Overall, I have to say that I wasn't impressed with the looks. Some of the ships are truely unique in appearance, and look great at the same time. Some others have a more standard sci-fi look, that looks nice, but we've seen it before. The rest, be there take-offs of old designs, or new, are pretty ugly. Below, I've given my review of the various ships I've seen first hand. I don't say anything about their abilities, only their appearance.

A note on cockpits: Isn't it odd that, regardless of race, they all opted for huge canopies that completely expose the pilot? I think that's odd since, aside from the Bell helicopter, I can't think of any other vehicle that's ever done that. I think it's odd that a unique design that dropped out of style in a short period of time should become the galactic standard of the future. Edsel lovers, hope is not lost!

All Light Fighters: With the exception of the Patriot, it seems like every light fighter I've seen is just missing something. Often times, what's missing becomes apparent when you see it's heavy fighter version. Apparently the deciding factor for a heavy fighter is that it have wings. Light fighters are the flies who've had their wings torn off by malicious boys.

Dromedary: This is an ugly pig. From it's long snout, to the fat thruster slapped onto the back of it's boring hull, it's ugly. What is with the two hull bits hanging down, by the way? It looks like a ray gun from an old Flash Gordon show.

Sabre: Not to fond of this one either. It reminds me of a Klingon cruiser with the bulbous bridge cut off from the end of the neck. For the most part, it has an old sci-fi look that was common in say, the 80's. Think Battlestar Galactica or the X-Wings of Star Wars.

Barracuda/Hammerhead: They're close enough in looks to lump together. I have to say this ship type has one of the most unique looks I've seen in a space ship. It's narrow body reminds me of the Cobra attack helicopter. The agressive styling makes it my favorite of the fighters.

Crusader: Very artistic styling. I think it's meant to be a fish. It looks nice, but perhaps a little too busy.

Clydesdale: It's simple shapes make it a winner. It's tubby, and wide, but that's what you want in a freighter.

Eagle/Falcon/Hawk: A done-to-death design, it still looks sleek and menacing. Sadly, it's age-old design smacks of unoriginality and steals much of it's respect.

Dragon: I try to like this ship for it's flare, but I just can't overcome the sheer impracticality of it's wing design. The wings suggest an ugly thought: either wings are totally unecessary on ships, making the Dragon's artistic, and cultural, expression (and everyone else's useless,) or they are indeed necessary, making everyone else's a practical necessity and the Dragon's an aerodynamic nightmare. I pity the Kusari pilot who looks out his window and sees that someone's stolen his wings and replaced them with Piña Colada umbrellas.

Drone: Someone stuck Piña Colada umrbrellas on a take-out box for Chinese food? I give it points for otherwise having a fat, boxy freighter design. It lacks the elegance I'd expect of a Kusari ship, however. Take off the wings, and I'd probably like it. It reminds me of the box we first flew in Privateer.

Defender: It's just too cliché. Is it a heavy fighter or a bird? No question here, it's a bird. You can only take theme designs so far. Really, many of these, fish, fowl, and dragons, just go too far. The bounty hunter ships and Drone are the only ones where form and function cross nicely. The others, like the Defender, try too hard. Wave a flag, there's an eagle flying overhead.

Rhino: They had a spare ray gun handle left over from the Dromedary design. I really can't figure out what to make of the Rhino. Why is it broken up into sections like that? It can't be beneficial for cargo space. I think "someone" was just a little too Boolean-happy.

Woflhound: Avast ye! I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a chicken or a galleon. It seems to tackle both with equal vigor. This wins the catagory of "what were they thinking???" Really. I want to know.

Mule: Being from the same faction as the Wolfhound, this is a complete turn around. It's a unique and inspired design. It has the slapped-together look I'd expect from a bunch of outlaws. This is something that Han Solo would be proud to fly. It's only problem is that it looks a bit too much like a guppy. I'm willing to forgive it because of it's cockpit placement. "Top of the world, ma!"

Banshee/Valkyrie: I have to ask: "what's with the wheel?" Is that thing hamster powered, or what? I saw nothing inspiring about the design, really. Someone took a plane and replaced the tail end with a snail shell.
"We need one more ship."
"Lets see, the only thing we haven't used is this circle template..."

Humpback: It's hard to pick on freighters. They're not supposed to be pretty, they're supposed to be utilitarian. We all saw what happened when the Kusari tried to mix the two. It's for that reason that I can't fault the Humpback's design. Heck, I applaud it. "It's boxy, but it's good." Say, that could be a slogan for Volvo...