As you may have noticed by my title, I am an extreme fan of Freespace 2. This game, based on the popular and addicting Freespace: The Great War (which I also love), is the example that all software companies should use for writing and building their future space simulator products. The game play is excellent, the graphics and sound spectacular, and the story engrossing.
In this game, you play a nameless and faceless pilot in a space alliance between humans and a race called the Vasudans. The missions you play have objectives and purposes, and help compose the overall plot to the game. Yes, there's a plot, and a good one. In this game, the Alliance is in a civil war with a group called the Neo-Terrans, who are trying to gain independance from the rest of the alliance. Your missions involve recon, espionage, blockades, ambushes, etc. The missions are also political, and have an impact on Terran and Vasudan relations. Thrown into the mix is an extremely powerful and seemingly invincible race called the Shivans (nicknamed after the Hindu god of war). Your missions also pit you against these creatures, which compose some of the more interesting battles in the game. In battle, you can order your ships to do different tasks, such as gang up on your target, cover you, or if you're feeling bold - stay away from your target and let you claim the glory. Your wingmates respond with live voice and a video image of them, giving a nice bit of realism to the game.
As you play, you advance ranks and earn medals and commendations for your actions on your missions. You are also assigned to different squadrons, flying different ships and with different assignments (such as ship bombers, scouting, heavy assault, etc.). You're given the opportunity to work for Alliance Intelligence, going undercover within the Neo-Terran rebels and sabotaging their operations. Or, if you prefer, you can reject this assignment and continue on a different path in the game. For those of you with a multiplayer itch, there's also an excellent multiplayer segment of the game which lets you join squads and fight other teams. This works best on high speed internet connections, however, and only with opponents who also have high speed connections, otherwise it's more or less pointless.
Many of the missions take place in a vast nebula, which takes full advantage of Voodoo chipset 3D cards. The game also utilizes Environmental Sound cards, giving you true surround sound. This is one of the best examples of 3D misting that I've seen. The only potential problem is that you'll need to experience the game on a relatively fast and powerful machines, or you'll no doubt be very disappointed with the lag.
To sum it up, Freespace 2 is excellent and addicting. The battles and the story will keep you coming back for more, and the smooth user controls and features are so handy, they should be adopted by the Air Force for use in the fighters of today.
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