Like it or hate it, it's GTA in space...
I never really heard of this title, except few small praises from my buddies over the years. I accidentally got a copy as a free bonus when I brought a new joystick...bad luck for the joystick, it never left its original packaging.
Gameplay:
As the game title says, you play as a freelancer. You have your own ship, and you can take jobs from various factions in the universe, or you can be your own boss and become miner, trader, pirate, explorer or just a guy with happy trigger finger. Each job comes with rewards, which you can use to buy better weapons and ships. And you actions in the universe affects what people like you and what people hate you. The game features a gigantic galaxy for the player to explore and you can do whatever you want within the universe, similar in a GTA style. Whatever praise we have heard from open ended game similar to GTA has already been said: freedom, exploration, ability to ignore main storyline, non-linear gameplay, etc...I'll skip that and move right to the negatives.
As mentioned earlier, you can become whatever role you want within the game universe provided by Freelancer...except all job description (minus the trader and miner) boils down to blow up enemy ships. You play a cop, blow up criminal’s ship; you play pirate, blow up trader's ships; you player criminal, blow up cops, etc...The job system is extremely repetitive.
The same with all the bases you visit...every station, every planet you land compose of five sections: The landing pad; the bar, the market, the equipment locker, the ship dealer, even the way people talk is the same. Basically all locations in the universe functions the same regardless their size and location.
But despite the fact that the game's mechanic is repetitive, it is partially offset by the fact that combat unpredictable and fun, because you are not the only one doing the killing in the game. Outside the random missions, you might get ambushed by bandits who want to get even, stumble upon enemy base and stir the hive, or get caught in a large battle between two rival factions in the game. When engaged, the enemies will try to team up and cover each other, setting up traps and use taking covers with objects like asteroids and gas fields, or even run away. Add that with a slick mouse and keyboard control, the combat in Freelancer will most likely keep people on their toes, especially in part of the game universe humans hasn't properly explored yet. Also the game encourages players to visit as much base as possible despite their identical functions and feel. Different bases in the universe offers different equipments for you to find, different people you meet will give you tips and offer to fix your reputations with different factions, and different market has different demands for goods that you can take advantage upon by becoming a trader. Although it's no solution to the repetitive feel of all the bases in the universe, at least it gives the player an incentive to explore as much as possible.
Although the open ended gameplay in Freelancer is not as revolutionary as the GTA when it came out, it does feel more polished and satisfying than the latter because it offers better challenges and better incentive to explore the game world. On the other side, the missions in Freelancer lacks the variety when compared to GTA, but given the fact the GTA missions are close to brain-dead in terms of challenge, I really don't see the trade-off in Freelancer as a minus.
Graphics:
I always hold the view that artists are greater than geeks when it comes to creating beautiful graphics in videogame, and Freelancer is an example of that. Granted, the technology that powers the graphics in Freelancer, in my opinion, is no better than Half-Life with the Hi-Def pack installed, but the amount of details the artists manage to cramp in the game's texture and color is incredible. Each star system in the game feels like it's been ripped right out of NASA headquarter and faithfully reproduced in 3D. If you find yourself in awe of the photos taken by the Hubble telescope, you will not be disappointed by Freelancers graphics. Also, despite the fact that the game is about flying spaceships, the character animations is detailed down to facial expression and it doesn't feel like you are looking at robots. When in combat, you can see ships get ripped the pieces and burn before it's health reached to zero (the same can happen to you, it sucks to lose one of your wings and half of your firepower along the way). Lasers fire is bright and vibrant, while missiles and torpedoes leave a silver streak before exploding in a blinding flash. Although the graphic as few flaws, such as battleships and space stations is too small (I still can't figure out how it can hold up to eight ships, when one regular spaceship is half of its size), it just feels right most of the time. Sound/Music:
Most sounds in Freelancer are very standard, like the weapons fire and the engine, etc. But the speech system is very well done in the game. Despite the fact that there is no wingman control in the game, you can hear different radio chatters from all others ships around you, creating the feel that you are not the only one who is alive in the universe. People will chat with reach other for identification, police checking traders for contraband, pirate radio for backup when out gunned by police, traders discussing commodity price, etc. On the other hand, talking with NPC is just terribly boring, since it involves repeating the same five lines over and over. Thankfully you can skip that.
The music in Freelancer is very polished and great on the ear. Each different star system has its own theme, and the game always manage to play the right music at the right situation to get the player in the mood. Excellent indeed.
Story:
Two words: alien conspiracy...the story features great twists and turns, with a final climatic revelation that and puts all pieces together. The cinematic presentations that move the story along are also backed with great acting. The only bad thing I can say about the story is that the ending is too easy and a bit abrupt (to stop alien invasion, press button 1). But if you are a fan of X-files, you will like the story.
Value:
Open-ended gameplay in Freelancer usually provides high replay value. But if you just can't take the repetitiveness, there are mods all over the internet that provide additional content to spice things up. Very good value.
Conclusion:
This game is great if you like games such as the GTA series, and looking for a great story and a healthy dose of challenge. Although the game labels itself as a space sim, I believe that it is a more of a polished version of GTA...in Space Age