13 set missions and tons more in between and after.

Universe is fairly well fleshed out and, although there are people who complain about some aspects of it, it is well put together and at times challenging. Buy it, you'll like it. There's plenty to find and explore. Then, as you mentioned, there is MP. It's evry active and some sites are freindly some are hostile. Some are modded, some are not. I've played a few hours on browclopsia and it was great.

I haven't tried the mods yet, got about 90 hours out of the original so far and I haven't started again yet. Found the best challenge, for me, was managing to visit everywhere without bribing given the rep problems. There are people in the forums that put up challenges like doing the stroyline in low class ships and how quick, quickest to a million credits etc. I do hear though that there are some good mods like the Next Generation one.

There's more than enough interest to justify FLs now $29ish buck price tag. You'll probably get a better response from the experts but FL gets my recommendation.

If you throw enough mud ..some's gonna stick.

Highly recommended! If you liked wing commander and privateer, this games for you! Plus this site has a ton of mod's.

Well, I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I think the game's a total hit. Yeah, the lack of a joystick is a bit of a pain at first, but the rest of the game more than makes up for it - rather addictive, actually.

I think preferences in video game genres is a rather individual thing... I mean, I LOVE the strategy sort of games where you go out and conquer the galaxy, such as Master of Orion 2, but that genre's not so popular anymore. My point being, just because I really like the game, that doesn't mean you will, too - our individual tastes may differ.

If you can't read this, then you're probably illiterate and have no idea what I'm saying anyway.

If you like space games, you should get this.

There are more then just two random missions. You can destroy bases in some! Thats always fun, no?

Lots of places to explore, lots of ships to fly, lots of Mods to try as well.

Well worth the price, imho

Life: No one gets out alive.

No doubt you already know that this game is "awesome", but here's my take on the things you are asking about.

Mission types: this is one of my biggest gripes about the game. Keep in mind, however, this is a small issue overall, and since it's my biggest gripe, that means the rest of the game pretty much rocks. Aside from the 13 single player missions which are storyline driven, there are really only 3 types of random missions; kill some ships, kill some guy, kill some thing (base, etc). Sometimes you get a mission where you not only kill a guys ship, but you also have to tractor in his escape pod and bring him back to the base. Other than that, that's it for the random missions. So far I haven't seen any mods that change this. In fact, I have been asking around if anyone knows of a way to edit these mission types, but so far I haven't had any luck.

As for playability after completing the single player, I personally feel that the game really STARTS once you finish the 13 missions. I prefer FREELANCING. That is, exploring, doing trade runs, taking missions, making money, mining, pirating, scavenging, escorting (no money involved, but it's fun to just join formation with some ships and see where it takes you), etc. It isn't just "leveling up". There is a HUGE universe to explore and you really only see 1/3 of it by the time you finish the 13 SP missions. I think the game is awesome even without the single player.

There are tons of mods and a bunch of really talented folks dedicated to making the game even better. If you ever get bored of the game in the box, you will easily find add-ons, new ships, new systems, and complete overhauls of the game that instantly make it that much more fun to play, again and again and again.

There has been no news of an expansion or sequel. My guess is that there won't be an official expansion or sequel. I think Microsoft has given up on Freelancer. I could be wrong, but I'm not getting my hopes up. That being said, I refer you to my previous paragraph. Mods aplenty.

The multiplayer community is probably as varied as any other community. Many dedicated servers, many sporadic servers. Lots of great guys to play with, a few ****s who camp and kill. Pretty much what you would expect. I played the multiplayer portion of the game for months before I ever even finished the single player part. Like I said, the openness of the game is what I find most appealing. The 13 missions were cool, but they really got in the way of my Freelancing.

I first played the demo and loved it, so I bought the game. And I loved it even more. I highly recommend it. You won't be dissapointed, but hopefully I've given you some helpful information as you make your decision.

Or perhaps you already have and you're happily playing Freelancer as I type. Here's hoping.

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Well the game kept me occupied for a few months, then I tried out some rpg servers, which really rocked.

I now usually play on server 3, lvl 2 mod. Very good mod, good server, and good people playing there.

I'm about to buy HW 2, but I will play freelancer every so often. This game is really great.

I dont really like the TNG mod. It unbalances the game WAAAY too much, but I understand, I love playing it once in a while, when im a bit bored lol. Still nothing like owning the shadows in teh nexus with my bretonian gunship.. But It does get boring after a while. I usually only play lvl 2 mod, and a bit of rebalance.

I totally agree with the ‘Addictive’ comment, but not with the 56k part; I have had many happy hours online with a ‘dial up’.

For all of its faults, (there are a few), It really is one of the better games I have ever played.

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‘If there is anything more important than my ego around here, I want it caught and shot immediately’ ~ (Zaphod Beeblebrox - Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)

Thanks for the responses, you've pretty much confirmed it for me, so I'm going to get the game.

Just another question though. What's the multiplayer like? I've heard that you can't transfer your player character between different servers (I suppose that's understandable if you want to prevent cheating and all, but it still means starting all over again if you want to go to a different one after a while, if only just to see who else is there). I was actually a relatively big fan of Diablo II multiplayer, is this similar (i.e. mainly joining into groups to go out and kill lots of things), or is it different from that? Does difficulty increase with the number of people on a server? Any other information I should know besides that? Oh, and BTW, I am on BB, so connection speed should (hopefully) not be a problem for me.

Anyway, thanks for allaying my earlier fears about the game, and I'm likely to get it whatever multiplayer is like (I don't typically have a lot of time for multiplayer these days anyway).

When I first got tha game i went strait for tha multi playa, and yes i kno tha seems like a "OMG WTF IS HE DOIN???????" situation but suprisinly it wasnt. EVERYONE was friendly and helped me start.
But of corse tha isnt on every server. I wanna warn ya of a few class A Assh*les
tha flood servers with abusive languadge (yeah, i kno i cant judje but hey other ppl can) and clear breach of server rules. So whatch out for them tha mo fo's.
Keep on lancin (wen ya get tha game of corse)
-Alexio

How many tmes do i have to tell you? Your not God, I AM!

Its worth its weight in GOLD, i think. You should buy it, its worth it .

Characters are not transferable between different servers. Similar to Diablo II. So, yes, when you want to jump to a different server you'll have to start a new character. However, there are several modded servers that start you out with different ships, more/less money, and (I think) a different starting location, so watch for those if you're looking a bit of variety.

One of the nice things about Freelancer is that you can partner up with other players OR go solo OR partner up with NPCs. Partnering up with NPCs is more entertainment than anything else. Just pick a group of ships transporting goods or doing system patrols (Police) and enter formation with them. Go where they go, do what they do. It's a fun way to explore the major trade routes and occassionally find a jump hole. It can also make you feel like you're "part of something".

Because the MP aspect of the game is so open ended, you're really only limited by your imagination. If you keep thinking of new things to do and see, you'll never get bored.

And when in doubt, just stop and take a look around at the systems you are flying through. They simply LOOK good.

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