Space Interceptor: Project Freedom (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Alex Navarro
• Reviewed on: 12/01/2004
• Released on: 11/09/2004
• Originally published on GameSpot: Space Interceptor: Project Freedom (PC) Review

From the same publisher/developer combo who brought you last month's aggressively lousy shooter Terrorist Takedown comes Space Interceptor: Project Freedom, a budget-priced space combat sim. Don't worry, though, because apart from being unfortunately associated with that lousy terrorist fighting game, and having one of the worst titles (and subtitles) of any game this year, Space Interceptor is actually pretty good. Space Interceptor conjures up a lot of pleasant memories of PC space sims past, such as Wing Commander or even 2003's Freelancer. Sadly, it's not nearly up to the level of quality of those games, but in a genre as close to utter desolation as the space combat sim, even a plucky little space shooter with more heart than technical prowess like Space Interceptor can prove to be a breath of fresh air.

What exactly is Space Interceptor all about? Mostly, it's about simplistic, easy-to-play space combat with a very loose plot structure that's incidental at best. You are, of course, an anonymous ace pilot in a squad of space fighters. The side you represent, Project Freedom, is constantly under duress by rival corporations and other assorted bad people who fly their own big spaceships and maintain bases and what have you across the universe. What does that mean to you, the player? Well, this is a space combat game, so, if you follow the proper lines of logic, it means you'll be blowing said spaceships and bases into assorted forms of space dust with the help of your trusty ship and squadmates.

Well, actually, you'll mostly just be doing it with your ship, since Space Interceptor falls into the trap a lot of space sims tend to fall into, and that is that the ships that fly under your banner are largely useless, save for the one or two times one of their random shots just happens to accidentally hit an enemy. But, it doesn't matter, because most times you'll be able to take care of business on your own. Your ship features a few different weapons, including a basic blaster, which is good for busting up smallish enemy fighters. You'll also have a secondary weapon, from which you'll have a variety to choose, including basic air-to-air missiles and big-time plasma bursts. Most times you will find yourself up against enemy squads, but periodically you will have to take on some big, honking battleships or some ground weaponry, such as stationary blasters and rocket launchers, and even some goofy looking mechs. Though the game does charge you with some fairly specific tasks, like protecting allied ships during rescue missions, those objectives often come second to simply flying around and blowing the hell out of everything that comes near your crosshairs, and for that purpose, the game serves pretty well.

This is mostly because the controls in the game are rarely ever problematic. Most all of the default control falls onto the mouse, with the two main mouse buttons set to fire your weapons, and the mouse itself in control of your ship's movement axis. The mousewheel also lets you accelerate by rolling it back and forth, though even turning the acceleration all the way down won't stop you, as your ship is always in forward motion. You can't actually stop or reverse thrust, but despite that limitation, you'll rarely find yourself having much trouble controlling where you want your ship to go. It's very much an arcade-type method of control, but considering that the action itself seems largely arcade-inspired, it works just fine and makes for some fun space-shooting action.

With that said, there are some quirks in the gameplay. For starters, there's no good indication of when you're hitting an enemy ship with anything but the most explosive of weapons. The only way to see is by squinting at the tiny energy meters for the ship in your crosshairs, and that can get annoying quickly. Another issue involves combat against the bigger ships--or, more specifically, the lack thereof. Though rare, when you do find yourself trying to take down a capital ship, all you're really doing is trying to blow up a series of blocked sections (as each individual section has its own energy meter), only a couple of which have the capability of firing back at you. Once you destroy the areas that have guns, you'll just be flying back and forth, shooting each blocked section until a big, charred husk is left behind. It would have been nice if the combat against these ships felt a little more epic.

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