Freespace 2 Open Review

Hi again, Darth Doull here to give you another exciting review, this time I'll be looking at Freespace 2: Open, a Space Combat Simulator and RTS.

Before I get to the actual expansion or mod, I will talk about the game. Okay, so the original Freespace 2 video game was released in September of 1999. Developed by Volition Inc. and produced by Interplay Entertainment, the game is a smash hit with mind blowing graphics and features. The first notable cut scene in the game is the opening intro that greets the player upon every start up. The cut scene alone is but a taste of what Freespace 2 has to offer. The story is well plotted with new enemies and mysteries to unravel in your quest to save the human race from extinction. The player embarks on this journey through a series of training missions however the player may choose to skip them. The single player campaign contains missions with a variety of strategical roles from reconnaissance in asteroid fields to head on battles with fleets. There is never a point of time in Freespace 2 when your not on guard. The first game (Descent: Freespace: The Great War) began with a war between two species, the Terrans and the Vasudans. The war is interrupted when something strange happens, a new species (later known as the Shivans) launches a galactic strike against both Vasudans and Terrans alike. This sparks an alliance between the species and they form what is later called the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance or G.T.V.A.. The war is won but a majority of the alliance fleet is left stranded when a jump node back to earth is destroyed by the Shivans during their last desperate attempt to destroy the human homeworld. Freespace 2 carries on the story with Terran and Vasudan rebellions and unrest. All this is interrupted again when a massive Shivan fleet stumbles upon the G.T.V.A. remnants. The player must save man kind or get destroyed by the next great war with the Shivans.

The game play is very well balanced which leaves little room for error when the player is fighting larger groups of enemy wings. Before missions, players are given briefings of what to expect during their mission. It is in the briefing screen where players can choose a variety of ships to fly the mission and even customize their choices with different weapon load outs. The player is given the ability to command friendly fighters and bombers, this unique ability allows for crude but effective strategical decisions to be made during battle. Command comes in different forms but in some cases the player may even command friendly cruisers, corvettes (corvettes are larger and meaner cruisers), frigates (smaller lightly armed cruisers), or even capital ships. Players are granted open ended control of their ship, a noticeable feature is the ability to change power distribution levels. Power distribution is one of the most used controls during game play because it allows the player to increase/decrease velocity, weapon energy, or shield power. Players are constantly finding themselves switching full power to shields when taking damage or full power to engines when intercepting enemies. These features among many others provide open ended playing style and support for victory. In addition, the game's event-driven soundtrack is extremely well done and completes the mood and feel of ambient space or battles.

Now to the cool part, the Source Code Project (not to confuse the S.C.P. with the Source engine, they are different things) was formed approximately in 2002. The primary function of the S.C.P. was to take Freespace 2 and make it better than it already was. A unique team of people who specialized in sound, imaging, modeling, and programming were assigned to this difficult task. In a few years time the Source Code Project finally released the first version of Freespace 2: Open. Since then, there have been a wide range of updates to improve the look and feel of Freespace 2: Open.

comments 0