It has been 35Years since the Great War and a time when the lives of billions were saved by a gallant few that now lie old and frail. Now with the jump node to the Sol system gone we remain isolated from our families and homeland, the only glimpse of home being that of each other. The terrible force that struck us down before is now back and the new Terran-Vesudan alliance has been preparing for this day since the end of the last Great War. Unfortunately the lines are no longer so clearly defined, we face war on multiple fronts this time and such a self-implosions can only serve as our destruction. We are in Freespace no longer.

Run, The Shivans are back!

Shivans, sounding rather like a German tank, are face less Aliens hell bent on the destruction of both the Vesudan and Terran races. Next to them the Rebellion constantly fights the Terran-Vesudan Alliance out of hatred for those funny shaped Vesudan characters who are also Aliens, nice ones we think. Not forgetting the ancients who are another faceless race previously wiped out by those pesky Shivans. Here we are in the world of Freespace2 (FS2), a world that sees war on multiple fronts and a story line that eventually moulds into one with several twists along the way.

Surprisingly little has changed in the game itself since the original and to some degree it feels a little bit like a big add-on pack rather than a whole new game. The controls are still the same, taking full use of either keyboard, Mouse or the popular Joystick, which brings so much light to many conversations. They feel smooth and just right for a space shooter and give you maximum control right when you really need it. There are many keys that need to be assigned on-top of that, however they are mostly time savers for more advanced users and the main movement, targeting and firing controls remain the only ones really used.

Your opponents themselves be they alien or rebel have changed very little in the way they fight against you. Appearing to dodge and weave more frequently with a slight tendency to have you skate down the sides of cruisers after them like a mouse down a tube, but much the same none the less. Thankfully the AI (Artificial Intelligence) has always been strong and provides a perfect mix of frustration, challenge and even reward when you take one of the frisky nuts out.

Do like a Shivan does

If you die then you have to restart the mission you died on, you can either do this by leaping strait back in or reading the briefing again but you won't get anywhere unless you play on. With the increased variations in missions taking you through nebulas, normal space and right behind enemy lines it certainly seems FS2 knows how to keep you entertained. This means the gameplay is always throwing a new challenge at you or twisting the plot right in front of your sparkling eyes. However if you played the original FS then you might just think this is too similar, that's not a bad thing though and in fact it's a very good thing because FS rocked monkey bells. This results in some perhaps not to original gameplay but certainly fun and entertaining.

Next >>