Reviews / previews
Who could forget Descent: Freespace? It came out of nowhere with a revolutionary combat heads-up display that was, and still is, the best HUD for a space-flight game. It made waves in the stagnant sea of Wing Commander and X-Wing fans--many of whom fell head over heels in love with its mind-blowing graphics, intuitive interface, and gripping story.
Enter Freespace 2. With 70 ships (compared to 40 in Freespace), 30-plus single and multiplayer missions (same as the original), and stunning visuals, Freespace 2 surpasses its predecessor and takes the genre closer than it has ever been to pure entertainment.
It takes place 32 years after the original game. The Terran-Vasudan Alliance is stronger than ever, and the hostile aliens, known as the Shivans, have been chased from the heavens.
However, they are rumored to be plotting revenge from the coldest reaches of space. And, with no common enemy to unite them, the Neo-Terrans find themselves on the brink of civil war. Are the Shivans really vanquished? Can they trust the Vasudans? Hell, can they even trust themselves? These are the questions your character faces as he begins his career as a Neo-Terran pilot in Freespace 2.
Throughout your career, you'll complete a series of branching missions. You'll investigate Neo-Terran Rebel activity, defend important supply convoys, and eventually defend you fleet against hostile Rebel forces. Dynamically, the results of each individual mission will have an impact on the next mission.
Fans of the original game will be happy to learn that the gameplay and interface survive largely unchanged. Developer Volition has taken the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach and focused its energies on graphical and audio improvements.
The graphics are incredible. The ships, ranging from fighters to capitol ships, are bigger and brighter, beefed up with textures smoother than those in the original game. Spectacular new weapon effects, missile trails, and explosions have been incorporated--not to mention entire levels set in thick nebulae, complete with crackles of lightning . And if that wasn't enough, Freespace 2 allows resolutions up to 1024x768, compared to the maximum 800x600 in Freespace.
Audio is fantastic. You'll hear massive lasers sawing through capitol ships, spacecraft whizzing by your ship, and the chirps of your ship's console as it locks on to a new target. It sounds so good you can almost feel it.
Multiplayer is a blast. Take part in multiplayer missions like capitol ship assault, nebula dogfights, or play escort to crucial support craft. You can fight against your friends, or team up with them to fight other humans, or AI. And play over the Internet is very smooth.
Whether you've played the original or not, Freespace 2 takes its place among the greatest space-flight sims of all-time. It shows Volition is serious about this franchise, and I bet we'll see a Freespace 3 in the near future.
Bottom line: a keeper.-- Nash Werner / GamePro
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