i grew up playing the NES, Genesis and Snes, so i played a LOT of platformers. So i got burned out on playing platformers on PC. there are only a handful of modern side-scrollers that I enjoy on the PC and Dust is probably the best of them. Its more combat oriented than platforming, which i prefer. there are RPG elements to the game where you can upgrade 1 of 4 stats of your choice and also a shop system where you could upgrade your gear. Fidget your sidekick is adorable, the plot is great, voice acting is superb. liked it so much i played it a 2nd time over but this time on hardest difficulty. Tip: parry is the key when fighting the giant golem dudes
I went through a replay of Wing Commander 1-5 playthrough, along with privateer 1-2. but i had to skip WC4 because they made missiles a 1 shot kill for you and for the enemy even if you have full shields and full armor. this made the only stat that was important more or less, was how many flares your ship has. the gameplay changed for the worse. glad they changed it back in WC: Prophecy. played on W7 64bit, Thrustmaster t.16000 non-hotas.
I'm seeing a lot of ppl having technical issues with this game. i always check out pcgamingwiki especially if its an older game. https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Privateer_2:_The_Darkening I didn't even try playing the game until I installed the Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch. Im running on W7 64bit. I think my game crashed at most throughout the whole game a total of around 10 times which isn't that bad at all Also playing on a Thrustmaster t.16000 non-HOTAS that i bought for around $50-$60 USD. No way would i play a space sim or flight sim on a gamepad or mouse/KB, and $50 is a small investment since i play quite a few space sim games. The game felt modern even though this game came out in the late 90's which to me is amazing. its great seeing Clive Owen in action, before he was a big hollywood star. Christopher Walken, and other big name actors that you have seen in film, but maybe not know the name. They speak in a british accent which makes it a bit difficult to understand what they are saying. i don't think there is an option to turn on subtitles. Space combat feels good, but kinda "floaty". the AI could definitely wreck you if you go head to head against them; once you get behind them though its easy, but if you're dealing with multiple bogeys you're gonna have to juke their guns. you take on missions, you upgrade your ship, or buy a better ship, etc.. stats on the ship doesn't show one important factor though; the spacing of your guns. some of the guns on the ships are spaced out pretty wide so that when you are in close range, only 1 or your shots will connect, etc.. so i'd recommend saving the game before you buy a ship, load up all the guns with cheap lasers, and see how much or little the guns are spaced apart. anyways, this game worked perfect for me. just remember to download the Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch; its a little less than 500KB zip file. and for gods sake, play it on a flightstick.
