Tue Dec 09, 2003 9:56 pm
X2 The Threat (yes, another thread, don''t auto lock!)
Hey!
After eyeing a few X2 R BETTA THAN FL threads I actually bought the game. Anyway it stuffed at first, but I finally got it working and.........its different to Freelancer. In fact by playing it you really see how easy freelancer was to get into, and why Microsoft ditched joystick and real space physics for easy fast mouse combat. Anyway, you can't really compare the two games, there are a few things Freelancer does better (yes, I'm serious), and a few things X2 does better but they are two very different games. Anyway, after I worked out how to play, and that there wasn't supposed to be any mouse in the menu (why? Is this a console port!!?!??!) and I would say its more of the Elite, or Privateer or Freespace 3, or whatever, than Freelancer. But then, thats like saying Medal of Honour is more of a WWII sim than Freelancer is, it doesn't make it better.
Oh, and, there is no Multiplayer! They are bringing out X2 Online Universe sometime later but is that MMO style in that you pay a monthly fee? Does anyone else have any word on this?
Did anyone else here get X2? Did they like it?
[EDIT Ok, I'll write a more complete review, and compare it to FL for those of you who are thinking about getting the game.
Good points:
I like the fact that the stations and ships are BIG, and that to dock with a station you actually have to fly inside it and find a free berth. The graphics are good, the cockpits are EXTREMELY well detailed, and if you have a hatswitch on your joystick you can actually look around it, and see flashing lights n' stats n' stuff, almost like MSFS2002. If your ship is big enough to have a bridge, you can even see all the other crewmembers chairs.
You can also eject out of your spacecraft for a little spacewalk! Especially useful if your ship is nearly dead. Make sure theres a station nearby though, you wont get far in your little Astronaut costume!
I haven't made a factory or gotten a big ship yet, but thats good, the game lasts a LONG time, you can't get the best ship in 5 mins. The AI are good, so good that if they have a better ship they will mostly always win.
The music in space is awesome, and some of the systems are quite breathtaking.
Voice acting is also good.
Bad points:
complicated interface, like to get to nav map you have to go main menu, navigation, sector map, and that takes quite a while. Also, there are a few joystick problems, the small ships can't really be manouvred well. Its also a bit hard to get into, and to actually get a hit on someone you need alot of practice. This is remedied when you get the bigger ships, with turrets
. Also although the voice acting is good, the charecter models (in the cutscenes) SUCK, the main charecter looks quite gay with his hands flopping about in a dainty manner, and when they speak they look like they are having seizures! However, the cutscenes are about .01 percent of the game, and you don't even need to watch it to play.
General points about the game:
In lots of areas it reminds you of Frontier: Elite. Remember the cargo life support system? Remember mining lasers? Thats there in X2. Docking also reminds us of Elite, although its far more advanced in that once you are actually IN the station, you have to fly to a landing bay. There is so much more to do than in freelancer, but again, that doesn't necesserily make it better! There are numerous upgrades from Command Console software and scanner upgrades to cargo expansions and spacefly collectors! (spaceflies are little space creatures you catch and sell for high prices!) The game has much more of a SPACE feel than Freelancer, with stations and ships dark, and you can get quite lonely flying through some systems. Planets spin and are amazing too look it, stars look like stars, there are no trade lanes and there are gates at each compass point in the system, in the shape of blackholes. There is a time acceleration boost, like in Elite, but it wont speed you up THAT fast!
Also, one IMPORTANT point: There IS a storyline, but you can choose at ANY time to stop, you will still be able to get and do everything you like. Its recommended to do at least some of the missions, as that gets you some nice ships and a few credits easily.
If you attack a ship and the pilot jettisons, you can take it over and sell it. I suppose you all already know this but you can own as many ships as you like, and direct NPC's to fly them, but you can only fly one of them one at a time.
Phew! There! Enjoy!
Edit again:
Minimum specs are: W98/ME/2000/XP, 800MHz CPU, 128MB Ram, 32MB 3D Graphics card
Recomended: 2000/XP, 1300MHz, 256MB, 64MB 3d Direct X8 comp
Optimum: XP, 1800Mhz, 512MP, 128MB direct X9 comp
I have a Geforce 3, 300 n' something RAM, a Pentium III, and surprisingly it runs fine with shadows off. There has been a bit of trouble with Radeon graphic cards, but I think the problem has been resolved (see the X2 forums at www.egosoft.com)
Edited by - Griffon_26 on 10-12-2003 00:59:08
Edited by - Griffon_26 on 10-12-2003 01:05:47
After eyeing a few X2 R BETTA THAN FL threads I actually bought the game. Anyway it stuffed at first, but I finally got it working and.........its different to Freelancer. In fact by playing it you really see how easy freelancer was to get into, and why Microsoft ditched joystick and real space physics for easy fast mouse combat. Anyway, you can't really compare the two games, there are a few things Freelancer does better (yes, I'm serious), and a few things X2 does better but they are two very different games. Anyway, after I worked out how to play, and that there wasn't supposed to be any mouse in the menu (why? Is this a console port!!?!??!) and I would say its more of the Elite, or Privateer or Freespace 3, or whatever, than Freelancer. But then, thats like saying Medal of Honour is more of a WWII sim than Freelancer is, it doesn't make it better.
Oh, and, there is no Multiplayer! They are bringing out X2 Online Universe sometime later but is that MMO style in that you pay a monthly fee? Does anyone else have any word on this?
Did anyone else here get X2? Did they like it?
[EDIT Ok, I'll write a more complete review, and compare it to FL for those of you who are thinking about getting the game.
Good points:
I like the fact that the stations and ships are BIG, and that to dock with a station you actually have to fly inside it and find a free berth. The graphics are good, the cockpits are EXTREMELY well detailed, and if you have a hatswitch on your joystick you can actually look around it, and see flashing lights n' stats n' stuff, almost like MSFS2002. If your ship is big enough to have a bridge, you can even see all the other crewmembers chairs.
You can also eject out of your spacecraft for a little spacewalk! Especially useful if your ship is nearly dead. Make sure theres a station nearby though, you wont get far in your little Astronaut costume!
I haven't made a factory or gotten a big ship yet, but thats good, the game lasts a LONG time, you can't get the best ship in 5 mins. The AI are good, so good that if they have a better ship they will mostly always win.
The music in space is awesome, and some of the systems are quite breathtaking.
Voice acting is also good.
Bad points:
complicated interface, like to get to nav map you have to go main menu, navigation, sector map, and that takes quite a while. Also, there are a few joystick problems, the small ships can't really be manouvred well. Its also a bit hard to get into, and to actually get a hit on someone you need alot of practice. This is remedied when you get the bigger ships, with turrets
. Also although the voice acting is good, the charecter models (in the cutscenes) SUCK, the main charecter looks quite gay with his hands flopping about in a dainty manner, and when they speak they look like they are having seizures! However, the cutscenes are about .01 percent of the game, and you don't even need to watch it to play.
General points about the game:
In lots of areas it reminds you of Frontier: Elite. Remember the cargo life support system? Remember mining lasers? Thats there in X2. Docking also reminds us of Elite, although its far more advanced in that once you are actually IN the station, you have to fly to a landing bay. There is so much more to do than in freelancer, but again, that doesn't necesserily make it better! There are numerous upgrades from Command Console software and scanner upgrades to cargo expansions and spacefly collectors! (spaceflies are little space creatures you catch and sell for high prices!) The game has much more of a SPACE feel than Freelancer, with stations and ships dark, and you can get quite lonely flying through some systems. Planets spin and are amazing too look it, stars look like stars, there are no trade lanes and there are gates at each compass point in the system, in the shape of blackholes. There is a time acceleration boost, like in Elite, but it wont speed you up THAT fast!
Also, one IMPORTANT point: There IS a storyline, but you can choose at ANY time to stop, you will still be able to get and do everything you like. Its recommended to do at least some of the missions, as that gets you some nice ships and a few credits easily.
If you attack a ship and the pilot jettisons, you can take it over and sell it. I suppose you all already know this but you can own as many ships as you like, and direct NPC's to fly them, but you can only fly one of them one at a time.
Phew! There! Enjoy!
Edit again:
Minimum specs are: W98/ME/2000/XP, 800MHz CPU, 128MB Ram, 32MB 3D Graphics card
Recomended: 2000/XP, 1300MHz, 256MB, 64MB 3d Direct X8 comp
Optimum: XP, 1800Mhz, 512MP, 128MB direct X9 comp
I have a Geforce 3, 300 n' something RAM, a Pentium III, and surprisingly it runs fine with shadows off. There has been a bit of trouble with Radeon graphic cards, but I think the problem has been resolved (see the X2 forums at www.egosoft.com)
Edited by - Griffon_26 on 10-12-2003 00:59:08
Edited by - Griffon_26 on 10-12-2003 01:05:47
. After playing the game a bit more, I'll write a more complete review.
