The GTVA (Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance) drove off the mysterious, malevolent Shivan attack that initiated the Great War and has since spent the last three decades rebuilding, expanding, and strengthening their combined borders.įreespace 2 picks up the story's thread at this point, starting the first few missions with a growing rebellion of humans led by Admiral Bosch, a veteran of the Great War. Having never played the first Freespace title, I was somewhat thankful that its sequel's introduction serves as a nice, cursory overview of its background and then segues into the present, some 30 years after the Great War.
There's a new kid in town (or should I say port?), and he's carrying a big stick (beam cannon?). Though I never played the first title, Descent: Freespace-The Great War, the past week has seen me glued in front of my home system, my left hand tightly gripping the trusty old MS Sidewinder 3D Pro and feet firmly planted on my CH pedals, as I fought my way through Freespace 2's excellent campaign.Īnd while I haven't forgotten about Blair and company, as this review's opening paragraphs bear obvious witness, I freely, gladly, acknowledge that the sci-fi, space combat sim genre is no longer a market dominated by only two franchises. How does the series fare against the aged classics? Quite well, I must admit. So into this void steps Volition and their Freespace games. And, with Chris Roberts' departure from Origin years ago and the company's new market strategy toward persistent, online gaming, it may be quite some time before the next chapter in the Wing Commander saga is written.
The personalities of Blair and his fellow pilots grew as the first title expanded into a full series of excellent games, each one almost a hallmark, a true event to fans of the genre, with characters like Spirit, Angel, Paladin, and Maniac becoming almost as familiar, as comfortable to gamers as Saturday afternoon, onscreen serial heroes.Įach new installment therefore came to feel like a welcome reunion with old friends, and as some characters became survivors and others statistics you realized that the storytelling talent behind the series had accomplished what many in this industry attempt yet few achieve: emotional involvement from players.ĭevoted fans of the Wing Commander milieu will probably never forget Spirit's sad choice, Maniac's antics, or Angel's tragedy, nor will we forget that Christopher Blair, old Blue Hair's, final fate has yet to be played out before our eyes. The real ground-breaker, however, was Chris Roberts' original Wing Commander and its protagonist, Christopher Blair, not to mention a fine supporting cast of wingmen NPCs. The space flight sim genre has for many years been a polarized affair, with Origin's Wing Commander series on one side and Lucasarts' Star Wars franchise on the other.
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