Stop your whining.

I remember when games had no cinematics, just scrolling text and maybe a voice-over.
I actually preferred that because you could use your imagination to fill in the scene. If you dont know how to use your imagination, try reading a book sometime instead of sitting in front of the 'puta...

Bah, kids these days...

Just my $0.02, but it could just be the cardamine talking.

Nil Mortifi Sine Lucre

Well I think they are good, I am used to it, I have a GeForce4 Ti 4600, even in the times when I had a TNT 1 I did still like them, but I didn't run Freelancer on it.
Though games like Red Alert series is games that the video seqence was something I kept looking forward to, just like a reward, good ones as well, the gameplay in RA2 wasn't the best you can say, but the video scenes lifted the game so high. If they hadn't been there, there wouldn't be any good game.

But for Freelancer I don't even care, but wait until the cinematic quality arrives, then you won't be seeing any difference.

I think the chief effect of cut scenes (either full-motion cinematics like the Wing Commander games after III, on-the-fly rendered characters like SL and FL, or even talking-head cartoon characters like Privateer) is that it makes the player feel like he is not alone. That makes the player feel more involved in the game I guess.

Full-motion cinematics are nice... But they take way too much disk space. I don't mind on-the-fly rendered characters or talking-heads (both of which save a lot of disk space) as long as the dialogue is witty and keeps the player's attention. Privateer in that regard was VERY well done with a humorous main character whose interaction with other NPCs sometimes just makes one burst with laughter.

On the other hand, Trent IMHO is a perfect example of how NOT to do in-game dialogue LOL.

Case in point:

"You some kind of nooby?"

"Uhhh Huhh...."

I like the cinematics between missions. Perfect opportunity to go get another beer without missing any play time.