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Freelancer: Games
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One of the most distinctive features of Freelancer is its control scheme. Perhaps in order to appeal to a broader audience than die-hard simulation fans, the game eschews the use of a joystick altogether and instead offers a simplified mouse-and-keyboard interface. While other space sims have allowed the use of a mouse to emulate a joystick's functions, mouse control in such games was generally a poor alternative. Freelancer, on the other hand, was designed with the limitations and advantages of that input device in mind, and as a result its mouse control works efficiently and actually enhances the gameplay.
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Freelancer is a space trading and combat simulation computer game developed by Digital Anvil and published by Microsoft. The game was initially announced by Chris Roberts in 1999, and following many production schedule mishaps and a buyout of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, it was eventually released in March 2003.
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Freelancer has broken with the norm in space combat games by forgoing the joystick as controller. Instead they have opted for a system that uses the mouse and keyboard. You use the mouse to aim and fire. The keyboard is used to select weapons, control thrust and slide left and right in combat. I was a little put off at first but after playing with it for a short while, it is quite natural and I like it. A tap of the space bar allows you to go from "free flight mode" where you can maneuver your ship around, to a mode where you can use your mouse pointer to select any of the icons located around the screen. The buttons allow you to target items, dock with stations, join ship formations, recharge your shields and contact others.
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Freelancer's move to a mouse and keyboard only flight controls mostly paid off. Resembling more of first-person shooters than standard space simulators, and coupled with an intuitive "point and click" nature, it was said to make blowing up enemies easier.[20][27][74] GameSpy stated these fights were incredibly fun and should extend the game's longevity in multiplayer. IGN pointed out while this system suited the game's focus on exploration and fast combat, the "pointing and clicking" limited possibilities. It disallowed jinking or barrel rolls, resulting in dogfights being reduced to overly simplistic and repetitive "chase or be chased" sequences which pale to those in other games of the same genre.[10][75] The lack of wingmen control and customization, the indifference in starfighter speeds, and the uselessness of targeting subsystems were GameSpot's criticisms for what made a tactically shallow game. While SKOAR! praised the AI for being able to split up and flank the player,[21] PC Zone criticized it for concentrating only on the player in dogfights.
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The Freelancer vision of space is quite scenic. It seems like every system has its fair share of interstellar anomalies, gas clouds, asteroid fields, and starbases. Even better, there is plenty of variety between any two systems, so you really do get the feeling that each location is somewhat unique. Contrast the brilliant orange hues of the Stuttgart system with the murky blue of Sigma 13. Even better, the asteroid fields all have some individual flavor, as do all of the planetary landing sites. Some of the ship designs are downright ugly, but in general the game is a visual treat.
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Freelancer follows the 2000 PC/Dreamcast game Starlancer. It’s now 800 years after the events of that game, when the major Earth powers (the U.S., Japan, Germany, et al.) were forced to flee and colonize a distant system. Civilization is back in full swing when a mysterious force attacks space station Freeport 7. Few survivors remain; one of them is Edison Trent (the player), who finds himself without ship, cargo or a promised million-credit payment. Trent is quickly given a tiny fighter and a job by the Liberty Security Force.
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