Wing Commander ®: Privateer ™

GOG's last big summer sale, I catch that Privateer is going for peanuts and say why not for a couple of bucks. Being I was a big fan of WC 3 / WC4 back in the day and enjoy simple space sims with a degree of freedom a la 'Escape Velocity' or 'Endless Sky'. This is what I get for listening to five star reviews. If you ever wondered what a Wing Commander game would feel like if the grandiose story, characters were stripped away ... this is it. You have the choice to be a galactic trader, pirate or bounty hunter, but that's fun for about five minutes and it took grinding to get into a decent ship with fighting capabilities for the latter. You can eventually pursue the one story arch found in-game, but it's hardly satisfying or all that deep. As a WC game the in-cockpit space portion of the game is both familiar and graphics sufficient, but as there isn't any depth or substance to be found beneath it, I started to get bored and then wondered what all the nostalgic fuss was about. If you want a trip down WC memory lane before FMV took over it's a flashback, but "elite classic" it is not.

I lost many a night to this game back when I was growing up! I'd never quite experienced this level of freedom in a game before, and it was mesmerizing! Privateer is an elite-style freeform space game - trading, fighting, smuggling, you name it! There is a story, but t'be honest I couldn't tell you what it was - I always got distracted by the random missions that can be picked up at any spaceport. Those give you money, and money means a better ship! The vast array of weaponry and upgrades, all available from the start but stupidly expensive, keep pushing you to get more and more powerful, exploring the (massive) galaxy and destroying pirates by the dozen! Or police, if you happen to want to play that way... Sadly it looks like GOG haven't included the rather fun add-on 'Righteous Fire', but I'm sure that'll come with time. For now, download and get lost in the Gemini Sector!

This was the first PC game I ever purchased. To say the least I was in awe. Played it hour upon hour. Thing is it is just as awesome today as it was then. Perhaps more so, imagine all the work that went into the production of what was in it's day the pinnacle of gaming. Young Gamers owe themselves this game, not just for the incredible game play and world Origin created, but also for the appreciation of how far graphics have come. Privateer II would sure be a nice addition.

"Back in the day" I bought this when the CD edition was released with the add on packs, spent hours on end playing it. Somewhere over the years, house moves and computer upgrades, I lost the CD. I've tried the remake projects, but they never felt the same. Now to get a version that is complete AND runs nicely under win 7, I'm over the moon (so to speak). Hopefully Privateer 2 runs as nicely. They just don't make games like this anymore.

Best space-sim since Elite. It has a special quality to it that I like even better than Freelancer. It also supports Joysticks.