The availability of mods alone does not a good game make... Thing is, just how much of a game's user base are into mods? Probably only those who are really into it will take the time to learn how to implement the mods. Most casual players probably won't bother and just move on to something else.

I'm willing to bet the majority of the Freelancer audience are probably of the casual type.

I think the game was geared towards a more casual audience. Look at the complexity of (or lack thereof) the game. Mouse control is understandable. However, there's no radar, there's only simple missions, and there's no dynamix economy. Not to mention the game just has an "arcade" feel about it. Since these users are casual, they probably won't come looking on the 'net for mods. In fact, they might not even know what a mod is, let alone how to install it or run it.

microsoft should had just release the source code for this game so that hard core mods can actually script out a mission on their own...

I agree Fleer, the game seems designed very much towards a "beginner" gamer or a casual gamer.
Some of the omissions - like, as you mentioned, not having a radar (not even being able to turn your head when in cockpit view !!!) place it squarely as an arcade style shoot'em-up game of really the simplest kind, but just dressed up very nicely in some complex clothes.

oh, boo hoo, someone doesn't give Freelancer a perfect review and you start crying and whining as if it would change anything. wow.

Actually, my views/complaints/whatever on FL were here LONG before I read a bad review on the game. Back when this game was being developed, I was a big fanboy, and hoped for the best for this game. When I got it, I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread, but I soon found out that when you try to venture away from the main storyline/campaign, the game begins to show its flaws. And although I agree with you on the fact that us whining and complaining won't change anything, I really wish it would. I really wish DA would look at these forums for how to improve the game - to show they care about their fans. I agree with another poster that said that this game feels like it was rushed out the door - which is sad, because it's been in development for such a long time. It seems as if this game was made non-complex on purpose. I remember seeing a shakycam video of a demo of this game at E3 (I think it was E3) where they were playing some in-game footage, and in that footage had radar! That just shows that DA bowed to what Microsoft wanted, who is notorious for simple, shallow games.

My only real beef with this game is the fact that the story ends too soon. It's like a doughnut, very satisfying at first, but leaves you hungry for more. I mean, this game has a lot of potential. I never got to play Privateer, so I can't comment on that. I've had Freelancer for about a month and I'm still playing it. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being a big pile of dog poop, I give Freelancer a 7.5. The random missions just aren't random enough. But what do I care? I love blowing stuff up.

"Alright, you primitive screwheads, LISTEN UP[! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK[![!"

"...blowing stuff up" ...no harm in that.... though it confirms the game as being just a non-complex shooter and not a space 'adventure' or whatever....

I agree, the story is good, especially for a game, but, for me, the crux of the complaint is that it doesn't do what it says on the tin...

If MicroSoft released the game with the pitch that you could have fun shooting things while following an interesting story and then have a good MP platform, that would be okay... But all the hype about it being a new Elite, a free form game where you could explore, take on different roles, trade etc. etc. was all just such a lie it leaves a bad taste in the mouth and hence this whining and complaning I'm doing here. I hate being let down by games or being short-changed and I hate it even more when I can see bags of potential there to be tapped but being willfully ignored.

As Fleer says above, you can see how this game was forcibly dumbed down.... but the game description/press releases stayed the same! If we don't, as gamers, want to be treated like "dumb-and-dumber", we should make our voices heard and clearly state why and what we dislike about games that fail to deliver.... I'm sure Freelancer could have been a different, more complex and more inspiring game - the structure is there for that - but if we accept this simplistic release, and if there is a follow up, will DA/Microsoft need to change the formula or will they just create new system names but the same old "follow the way-points & kill the rogues" missions...?

Pc Gamer magazine gave it the best review. 81%
HIghs:huge universe, free-form gameplay, performs well on okay cpus.
Lows:Trade system underdevolped,suffers from general malaise of "sameness",
no joystick support.
Bottomline: Though it's not as deep as we'd like, freelancer delivers on much of it;s potential.

***DELETED***
"Trust me woman, if i could walk on water, i would drag you out to the middle of a lake and hold your head under untill the Bubbles stopped[![![![!"(Stewie, Family guy)

Edited by - Bargib on 18-06-2003 23:36:21

Hold your horses ... All the reveiws i have read in various places have shown one common element... NONE of the people writing the reviews have played the game for more than an hour or so if at all most seem to be rehashed nonsense.
If you can't do a job well don't do it at all ....
Only fools beleive the media waffle surely?

Not that I disagree totally with the critisimn, one needs to be balanced... I think the game could have covered more aspects, but calling FL shallow... It's like calling a skyscraper simple... Just because most floors are the same, it is not nessecrily "simple"!

Best Regards
Christian "Bargib" Koerner
Editor in Chief, The Lancers Reactor

...interesting analogy... the coding behind Freelancer is undoubt-ably complex and the product of much labour but how would you like to spend your holiday in a skyscaper where the brouchure said it had a pool and a gym and loads and loads of things to do ... only to arrive there and find bits not complete, many of the floors looking exactly the same and no gym at all !!!??? (though fortunately some guys from next door drop over and decide to erect a pool table and a bar.... )

I usually buy a new game every 4 months or so. Normally I play them for a few days and then let them gather dust. I bought Freelancer because Maximum PC (The only PC Mag I bother to read) gave it a 9/10. I've been playing for two weeks now and I LOVE this game. It is by far the best PC game have played in years. It's not perfect, but what is? I can't think of how many games I bought that completely sucked or - worse - we're so buggy that they wouldn't even work properly out of the box...

My $0.02.

I agree with you on that -- Freelancer is the best I've seen in ages. There are things we'd like to change, but overall we wouldn't be talking about it if we didn't like it. The story line itself is compelling. After that, it is still great fun ... but does seem to be lacking a purpose. I mean, Trent is now a millionaire. He can make all the money he ever wants or needs. So why is he out looking for jump holes and flying around in radioactive systems and such that can blow him up no matter how good a pilot he is? (You'd also think the bartenders would finally get pissed off at him for pumping them for information and NEVER ordering a drink! I've only seen him drink twice: at the beginning when he has yet to meet Juni and later with the scientist ... when Juni is presumably paying. Trent is a cheap charlie!)