jobs are not really meant to be the 'meat' of the game, they are mainly a method to make you money. I would have liked to see more done to include escort missions and such, but I can imagine this would have required more coding.

In the end it's certainly good value for the money if you like a game that you can take your time to explore.