Descent: Freespace Battle Pack

This is the best space simulator I have ever played. Well, it was the best one until Freespace II appeared :). The best HUD in simulators. Nice story and hours of dogfight. If you like space sim it is the one you must have.

This game is a remarkable example of the now-dead (well, almost dead) space combat genre. Though I wouldn't say that it changed the established views on genre or something like that. Actually, it's just very well designed. The essence of the game is simple: Freespace has no features like free-roaming or trading, but it can boast a variety of action-packed missions linked by a rich and atmospheric storyline (plus astonishing soundtrack and pretty nice graphics for 12-year-old standards). Rush dogfights, dangerous enemies, and a variety of objectives (escort, assault, recon, bombing...) - every time you should choose the proper tactics to survive and fulfil your current objectives (but luckily there are no such tiresome scenarios like "move there and spend 5 minutes, then move somewhere else and spend another 5 minutes only for being suddenly killed at 11th minute".) Сombine this with a solid storyline and deep atmospere of fear and despair (as the Shivan armada advances through Terran-Vasudan space) and we get a perfect sci-fi action thriller in space. Unfortunately, the Silent Threat expansion is half-a-crap (although there are some good missions in it as well), but this has no concern with the main Freespace campaign.

Really I should have said "the best" because I have yet to play anything better. This set the stage for space shooters to come, simple enough you didnt need to memorize 20 different controls while still allowing you to set anything you can think of to a quick key. Decent difficulty curb, with rewards when you complete tasks above and beyond what you have to. I still play it once in a while, even after beating it several times.

Though the plot is a bit cliche and it's over-shadowed by its sequel, Freespace is a VERY good game. Interesting ships, cool weapons, atmospheric music, varied gameplay (mission objectives) and a satisfying climax. One thing I will say. Some people have said in their reviews that you should skip this and just buy FS2 and get the "FSPort" along with FSOpen from hard-light.net. . . I disagree with this personally. I've never been one to care for flashy graphics, and personally if I play FS1 again I play the original game not the port. There's just something about having the original graphics, interface, music and so forth that is just a bit more special than simply playing a port later on. Also I'm not convinced that the gameplay between FS1 and FSPort is the same. FS2 is a very missile-centric game. Whereas in FS1 you rely more on your fighter's laser cannons because the missiles aren't that reliable. This makes it much more of a dog-fight orientated game. Also I'm not convinced the AI behaviour and some of the other code is the same between the two games. So in summary, if you love space flight sims. Pick this bad boy up. Then pick up FS2 afterwards and play the multitude of user-made campaigns for both settings.

Everyone else's reviews are pretty much spot on, but I just have one minor gripe, dealing with the commands you can give to your wings. Apparently when I choose "Form on me" to get them to follow me when I go in for an attack where I know the enemies are going to be jumping in, it means "Lets follow you way too close so you always hit us and not engage the enemies" Besides the commands for your wings being a bit wonky, this game is amazing. I remembered how pissed I was when I lost Disk 2 and was unable to play, but now that I got my digital copy on GOG, I can relive the epic battles all over again.