Freespace 2

As in the original, the story unfolds in FreeSpace 2 through a combination of mission and command briefings, sporadic cutscenes, and, most effectively, through events depicted within actual missions. Gameplay in FreeSpace 2 will be very familiar to Freespace veterans, but there are several significant improvements. You'll still pilot fighters and bombers, but the capital ships in the game have been made considerably more dangerous. The cruisers and destroyers weren't exactly puny in the first game, but they're positively gigantic in FreeSpace 2, and unlike in many space sims, the capital ships are as deadly as their ominous size suggests. Almost all the capital ships in the game are now equipped with powerful beam weapons similar to those that were on the Shivan dreadnought, the Lucifer, in the original game. The main beam weapons are primarily used in battles between capital ships, but most of the larger ships are also stocked with smaller, anti-fighter beam weapons. Capital ships have been decked out in flak cannons as well, which let them make quick work of bombers and fighters foolish enough to wander in range. They are also still equipped with laser turrets and missile silos as in the original game, collectively making capital ships flying fortresses you'll learn to fear.

For those of you unable to play the game after the initial cinematic because of the game being unable to go full screen. Simply change your screen resolution to 1024 x 768 and select caracter size 100%. The game launched perfectly well after thoses changes.

Hands down, the best space sim of all time. I'm all about the freespace modding that has been done but seriously... it's time for a reboot of the franchise. Not a single worth while first-person space sim out in years. Not a single good sci-fi show on tv right now. Huge potential here for a reboot/sequel. There's a reason why this is constistantly in the top 3/top 5 games on gog.com.

There aren't many games that I feel compelled to write praise for. Most games have enough as it is by much more prominent reviewers. Freespace 2 is the only exception, as it is, without any question in my mind, one of the greatest games ever created, anywhere, at any time, in any era. Proving this is the iconic antivillain, Admiral Aken Bosch. With a staggeringly effective voiceover (as well as the rest of the cast, all of which are simply astonishing--a far, far cry from most voiced games), a suspenseful backstory, and part of one of the greatest sci-fi stories ever written (I've read my share of sci-fi, and this is easily top-grade writing, executed almost exclusively by your silent protagonist's journey throughout the game), five stars is not enough when considering other five-star games. This is the best of the best, pure and simple, in almost any department, bar none. It's epic, it's suspenseful, it's awe-inspiring...it is inarguable proof that a video game can also be, in exceptionally rare occurrences, art. Unequaled. Nothing, absolutely nothing, even comes close to how absurdly epic this game is.

Important to note. Yes, the game is open source in it's original form, the difference with GOG is COMPATIBILITY! I find it funny and a little annoying when silly people overlook this. The same could be said for the Feist; Krondor RPG here. It's freely available online. So if you can get it, and can get it to work on DOSBOX, and can make your peace with it every time it crashes and you have to re-jig it to work again, that's fine. But for the rest of us, GOG handles the compatibility for a pittance with insurance that if you have a problem and contact them, someone will sort it out, and that's not something you get with open source. I just thought someone should represent the other side of the coin. Hope this information helps any unsure browsers. Anyhow, I'm not rating this game as 1 star, it's awesome and still holds up as what was probably the pinnacle of the genre for gameplay. Between a 4 star and a 5 star for me.