Posted January 18, 2010
I bought this game as I loved Freelancer first.
Freelancer had its ups & downs and I didn't expect Darkstar to be waaaay better.
It would be nice however to replicate what was good in Freelancer and avoid the flaws.
This was ALMOST accomplished.
The good:
Darkstar looks better that Freelancer. The galaxy looks less goomy - it's more colorfull & even... optimistic :). User interface is more friendly and simply nicer, more polished. Steering is (I fly on keyboard + mouse) similar to Freelancer, but thanks to some minor improvements - better. Trading is simpler - also thanks to better organized information on the GUI. Dogfights are fast & look great.
The ambivalent:
There is only one ship... Yes You can upgrade it much like You would in a RPG game, but in my opinion this simply becomes boring. Saving money for a beautiful, new ship is a must in such games (IMHO).
There is also quite limited number of weapon choices. Weapon have grades (standard, military, elite), but You basically fly with the same type of guns from the very beginning. This is not fun. Freelancer got it better.
The bad:
There is not much to explore really... In Freelancer each system had its secrets. A secret pirate base, a secret station, a secret wormhole to another system, a secret shipwreck with some goodies...
In Darkstar the only secret You get a secret pirate hideout.... which is visible on Your target list. Yes... that IS very secret...
Travel system is also somewhat boring. In Darkstar You only have normal speed (+thruster) and a hyperspace jump. In Freelancer You had normal speed (+ thruster), cruise speed, tradelanes and finally - hyperspace jumps. This solution also meant that there was actually a point in traveling around a system, discovering all it has to offer. In Darkstar - each system has basically the same - a trade station, a research station (you rarely can dock to it) and... that it. Occasionally You get pirate hideouts or giant asteroids (with an artifact in them). Nevertheless - not much to explore.
All in all - Darkstar is a good game. It will give You good fun a couple of hours, while following the storyline. Maybe You will depart from the storyline for a minute to do some trading or fighting with pirates, but as it's boring in the long run - You will return to the storyline.
I would love a mixture of Darkstar and Freelancer. perhaps with something more, like the ability to land on planets (not via docking rings, which suck ;) ).
At the price GOG sells it - Darkstar is a great but though.
Freelancer had its ups & downs and I didn't expect Darkstar to be waaaay better.
It would be nice however to replicate what was good in Freelancer and avoid the flaws.
This was ALMOST accomplished.
The good:
Darkstar looks better that Freelancer. The galaxy looks less goomy - it's more colorfull & even... optimistic :). User interface is more friendly and simply nicer, more polished. Steering is (I fly on keyboard + mouse) similar to Freelancer, but thanks to some minor improvements - better. Trading is simpler - also thanks to better organized information on the GUI. Dogfights are fast & look great.
The ambivalent:
There is only one ship... Yes You can upgrade it much like You would in a RPG game, but in my opinion this simply becomes boring. Saving money for a beautiful, new ship is a must in such games (IMHO).
There is also quite limited number of weapon choices. Weapon have grades (standard, military, elite), but You basically fly with the same type of guns from the very beginning. This is not fun. Freelancer got it better.
The bad:
There is not much to explore really... In Freelancer each system had its secrets. A secret pirate base, a secret station, a secret wormhole to another system, a secret shipwreck with some goodies...
In Darkstar the only secret You get a secret pirate hideout.... which is visible on Your target list. Yes... that IS very secret...
Travel system is also somewhat boring. In Darkstar You only have normal speed (+thruster) and a hyperspace jump. In Freelancer You had normal speed (+ thruster), cruise speed, tradelanes and finally - hyperspace jumps. This solution also meant that there was actually a point in traveling around a system, discovering all it has to offer. In Darkstar - each system has basically the same - a trade station, a research station (you rarely can dock to it) and... that it. Occasionally You get pirate hideouts or giant asteroids (with an artifact in them). Nevertheless - not much to explore.
All in all - Darkstar is a good game. It will give You good fun a couple of hours, while following the storyline. Maybe You will depart from the storyline for a minute to do some trading or fighting with pirates, but as it's boring in the long run - You will return to the storyline.
I would love a mixture of Darkstar and Freelancer. perhaps with something more, like the ability to land on planets (not via docking rings, which suck ;) ).
At the price GOG sells it - Darkstar is a great but though.