FreeLancer
$29.95		(Win98/Me/2000/XP) (Retail) (FREELANCPR)

Publisher: DigitalAnvil / Microsoft

Ratings:

from The Adrenaline Vault

Hero Or Pirate ? Merchant Or Smuggler? You Decide..

Decide your fate, one job at a time. You are the freelancer Edison Trent, an intergalactic jack-of-all-trades. Your mission: whatever you want. Become a smuggler or a ruthless space thug, a naval hero or a trader. Dodge through asteroid fields while piloting elite fighters. The action is endless as you make your way through 48 known star systems. Greed, morality, compassion, anger... whatever motivates you, the dynamic universe will respond. Take the first step. The universe is waiting.

Features:

Dynamic Reputation : Your choice in missions, your successes, your failures...they all change your reputation constantly. Play as a Naval Officer and everyone associated with the Navy will treat you better. Become a pirate and hunt down cargo vessels and you’ll soon have friends in low places. The missions you’re offered and the technology you have access to all depend on who you become.

Open-Ended Universe: Play missions randomly or follow the storyline. The universe is open for exploration, and the game evolves based on the decisions you make. Demolish pirate bases or supply depots and watch the political fallout. Lane Hackers go after cargo vessels if you disable trade lanes. Support your local cop...or not. The choice is yours but the universe won't wait for you.

Distinctive Styles of Play: Chase the almighty dollar, disrupt the corrupt government, enforce the law, chase human prey...every game is different. Want access to easy money? Become a Lane Hacker: take down cargo ships and sell the goods on the black market. Feeling noble? Join the Liberty Navy and help make the universe a safer place for everyone. The choice is yours.

Take your Share of Riches: Money makes the universe go round. Mining planets churn out valuable minerals, agriculture planets cultivate grain. Secure the best trade routes and reap the profit. Like money more than carnage? Become a commodity merchant and travel the stars to find the goods people want. You’ll soon be living off the fat of the land.

Untangle the Story :Plunge into the mysteries of the Sirius System, against an unknown menace. Amazing graphics, incredible storytelling with astonishing twists and turns and over two hours of in-game cinematics create a universe of intrigue. It's yours to demolish or to rule as you see fit.

A Universe of Intrigue: Lie. Cheat. Steal. Double-cross. Stab allies in the back and rob enemies blind. Politics and intrigue are everywhere in the universe. If you have what it takes to be a CEO here on Earth....

Intuitive Interface: Master the intricacies of space combat via mouse. Don't have a joystick? Hate all those buttons anyway? A mouse and a keyboard puts you in the game.

Multiplayer: Join with friends and conquer the universe together. Play cooperatively or competitively on player-hosted server worlds. Fight together as you take on missions too difficult for the lone wolf. Bait and ambush pirates, flank trade lanes, and employ tactical complexity beyond the reach of the solo Freelancer. After all, carefully wrought alliances make the universe what it is.

Requirements:

Win98/2000/ME/XP: Pentium 600 MHz or faster, 900 MB on hard drive, 8x CD-ROM drive, 16 bit Direct X compatible sound card, 3D 16 MB video card.

Reviews:

The Adrenaline Vault by Richard Leader

"Looking at the big picture, Freelancer can be a grand spectacle of virtual life, even if players might sometimes resent having to wait in a queue to dock at a station or access a jump-gate. Fights rage between factions indifferent to the player’s presence, pirates decide whether to attack or flee, and a universe generally ticks along like clockwork. The single-player game is not quite fully persistent, giving some more leeway, although one can get into a rather unpleasant situation if docked at a base, deep within enemy territory: getting home can be a long hard road. In multiplayer, where the world is more fully persistent, swarms of enemies tend to stay in place, sometimes stranding participants until other players are around to help."

"...Despite its faults, and no matter how shortly it might burn, it certainly burns bright and enraptures the participant for the full duration of the experience. Those who claim to demand infinite hours of play out of each title they purchase will undoubtedly feel let down by Freelancer and its mercurial 12-14 hour campaign. To them, I say, it’s certainly worth playing through twice..."

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