Wed Feb 26, 2003 4:55 am
Freelancer Demo Review
Atmosphere. Gotta start with the atmosphere.
Remember playing Privateer you'd always see those 2 freighters around New Detroit and think, "Two freighters? This is New Detroit, for crying out loud!"
In Freelancer there's traffic, traffic everywhere, ships buzzing all over the system. None of it is dynamic, but in a "movie game" it's the illusion that counts, and they pull it off spectacularly.
I heard people complain that "the ships don't talk to you like they did in Privateer," but that's the single coolest thing about Freelancer I've found: with dozens of ships all buzzing about in a thriving uber-metropolis who has time to stop and chat?
All those debris clouds give "the empty void of space" a great deal of character, in a way that doesn't break the suspension of disbelief but instead adds to the atmosphere: you get the feeling the Liberty people have been in that system for a LONG time, and that the area is very well-developed. In places it has that sort of creepy "Gotham City" over-industrialized feel. Very cool.
Have you ever pulled onto a busy freeway? That's what entering a trade lane feels like ... ships go barreling past you as your ship charges up its engines. Then VROOM you accelerate and merge onto the expressway. The trade lane jump portals make a kind of "ka-clunk" sound when you pass by them, like wheels running over the asphalt segments of a highway.
Stations, planets, and ships chatter constantly, not Privateer's old, "Good to see a friendly ship," but more like control-tower talk: "Liberty transport Omega-7, please remain in holding pattern until docking clearance is granted."
The "atmosphere" this game creates is a work of art.
Gameplay is ... not fundamentally what the game is about. If you're looking for a flight experience, a Space Sim, realize that Freelancer is not one -- it is an interactive movie adventure with arcade game interludes to keep things interesting. Think "Star Control II" here: the "Star Control Hyper Melee" wasn't what people played the game for, but the combat sequences were fun and necessary to the game.
Trading works the same as Privateer only better. I like the explanations they give of the various commodities, and the price differentials they show you when you're buying. It shortens the learning curve. The economy is static but believable enough for the game's purposes.
The movie was well-done; it held my attention, the music was good, the voice-acting was good, and the 3D models were good. The animations of faces are good; lips move naturally, eyes shift and dart, and heads bob just right, but from the neck-down animations look awkward, unsynchronized, and fake. Neither men nor women swish their butts that much when they walk (do they?), but for the men it looks particularly silly. However, the face animations are good enough you can ignore the rest.
The characters seem well-done; the second guy you get missions from has that "cop-on-the-edge vigilante" attitude so strong it practically resonates thorugh the hull of your ship. Most of the "storyline" characters seem very compelling. The "non-storyline" characters have silly dialogue, but the icon you get when you mouse over them tells you what they're going to say, anyway, so that's no big deal.
The quality of the story I can't really judge, but I like it so far.
Replay value: how often do you replay a movie? It depends on how much you liked it. "Austin Powers" stands up to several viewings; "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" doesn't. The gameplay won't keep you coming back, but the movie looks good. Good enough to replay a couple of times? Don't know.
Multiplayer: Not in the demo.
That pretty well sums it up. I guess if you want me to "score" the game I could offer this: I intend to buy it, but only after it's been discounted, say in a year or so. I want to solve the adventure and see the movie, become immersed in the atmosphere, but to pay full price for a game I need to be immersed in actually playing it.
Remember playing Privateer you'd always see those 2 freighters around New Detroit and think, "Two freighters? This is New Detroit, for crying out loud!"
In Freelancer there's traffic, traffic everywhere, ships buzzing all over the system. None of it is dynamic, but in a "movie game" it's the illusion that counts, and they pull it off spectacularly.
I heard people complain that "the ships don't talk to you like they did in Privateer," but that's the single coolest thing about Freelancer I've found: with dozens of ships all buzzing about in a thriving uber-metropolis who has time to stop and chat?
All those debris clouds give "the empty void of space" a great deal of character, in a way that doesn't break the suspension of disbelief but instead adds to the atmosphere: you get the feeling the Liberty people have been in that system for a LONG time, and that the area is very well-developed. In places it has that sort of creepy "Gotham City" over-industrialized feel. Very cool.
Have you ever pulled onto a busy freeway? That's what entering a trade lane feels like ... ships go barreling past you as your ship charges up its engines. Then VROOM you accelerate and merge onto the expressway. The trade lane jump portals make a kind of "ka-clunk" sound when you pass by them, like wheels running over the asphalt segments of a highway.
Stations, planets, and ships chatter constantly, not Privateer's old, "Good to see a friendly ship," but more like control-tower talk: "Liberty transport Omega-7, please remain in holding pattern until docking clearance is granted."
The "atmosphere" this game creates is a work of art.
Gameplay is ... not fundamentally what the game is about. If you're looking for a flight experience, a Space Sim, realize that Freelancer is not one -- it is an interactive movie adventure with arcade game interludes to keep things interesting. Think "Star Control II" here: the "Star Control Hyper Melee" wasn't what people played the game for, but the combat sequences were fun and necessary to the game.
Trading works the same as Privateer only better. I like the explanations they give of the various commodities, and the price differentials they show you when you're buying. It shortens the learning curve. The economy is static but believable enough for the game's purposes.
The movie was well-done; it held my attention, the music was good, the voice-acting was good, and the 3D models were good. The animations of faces are good; lips move naturally, eyes shift and dart, and heads bob just right, but from the neck-down animations look awkward, unsynchronized, and fake. Neither men nor women swish their butts that much when they walk (do they?), but for the men it looks particularly silly. However, the face animations are good enough you can ignore the rest.
The characters seem well-done; the second guy you get missions from has that "cop-on-the-edge vigilante" attitude so strong it practically resonates thorugh the hull of your ship. Most of the "storyline" characters seem very compelling. The "non-storyline" characters have silly dialogue, but the icon you get when you mouse over them tells you what they're going to say, anyway, so that's no big deal.
The quality of the story I can't really judge, but I like it so far.
Replay value: how often do you replay a movie? It depends on how much you liked it. "Austin Powers" stands up to several viewings; "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" doesn't. The gameplay won't keep you coming back, but the movie looks good. Good enough to replay a couple of times? Don't know.
Multiplayer: Not in the demo.
That pretty well sums it up. I guess if you want me to "score" the game I could offer this: I intend to buy it, but only after it's been discounted, say in a year or so. I want to solve the adventure and see the movie, become immersed in the atmosphere, but to pay full price for a game I need to be immersed in actually playing it.
I hope you have a bit of fun with the game in a years time.