Gameplay: We can start off by saying that this game is by far the greatest space simulation game ever created. It also looks like space sims are never truly coming back so we could actaully assume it is the greatest space sim of all time.
You might have noticed by now that the "2" in Freespace 2 indicates that there is in fact a previous installment of the game. You would be right, but I played this one before I noticed the first one on the shelf. I can assure you that you can go into this game and have a great experience even without playing the first one. Though I did go back and play the first one and it was almost as good as this current install we shall review.
You begin the game as a pilot for the GTVA (an alliance between humans and Vasudans, who are of an alein origin). Your first few battles are against the NTF (Neo-Terran Front) who are a rebel faction bent on destroying the alliance and the Vasudan race. As the game progresses the Shivans (the main enemy of Freespace 1) reappear once again. The Shivans are a race that seems bred for annihilation, with their red and black ships, all of which are of an intimidating design. I will not reveal the mainstay of the storyline, but the Shivans are once again the main enemy, but at the same time you are battling the NTF as well.
All your missions are displayed and presented on a tacical grid overlook of an area of space. Your sqaudleader speaks in every mission breifing. In these breifings icons appear on-screen and show you your objectives, your starting point, enemy positions, and all sorts have tactical data that float around on the breifing screen. They are not static objects, they do actaully float to positions on the grid-map.
Aside from the mission breifing you can select you and your wingmen's ships, and weapon outfits. When new ships, or weapons are available to you, your sqaud leader will breif you on each ship and weapon before going into the mission. These breifings are short, but described in detail as to what weapons you gain access to, their strengths, and their weaknesses. It is a big factor that really pulls you into the expansive universe of Freespace. These additional breifings don't come before every mission, but they come at "chapter" points or different sections of the game, like when you change your sqaudron (changing your sqaudron is automatic and happens to advance the story). Along with these before-mission breifings there are annoucements by the Admiral of the fleet and other important characters, basically, this before-the-breifing breifing is how the main storyline is progressed.
The actual play of the game is fast paced and you have to try to be on the move all the time. You have to try and adapt your tactics as you fly, interceptors, fighters, bombers, and some experimental craft. Combat is extremely varied as you can go from escorting missions all the way to destroying capital ships. You can command your wingmen once you get some missions under your belt as well. There is an array of different weapons to choose from such as a variety of lasers, missles, bombs, EMP weapons, and torpedoes. Over the course of the game you'll fly dozens of ships and even get a chance to fly Vasudan sapcecraft. The scope of the game in this aspect is so vast it cannot be explained in a review that you'd pay attention to, so we shall leave gameplay with the notion that is: it is the largest and most expansive space-sim ever created. The detail put into everything is sheerly astounding.
Overall Gameplay: 10
