This game consumed my life. No other game brought me into the atmosphere of mercenary space life like this non linear adventure space extravaganza. I was so excited for Freelancer when it came out but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. There was just something about the atmosphere that could not compare with this old classic game. Trade, kill, steal and smuggle to earn credits, upgrade your ship, join the merchant’s guild and discover the truth behind an unknown alien artifact.
Gameplay
You start at a mining station in the Troy system.
These stations and others like it on the planets you land on serve as a basis for accepting missions, learning up to date information at the local bar, buying new, faster, more durable ships and updating the equipment on an existing ships. The ship dealer seems to make the game interesting. I found that only became tired of the game once I completely upgraded all the gadgets to the max. Luckily, it takes A LOT of cash to buy the high end gear including the beloved TALON ship. It also interesting to know that simply buying a more expensive gun or laser does not necessarily make it better just more powerful. The more powerful the output of energy the faster the energy of your ship drains which
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quickly regenerates in space.
Graphics
Very dated. It’s been 12 years. I still love the artwork done on the planet scenery but in space flight might turn off a lot of today’s would-be fans. There is a privateer remake out there that converts all the graphics from bitmap to 3-d. The game looks a lot cleaner with this new update and the dog fights play out very well. But this remake shows its amateur status with an array of bugs and unpolished on-planet experience.
Sound
Great voice acting especially for the time. The bartender spews large amounts of random information at you and it seems every now in then ill find out something the bartender never told me or I forgot. The music is outstanding and plays a huge part in bringing the privateer world together. I believe there is also an updated score that converts the privateer music from midi to something a bit more contemporary.
Overall
Great atmosphere, bad graphics. If graphics aren’t a necessary staple in your electronic diet then try this one out.
