It's a Space Opera on steroids
| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PC | 9.70 |
| Overall | 9.70 |
|
This game would have to be the most exhilerating combat sim to ever be released (and i'm talking about up to the present day here). After a quick briefing on your mission objectives, you are immediately sent into the fray. Now imagine yourself warping into the emptiness of space with beautiful nebulas and planets surrounding you. A missile-lock sensor starts blaring and you snap out of your daze and back into reality. You blast your engines at full throttle, swing your ship hard right, and eject a few countermeasures to distract the oncoming warheads. This maneuvre succeeds and you line yourself up with the enemy and unleash the wrath of your cannons on his hull. As you weave through the shards and flaming wreckage of his ship you encounter a truly amazing sight. Two five-kilometre long capital ships are ploughing full-speed towards each other with plasma and flak cannons streaming from their hardpoints. As soon as they are in range you see energy gathering at several points on each ship. All of a sudden, gigantic beams tear through space and into the hulls of the opposing ships, inflicting massive damage on each other. Initially it would appear that these two behemoths were playing chicken with each other if it was not for the sudden evasive maneuvres they take. They glide elegantly alongside each other and begin to unleash even more 'law and order' on each others hulls. Meanwhile, you are just sitting there thinking "****!!! why aren't I getting some of this action!" and you ignite your afterburners and join the orgy of the fragging and the dying and the kung-fu-fighting mGRAAVen!! Don't be fooled however, this is not some spoiler for the eclectic finale to the game, this is only the BEGINNING of ONE mission and there are around thirty more which goes to show how much pure pwnage this game dishes out. The game is playable with a mouse but is so much more with a joystick in hand. While this game is a sim and, consequently, has an innumerable amount of button commands, this adds to the overall depth and detail of the game. You can do anything from control the power levels of your shield, engine and weapons systems to managing the tactics of your fellow wingmen. The plot of Freespace 2 does follow military-style campaigns, but don't let that scare you. The brilliant voice acting and the general 'flow' of the missions is enough to keep you enticed for "just a little bit longer" (a mental phrase familiar to many gamers...Civ 4 anyone?). On a side note, some of the voices are from well known actors such as Ronny Cox (Stargate SG1), Robert Loggia (Independence Day, Scarface) and Kurtwood Smith (Deep Impact). The original graphics of this game were never anything revolutionary, and rightly so because this game, compared to many games of the present era, does not rely on super-ultra-high-definition-fantastic graphics to give you an extra thrill. Thanks to the Source Code Project, this game has had a refreshing makeover which includes hi-res textures for all ships so now there is no excuse to scoff at ancient, pixelated graphics. The sounds of Freespace 2 are nothing short of spectacular and, when combined with the huge scale of the space battles and the frenetic action that just keeps going and going, you know you're playing a game that was designed with quality as the highest priority (instead of money). It's such a pity that this game was not given more advertising promotion because it is easily one of the greatest classics that have graced the 1's and 0's of PC hard drives around the world. Now, enough of my emphatic fanboyisms. GET THIS GAME NOW!! |
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Posted by selbie Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:51:30
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