FreeSpace 2 (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.5 stars Outstanding
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 9.4 (4.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Desslock
• Reviewed on: 10/15/1999
• Updated on: 05/01/2000
• Released on: 09/30/1999
• Originally published on GameSpot: FreeSpace 2 (PC) Review

Since the early 1990s, Totally Games' X-Wing series and Origin Systems' Wing Commander series have maintained a stranglehold on the space-sim genre. Until last year, the space sims released by other companies were derivative of those two series yet generally had less impressive graphics, substandard gameplay, and dull plots. But some worthy challengers finally appeared in 1998 when Particle Systems unveiled Independence War and Volition released Descent: Freespace.

Of those two contenders, Independence War was more original, as it featured a complex physics-modeling system and put you in charge of a large capital ship. Descent: Freespace was more of a traditional space sim, as it effectively cannibalized the best elements of the genre's classics in addition to providing an outstanding interface and several other refreshing innovations. But while Particle Systems' follow-up game, Independence War Deluxe, was a mild disappointment, Volition's FreeSpace 2 is an outstanding sequel that significantly improves upon its enjoyable predecessor. Even if Totally Games had not effectively abandoned its X-Wing franchise earlier this year, and Origin had not decided to focus solely on multiplayer games, there's no doubt there's a new king in town. FreeSpace 2 is one of the best space sims ever made and is a solid candidate for game of the year.

FreeSpace 2 picks up 32 years after the events of the original game. In Descent: Freespace, a 14-year war between Terrans and Vasudans was rudely interrupted by the appearance of an ominous and technologically superior race, dubbed the Shivans. To avoid extinction, the Terrans and Vasudans were forced to set aside their differences and forge a desperate alliance. Even though Descent: Freespace concentrated most of its plot developments into the first third of the game, the story ended effectively, granting the isolated remnants of the Terran and Vasudan civilizations a Pyrrhic victory.

The plot of FreeSpace 2 ties deeply into the events of the original game, but new players can quickly learn what they missed through the game's comprehensive and interesting database. The Terrans and Vasudans remain allied and have rebuilt their societies, but their harmony is disrupted when a rogue group of Terrans secedes from the alliance because of its apparent distrust of the Vasudans. When the Shivans burst back into alliance space, the Terrans and Vasudans are suddenly faced with war on two fronts. But the alliance has had a generation to prepare for the reappearance of the Shivans and has spent that time developing formidable weaponry. Has the alliance now surpassed the mysterious Shivans? What are the real motivations of the xenophobic, secessionist Terrans? Will the alliance discover a way to reestablish contact with Earth, which was lost after the events of the original game? The complex plot of FreeSpace 2 is often surprising and consistently captivating.

There have been great stories in space sims before - some gamers prefer the plots in the Wing Commander games to the actual gameplay, and TIE Fighter's story kept Star Wars fans enthralled for its duration - but FreeSpace 2's plot feels both deeper and darker. Some gamers may be disappointed that the game ultimately doesn't wrap up all the story's loose ends, but I felt that FreeSpace 2's ending worked exceptionally well. To Volition's credit, both Descent: Freespace and FreeSpace 2 effectively establish seemingly invincible foes and yet find plausible ways to permit you to seize victory from apparent defeat without diminishing the stature of those enemies. Far too often in games, a previously deadly antagonist is quickly dispatched with the assistance of a conveniently, and improbably, discovered weapon/weakness/bauble. Volition has now avoided that trap for two successive games, and, in spite of the lack of closure, the ending to FreeSpace 2 is as intriguing as the events that transpired before it.

As in the original, the story unfolds in FreeSpace 2 through a combination of mission and command briefings, sporadic cutscenes, and, most effectively, through events depicted within actual missions. Gameplay in FreeSpace 2 will be very familiar to Freespace veterans, but there are several significant improvements. You'll still pilot fighters and bombers, but the capital ships in the game have been made considerably more dangerous. The cruisers and destroyers weren't exactly puny in the first game, but they're positively gigantic in FreeSpace 2, and unlike in many space sims, the capital ships are as deadly as their ominous size suggests. Almost all the capital ships in the game are now equipped with powerful beam weapons similar to those that were on the Shivan dreadnought, the Lucifer, in the original game. The main beam weapons are primarily used in battles between capital ships, but most of the larger ships are also stocked with smaller, anti-fighter beam weapons. Capital ships have been decked out in flak cannons as well, which let them make quick work of bombers and fighters foolish enough to wander in range. They are also still equipped with laser turrets and missile silos as in the original game, collectively making capital ships flying fortresses you'll learn to fear.

But best of all, the capital ships in FreeSpace 2 aren't relegated to being exotic targets for your bombing runs. Too often in space sims there's very little contact between opposing capital ships. However, in almost every FreeSpace 2 mission capital ships will end up clashing with each other, adding an epic feel to the overall conflict and the individual battles. It's highly entertaining just to sit back and watch these titans pound away at each other, ripping through each other with their tremendous beam weapons. FreeSpace 2 is the first space sim to depict epic capital-ship battles in a manner that both plausibly reflects their importance and demonstrates their raw power in an entertaining fashion.

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