Hello, I recently purchased the game and installed on a Windows 7 64 bit machine but whenever I start it the screen is shifted to the left and mouse control, while possible, isn't able to click anything. Is this a resolution issue with my monitor or something simple like that? I've had this specific issue with other GOG games which leads me to think it might be somethign of the sort. My monitor is 18.5" diagonal, 1366x768 resolution, VGA & DVI-D.

That's odd - although come to think of it - on occasion Independence War had similar issues in Win7 32 bit I think (been awhile - keep meaning to get back to that game).

Have you tried other resolutions for your monitor?

Is this Freespace 1 or 2?

Are you using the straight-up GOG version of Freespace or the open source engine for Freespace (a separate, free download from the Freespace source code project)?

If this is the classic version you can try the solutions here:
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/freespace_series/solution_afterburner_briefing_screen_stall_input_lag

If you'd like to play in a modern and prettier engine for the game, try out the FSO engine. It makes the game look a lot nicer and improves compatibility of the game with modern operating systems. It does however require a lot of hard drive space and download time. The automated installer is here:
http://scp.indiegames.us/bnr_installer.php.
Instructions are here:
http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Getting_started

Yep, this is Freespace 1, straight up GOG download. My monitor's resolution is only reduceable to 800x600, I imagine that might be the issue. Would the opensource download fix this issue do you think?

almost certainly - just be sure to download the "mod" FSport - which is the Freespace 1 port done for the FSO engine. You can set the resolution of the game in the FSO launcher and play on modern, hi-def resolutions. :)