Mon Feb 24, 2003 12:47 am
Yet Another FL Review (mixed)
I really wanted to love this game (Privateer was one of my favorites) - and it does make a hell of a first impression. The graphics looked great, the main storyline seemed very interesting, the character models were distinctive and seemed to have personality, the ship combat was fun and worked really well to quickly get you into the action -- in sum, the foundation was there for a great gaming experience. I looked forward to exploring, meeting other characters, engaging in interesting side missions, and generally immersing myself into this universe -- this, for me, would be the most important part of the game.
But my very favorable first impression started to wane as I continued to play. When the first bar patron I talked to told me "I work for XXX Corp., we don't own the place but have an understanding with those who do," I thought that was a rather odd, idiosyncratic way of introducing one's self (I liked it - I thought it gave the guy character). But, to my dismay, it turns out that pretty much every bar patron on every planet says this, or something very close to it, when you start a "conversation." This certainly hurt my ability to immerse myself into the game universe.
But even at that point I still felt very favorably about the game -- I thought that I could do without interesting NPCs since I would be having so much fun taking on interesting missions that would allow me to explore the mysteries of the universe, to become fully engaged in the various political struggles that had been referenced early on in the game, etc -- I thought I would be able to find missions of all different shapes and sizes, and that I would be suitably impressed with the imagination that went into them. Unfortunately, so far, every mission I've been able to find has been of the sort "Go to location X. Kill every bad dude there." This was fun the first couple of times I did it. It was less fun the 20th time, the 27th time, the 40th time...
Instead of giving us a wide variety of missions, and interesting twists during those missions, we seem to have been given Diablo in space. By that I mean that repetitive combat is the primary meat of the game, and the fun is supposed to come from leveling up your character and buying better swords and breastplates (or, in Freelancer's case, better laser cannons and shield generators). The problem with this approach is that Freelancer's combat, while initially fun, isn't as mindlessly addictive as the combat in Diablo was. I quickly wished that there were other types of missions to fly and started inwardly groaning every time I looked on the mission board and saw 4 different variations of "Go here. Kill this" (which was every time I looked at a mission board).
I'll probably continue playing the game -- the main story still seems interesting and there is some sense of accomplishment in upgrading your ship (or being able to buy a new, better one), but the universe is far less interesting than I had thought it would be in the beginning. (I hope this game does well though - like I said, the foundation is there for an awesome gaming experience -- a sequel could take that foundation and build a more impressive, interactive universe around it.)
But my very favorable first impression started to wane as I continued to play. When the first bar patron I talked to told me "I work for XXX Corp., we don't own the place but have an understanding with those who do," I thought that was a rather odd, idiosyncratic way of introducing one's self (I liked it - I thought it gave the guy character). But, to my dismay, it turns out that pretty much every bar patron on every planet says this, or something very close to it, when you start a "conversation." This certainly hurt my ability to immerse myself into the game universe.
But even at that point I still felt very favorably about the game -- I thought that I could do without interesting NPCs since I would be having so much fun taking on interesting missions that would allow me to explore the mysteries of the universe, to become fully engaged in the various political struggles that had been referenced early on in the game, etc -- I thought I would be able to find missions of all different shapes and sizes, and that I would be suitably impressed with the imagination that went into them. Unfortunately, so far, every mission I've been able to find has been of the sort "Go to location X. Kill every bad dude there." This was fun the first couple of times I did it. It was less fun the 20th time, the 27th time, the 40th time...
Instead of giving us a wide variety of missions, and interesting twists during those missions, we seem to have been given Diablo in space. By that I mean that repetitive combat is the primary meat of the game, and the fun is supposed to come from leveling up your character and buying better swords and breastplates (or, in Freelancer's case, better laser cannons and shield generators). The problem with this approach is that Freelancer's combat, while initially fun, isn't as mindlessly addictive as the combat in Diablo was. I quickly wished that there were other types of missions to fly and started inwardly groaning every time I looked on the mission board and saw 4 different variations of "Go here. Kill this" (which was every time I looked at a mission board).
I'll probably continue playing the game -- the main story still seems interesting and there is some sense of accomplishment in upgrading your ship (or being able to buy a new, better one), but the universe is far less interesting than I had thought it would be in the beginning. (I hope this game does well though - like I said, the foundation is there for an awesome gaming experience -- a sequel could take that foundation and build a more impressive, interactive universe around it.)
Same as for other beta testers. (I didnt like Diablo at all). I dont know how to explain it, but for me, that mission repetitiveness really isnt apparent. I guess I just like to shoot things. 
