Mix in some Dark Souls with a little bit of cinema like Prometheus and Event Horizon, and it makes this. Hellpoint looks awesome, feels awesome and it has a lot going for it. But, there's so much grind, so much dying, do much wandering and collecting and wandering the same ground over and over and grinding away (has the grind been mentiond?) And the player is lost from the start and remains so for a long time. Just, lost and losing and repeating over and over and occasionally getting a little bit further along before the next insurmountable roadblock comes along. Visually super cool, atmospherically incredible and has some great game features but, if your into masochism, this one's for you.
Bear in mind that this game was released in 1999... it was and may still be a truly awesome game. Right off the bat, let's get it out of the way, gog has done it dirty bacause Freespace 2 has been freeware for many years now (try fsoinstaller dot com). That said, this version deserves 0 stars because not only does it NOT WORK it actually wrecked my gog galaxy installation somehow. Compatibility modes, turn this on, that off, yell at it - nope. No work. And then Galaxy stopped working so bad not even a fresh install got it functional so 'Dear GOG, you've really screwed this up in every way possible'. (eventually got galaxy to work again, can't remember how though.) 2 stars just for keeping awareness of this legendary title alive though.
This might be a great game. Visuals look excellent, character roster looks great. Wait...what? KEYBOARD controls? No controller support?? Jeeeze... you can do better with a flucking dosbox emulation. Glad it installed fast 'cause it got uninstalled right after that massive failure was observed.
...while your landship constantly suffers catastrophic damage, catches fire and burns you to death. This title absolutely defies genres and is overflowing with atmosphere and art and cool concepts and all that but, it has zero replay value and lacks depth (or at least, lacks defined depth). Where's our little guy (or gal) going? Why? What happened to the world? And several other unanswered questions. Actual gameplay consists of pushing your landships 'go', 'stop', 'steam vent' buttons, putting out fires and repairing components, gathering fuel and using it and some minor puzzle figuring out. It actually all gets pretty tedious and the player will be thankful the games conclusion comes fairly quickly. I'm glad I played it, it was a neat experience. But I can't recommend it. Repetitious gameplay and absolutely no reason to ever start it up again after one playthrough equates to a sad thumbs down. Sad because it really does have a lot going for it. I even dislike giving it a lowly 3 star rating. But, bias aside, that's about all it is :(
Remember this game fondly but it did not stand up to the test of time. Mission briefings are tedious. The main character doesn't run, just clunks around in his power suit. So that's tedious. And, no controller support?!?!?? What the what? Wasn't this a console game? Hitting 'enter' to interact with the world is, you guessed it, tedious. Adding a 'run' feature for the main character would almost make this tolerable. Add contoller capability and it might even be worth a play through. As it is though, ten minutes in this game feels like hours. -would also add that the purchase feels like you just got fleeced. If you're gonna sell a game make sure it's worth it, and not simply repackaged with one of the best aspects (controller use) left out.
Yes, it's fun. And some of the dialouge is ripped right out of 'Privateer'. BUT, you're stuck on a horizontal plane (which feels so very wrong in a space game) and while upgrading your your ship seems cool, it becomes 'same old same old' after a bit, then you end up with the ultimate destroyer (nothing wrong there) so you trade it in for a lesser ship for some challenge only to find some missions are out of reach. Story, while o.k., is not terribly engaging and pitters out quickly and is easily concluded...leaving you a listless captain playing with the faction and trading systems. Music and sound are top notch, despite repetition they don't become boring. Comparisons to Privateer and Freelancer are expected- but Rebel Galaxy is not those titles. Not even close. Grab yourself a copy to have a decent amount of fun from time to time, not to be immersed in a great story and you'll be satisfied.
