Descent: Freespace Battle Pack

My first foray into the space fighter sim genre wasn't Freespace - it was Wing Commander 8: Prophecy. While I enjoyed that game, it left me hungering for more; when I came across a budget jewel case bundle (which I still have) of the original Freespace and it's expansion, Silent Threat, I was hooked. This game has it all. Smooth controls. Mysterious and sinister aliens. Humanity at it's worst (the conspiracy of Silent Threat) and at it's best (the GTA's assistance and rescue of the Vasudan's after the destruction of their homeworld). I replayed the mission where the Galatea is brutally destroyed by the Lucifer something like twelve times, I was so determined to save that ship from it's fate. Freespace has never been topped in my opinion. I've played a lot of space sims, ever since Wing Commander whet my appetite, and Freespace raised the bar - but none have ever quite captured the mix of story, action, and sheer thrill that Freespace gives me every time I strap into the cockpit of the Valkyrie interceptor. If you've never played it, you owe it to yourself to give this a try, even if you're not normally a space sim player. Freespace might just change your mind.

This game should by all the graces of the gaming gods be a perfect five. My hands should burn off for marking it as less then five BUT there is one reason I cannot rate it as it should rightfully be. GOG or someone messed up the later gen windows conversions and we do not have Joystick support and yet some how the Mac version does. This is a travesty of justice against one of the greatest pc games of all time IMHO. Please GOG, or who ever has the power, fix this.

... but this game truly stands out. Damn is this game good. It takes itself pretty seriously but, unlike other games who attempt the same thing, this one actually succeeds at it by being both believable and engaging! You aren't held by the hand, like *many* modern games to date, but rather "trained" at becoming a successful space dogfighter. The cool thing is that nothing feels like a chore. During a mission you'll get to: + escort ships + analyze cargo + disarm freighters 20 times your size + destroy many alien enemy squads + lock on and evade missiles (the former with the use of decoys called "counter-measures") + issue commands to your squads in real time and more! Does it sound complex? Well, yeah, it is a little but it's definitely manageable! Trust me. As I said in the title, I'm no sim fanatic: I usually find simulators to be a grind (requiring hours upon hours of studying before you can actually get accustomed to the game), but not this game. I picked it up, didn't read the manual for it, followed the 3 basic tutorial missions and I was ready to go. The missions felt balanced enough to make me learn more along the way, but that's not all. The story and cutscenes are well constructed, with an exceptional voice acting (in my humble opinion), and you actually feel curious to discover what's going to happen next. Admitedly the plot isn't all that fresh, with a sort of Starcraft vibe to it, but by no means should this make the game feel unoriginal. I'm probably past half-way of the story (I still haven't touched the expansion yet) and I'm loving every part of it; with ambushes and surprises around every corner. I'm legitimately hooked. If that's not enough to keep you glued on the screen then the medals sure will. For each mission that you complete you receive a briefing with either a commendation for your success or reprimand for your failures; making every action feel like it has an impact! This shouldn't discourage you however because, if you fail in any way, the game comes to the rescue by giving you some tips to complete the game successfully by clicking on the "recommendations" button (IIRC). This way you get the feeling of being in command of a genuine mission without being constantly spoon fed while playing. How refreshing! Not only that, but if you manage to complete the bonus missions you receive various medals which, oddly enough for me, "feel" like you deserved them. ========= Conclusion ========= This game is awesome and should be played at all costs. I have played it with a keyboard and found it not bad but, let me tell you... I decided to give it a go with an XBox360 compatible controller (more precisely the Thrusmaster GP XID) and... it... is... AWESOME! I've managed to map almost every single keyboard command on the controller by using Xpadder (except for the squad communication commands and energy/shield controls, which are easy to spot on the keyboard) and the level of immersion is fantastic. I managed to rake in 16 kills with no sweat and it feels great. It's been a while since the last time I've felt this way for a game so, for the last time, I urge you to: BUY THIS GAME! IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY!

I would get this game now but no win10 support??? no reason for that. do it. i refuse to buy freespace 2 first. do freespace 1 for win10 now!!!!

The only problem with this game is that they never made 3rd installment. Other major pain-in-the-neck - lousy XP compatibility is gone now. I still remember countless hours spent hunting Shivans with my trusty 3DFx Voodoo on board :) To say something more about the game: many ships, differences between them, feeling that you are a part of a huge war effort, sinister and interesting aliens, wonderfully crafted missions. A big flaw is that the game ends. Booo to that - get 2nd part if you haven't already as it's even better!