There's a comm button that you press, and if your target has anything to say they'll say it. I wasn't particularly fond of the comm system - it isn't interactive at all. It's quite possible that there are more fully rendered scenes later in the game, but I didn't encounter any of them.) (Strangely, the intro was a fully pre-rendered CGI in the vein of StarLancer - although impressive in a tried and true manner, it didn't seem to mesh with the style of the rest of the game. It's not photo-realistic, but it's immersive in the same sense as the original several Wing Commander games - once you've gotten into the fact that the characters are done in this style, you're immersed. The movies are rendered on-the-fly in a manner similar to modern console games (although the rendering is of a slightly higher calibur). The ships were unique enough to, hopefully, inspire debates similar to the age old Centurion/Galaxy/Orion arguments of yore. I was also very impressed by the ship designs: they were a lot more varied than the typical 'pointy fighters, boxy capships' that have populated fictional space of late. The entire stellar environment is interactive, too - planets and stars are no longer distant 2D sprites, but are instead 3D spheres that you can orbit and interact with. It's also expansive - I was absolutely wowed by vast asteroid and debris fields. but it's all balanced to the point that it seems natural, albeit amazing. There are bright and beautiful starfields, nebulae, laser effects and so forth. Freelancer bucks that trent - the graphics are absolutely stunning and I can't say enough about the color balance. Since developers collectively decided in 1998 that space shouldn't be a big black starfield, every combat game has been either too dark (StarLancer), too bright (Wing Commander Prophecy) or just plain ugly (Freespace). I spent a good hour wandering around a single system looking in on bases: things like Military Academies and shipyards that are producing battleships.
but on a much larger scale.Īnd exploring is fun! They've stocked space with enough interesting artifacts and locations to make just wandering around in your fighter.
You can get involved and build your reputation and alliances, or you can sit back and watch the fireworks. Just flying around randomly you see scores of other ships interacting with eachother - completely separate from your own story. The game has essentially taken everything that's great about Privateer and either duplicated it or enhanced it to a massive scale: there's a vibrant living universe with dozens of factions all of which interact with eachother. There's commerce, piracy, mercenary work, variable alliances. It honestly seems like the developers took a look at one of those "what's wrong with Privateer 2" lists and then made damn sure not to repeat any of those mistakes. Where StarLancer failed to immitate its famous cousin in various important areas (use of characters, for instance), FreeLancer shines. and now I have to complement Freelancer for almost the exact same reason: it's literally Privateer for the 21st century. Essentially, it boils down to this: the gameplay was a lot more fun than I'd anticipated.įour years ago I blasted StarLancer for being 'Wing Commander in space'. a whole bunch of things, all with only the mouse. Actually, the VDUs are for the most part a lot more interactive - you can scan other ships to see what weapons and cargo they have, you can activate all your maps while flying, you can see what the name of the enemy pilot is. You can minimize and enlarge VDUs, select targets, arm weapons, use your comms and more all in a very simple manner (Your keyboard, mind you, still plays an important role - you use it just like you would in Wing Commander. The cooler aspect, though, is that you get a cursor to control your cockpit as though it were the latest interation of Windows. So what's the advantage, aside from being able to sell the game to a larger audience? For one, it's easy to learn - I had it down in about two minutes, and I'm used to playing 'Wing with a three piece throttle/stick/pedals setup. Flying and shooting still requires the same skills we've honed for twelve years in the Wing Commander universe - you twist and turn and lead your targets just like you had your hands on a Thrustmaster.
No, it's not a Diablo-style point and click interface.
Wait, don't stop reading here - they've replaced our familiar control scheme with something that's a whole lot more impressive than any previews to date have implied. Let me answer the question that's foremost in your minds: no, there is no joystick support. LOAF was given the opportunity to visit Digital Anvil in Texas for a preview of Freelancer. Freelancer Report Wing Commander CIC Freelancer Report
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