Ok now this game is Diablo in Space

[WarLocke]

Would it be a good idea to swap out a gun for a missile slot? Or better yet, any place I can buy torpedoes? The shops in the Leeds system don't seem to carry them.

Actually, I'm pretty sure most do. However, you have to be level 10 to buy the earliest torpedo launcher I've found (the Starkiller). If you're not level 10 yet, you can still see if the dealer has them in stock by scrolling down to the greyed-out weapons that are too high for your level.

Torpedos make station assaults much easier (weapon platforms aren't quite sturdy enough to warrant a torpedo, IMO), and do wonders against battlecruisers (which are so slow they may as well be stations). Since the only other weapon that can go into a torpedo hardpoint is a cruise disruptor (which I have yet to find a good use for), there's no reason not to mount a torpedo launcher if your ship can, IMO.

And that escape from Liberty mission was way cool.

They get cooler than that. Just wait until you go to Sprague... :ph34r:

- WL

[keenduck]

Hmm ... didn't really think the Sprague to Kusari mission was better. By this time, I had improved my fighting skills so that I wasn't running out of shield batteries every few seconds. :D So it wasn't as panicy / cool as the Liberty escape mission.

But the whole Rheinland fleet landing on you ... that was interesting. I didn't kill much in that battle, though not for lack of trying. I just couldn't follow the Rheinland fighters as they jinked all over the place.

Crusaders sure can take a beating, but now that I'm in Kusari space, what would you guys recommend I buy? I've got around 100000 credits. The Hawk looks nice, as does the Barracuda, but what's the battleship Kusari ship? (I mean the one that's sold at Kusari battleships. I assume there are Kusari battleships, and the best fighter is sold there.)

[WarLocke]

I haven't tried Hawks or Barracudas, sorry. The Kusari battleships sell Dragons, which are better than Crusaders in every respect. Better hull strength, handling, weapon mounts (4x Class 6, 2x Class 5 {IIRC}, Torpedo/Disruptor, Class 7 {?} shield).

From reading posts at Lancersreactor, and on GameFAQs, the Barracuda supposedly handles better than a Dragon, but with a smaller loadout. The Hawk is supposedly just plain sub-par.

If you want to try a light fighter, the Drake is really nice (only 4x Class 6 hardpoints and a Disruptor mount though), although if you're used to flying heavies it may be TOO manueverable.

I didn't kill much in that battle, though not for lack of trying. I just couldn't follow the Rheinland fighters as they jinked all over the place.

I took out the battleship. :ph34r: I just unloaded my torpedos into it, it took 7 or 8, I think. Plus cannon shots, o coz. Then just tried to keep my arse in one piece (in a big ugly fish-shaped bus).

- WL

[keenduck]

I had trouble lining up the torpedo shots. As far as I can tell, what you do is line your ship up with the target, fire off a torpedo, and hope the target doesn't move in the meanwhile. Flying straight at a battleship was somewhat suicidal. Interestingly enough, as I was engaging the fighters, I think I fired the last shot that killed the battleship. (What happened was I was following a fighter, saw the battleship was almost dead, and fired a few guns at it, which I thought made it explode, but my character's kill sheet doesn't included any battleship kills.)

I looked at the stats at Lancersreactor, and it looks as though the Barracuda and the Dragon are pretty much the same ship, but the Barracuda has five more cargo space and looks a lot uglier. I guess the Hawk is expensive, but it looks like it has more armor than the Drake.

Well, anyway, considering I have so much money in the bank, and I'm willing to take long time outs on the missions to build up my credits, I might as well try them out. :D

[Jugalator]

This game could have REALLY been something.  As it is now, it's a heck of a lot of fun, but lacks the longevity factor.  You'll play it for a few weeks at most and then shelve it.  Not to say it isn't a lot of fun; it's great, but don't expect that "Diablo in Space" means "Diablo's Longevity as a Game."

Yeah, I unfortunately have to agree with this. :(

I had hoped for more in Freelancer, but I just got too bored. The random missions ultimately only have one purpose; seek and destroy everything you see. Which *is* much like D2, but just not as fun in the case with Freelancer IMHO. Compared to Frontier that had the missions this game offered, and also passenger missions and packet deliviries, it looks a bit dull. There is one other way to earn money and advance; to trade. If you're a trader who knows the good trade routes, you'll have got "teh uber stuff" in no time (like after playing 10-15 hours).

The game looks very polished and I couldn't notice many bugs or other peculiarities, but the lack of replayability really made me uninstall it early. If I'd compare it to Diablo II in space (which I really wouldn't), it would be a Diablo II with perhaps two character classes and no character development except for a "level" that increases and is just used to restrict what equipment you can use. You can also become allied and enemy with certain factions, but that has too low impact in the game. No special missions if you become friend with Lane Hackers for example. Same old seek & destroy, just destroy another faction.

The single player campaign was fun and really challenging to me, but I'd rather see more effort put into the multiplayer aspect.

I'll put a verdict:

Graphics: 8 / 10
Sound: 9 / 10 (gotta love the ambient chatter ;))
Gameplay: 7 / 10

[keenduck]

Hmm, the last few missions seemed to be stay alive and kill the shield generators. Not exactly exciting.

Love the dyson sphere though; that was some amazing rendering. And destroying the shield generators on the barrier seemed so much like a trench run from Star Wars. :D

What the heck are Nomad weapons? They tore through my shield in no time flat.