Freelancer Demo

Space simulation is not a very vast genre, although there are some titles that did well for themselves and managed to attract quite a bit of attention. However, they are many pits that must be avoided in order to produce a successful title, because science fiction has its limits and requires thorough explanations for everything that's part of the story, or even the mechanics themselves.

Freelancer has been developed around the idea that players appreciate vast worlds to explore, as well as the freedom to do as they please and stray from the main plot on occasion, in order to deal with other things. Thus, the game tries to put all this into practice and provide you with huge playable areas, a complex trading and economy system, as well as intense dogfights with space pirates, alien races or the authorities.

To start off with, you are familiarized with the universe and the characters, with the help of nicely executed cutscenes that depict dialogue and various other uncontrollable events. Your character's name is Edison Trent and he deals mostly with trading between systems, although he also possesses some valuable skills when it comes to space combat. Over the course of the game, both talents will come in handy, depending on how you choose to spend your time.

Trading is a big part of the game, since the economy can be used to your advantage most of the time, by buying various items and transporting them between systems. Hence, you can trade entire space ships, weapons and various goods, although you should be aware that not all items are legal in some systems. By ignoring this, you can quickly get the distinction of being a pirate, which does not sit very well on your resume and it certainly upsets any nearby police that might have heard about your deeds.

Another important aspect is the multiplayer mode, which supports up to 128 players at once and makes for some pretty thrilling space fights. It is, however, also possible for the players to work together and just live in harmony, although trading in silence can quickly become rather boring. The beautiful graphics bring the universe to life and you cannot really enjoy the staggering explosions and light shows that are part of a dogfight if you do not engage in a bit of war.

Beside the lengthy campaign, Freelancer also holds the potential for practically endless gameplay, thanks to the solid trading system. On the other hand, the economy is not dynamic and it doesn't really react to your actions, which means that things stop being too exciting after a while. The storyline is linear and it does not encourage replays, although the plot is pretty well written.