Darkstar One is easily the best space-sim since Freelancer. The difference here is players control the same ship throughout the game, instead of trading/buying new ones as credits are accumulated. This gives it more of an action-rpg feel than many open ended space-sims have, as you collect artifacts to upgrade and customize ship attributes. If you've played any Elite style space-sim you know what to expect here, lots of pirates, trading, bounty hunting, and some story missions thrown in too. Overall this is an excellent title and one of the best available on GOG.
I can't imagine anyone enjoying this game ten years ago or today. The gunplay is horrible, the art style is flat out stupid and insulting to the player's intelligence, and even the most basic tasks are next to impossible. I'm a big fan of FPS games, and Shogo, another one available on GOG.com, is one of my all time favorites - but Kingpin misses the mark in every way. It wasn't worth $50 in the 90s, and it's not worth $6 in the 2000s.
I'm sure I'll be flamed for this, but I'm really not impressed with this game at all. It has a great setting and storyline, but there's really no fun to be found in the gameplay. Combat is a chore, as is even basic exploration and character interaction. Much of the game feels like the worst elements of Shadowrun for SNES and some horrible online RPGs were slapped together to make an underwhelming, if well written, experience.
It's a shame this game was released around the same time as Half Life, because it was overlooked by a lot of people back then. It really is an amazing game, and one of the best first person shooters of the 3d era. Many of the character models are obviously dated, but otherwise the graphics still hold up even ten years later - and the gameplay is still top notch.
