Privateer 2: The Darkening

I disagree with Spoony on this one. I think the gameplay is absolutely spot on. Maybe I'm biased because this was the first open sand box style game I'd ever played, but I've since tried others from that era and before, and this one stands high. It is nothing short of awesome. The only mild complaint I might have is that late into the game the missions may be a bit repetitive, however it takes a long time to get to that point because there are so many. I think this game is well designed, and has the right mix of good game play and video cut scenes. The video portions are well acted and drive an interesting story line which of course you can choose to follow or completely ignore without consequence. I still own the original dos CD's AND the later Windows 95 version CD's, with the printed manuals. I now also own the GOG version. THAT'S how cool this game is. I could go on and on, but at this price, the game definitely worth owning and playing.

Privateer 2 is the type of game you only play for the story. The gameplay doesn’t reach the level of depth the original had. There is a lot of repetition in the missions and there really isn’t much to do in the game that will keep your interest except for the story. The writing is excellent and the FMV is done in a particular style that might not be for everyone. The best thing I can compare the style to is older British Sci-Fi, similar to Blake’s 7 and some of the darker classic Doctor Who episodes. The tone of the story is dark and almost dreamlike at times. The game features a large cast of skilled actors such as Brian Blessed, John Hurt, Clive Owen, and Christopher Walken. The quality of the Story is equivalent, to Wing Commander IV. However, WC4 improved upon the story presentation and gameplay of WC3. Privateer 2 surpasses the story of the original by leaps and bounds, but the gameplay take a step backwards, giving the game an unbalanced feel. If you’re looking for a well written, well acted, and stylistically filmed sci-fi drama, I highly recommend this game. If you’re expecting gameplay as engaging as the original, you’ll be disappointed.

While Chris Roberts was busy with the Wing Commander series, his brother Erin was toiling away on Privateer. Priv 1 was everything I wanted WC I & II to be. And Priv 2 does likewise for WC III & IV. It adds a huge degree of freedom. Instead of flying fixed missions with fixed ships in a fixed location, you get to explore, trade, blow up stuff, buy cool stuff, interact with NPCs etc etc. Yes the FMVs are cheesy and dated by today's standards, but you wouldn't be on GOG if that was your criterion. The gameplay was addictive, the ships and guns were cool, and the atmosphere is just beautifully immersive. The sound effects haunted me for years! If you have any love for space sim games, this title is indispensable.

How To Fix The Game: Bugs/Crashes/Etc The GOG version of the game runs through DOSBOX. The DOSBOX version of the game is slow and choppy. The correct way to play the game is by "converting" it into a Windows 95 game. In practice you're just going to download some different Privateer 2 files and replace the existing ones. You'll no longer be running the game through DOSBOX and will get the correct game experience. 1) Install the game. 2) Find, download and extract the following into the game directory: priv2windowspatch.zip 3) Find, download and extract the following into the game directory: p2_patch_test3.zip 4) From now on run the game from: DARKFIX.EXE ---------------- Save files will be stored and loaded from the root of the game directory, not from sub directories. If you have save files you wish to use, move them into the root of the game directory. The save files are named GAME00.IFF - GAME09.IFF. ---------------- You can download the above mentioned files in the link below. The instructions I'm giving you are exactly for the GOG version so you don't have to bother with anything else on the site. www.originalthp.solsector.net/privateer2win95/ ---------------- There's a cool tool to edit your saved games so you can change how many credits you have, your ship, and a number of other things. You can find the tool by searching for: "Privateer 2 Savegame Editor Updated" The file to download is: priv2editorv2.zip ---------------- A note on game difficulty: The difficulty curve is too steep in my opinion. For this reason I give myself the 250,000 credit ship with a full loadout - shield enhancers, afterburner, etc. I also set my credits to 0. It makes the game fun with the difficulty reasonable. ---------------- Tip: While in space, press Alt+o and disable "Flight Model Orientation" to disable inverted mouse control. Who controls games like that?? Enjoy this wonderful game!