The missions, the ships, the dogfights, the graphics, the storyline, everything is top notch. I would have to also say that this game is underrated.

For all you FS1 people who have no clue about this one, it takes place 32 years after the Lucifer was destroyed and the Sol jump node collapsed, isolating Earth from the Terran civilization. The GTVA has been formed, unifying the Terrans and Vasudans. Suddenly, the Neo Terran Front, a rebel force led by renegade Admiral Bosch, starts a war with the GTVA over the Vasudan alliance. Not only that, the Shivans are back, but the Terrans and Vasudans have advanced greatly technologically in 32 years, and are ready to fight them this time around. Also, we find out why Bosch has rebelled against his people, and it involves the Shivans. As the story unfolds, his agenda becomes clear, and could have serious consequences for the galaxy.

"Probably the greatest space sime EVER!", When I got this game bundled with my joystick, I wasn't thinking very highly of it. Heck, most bundled games aren't very good. But once I popped it into my CD-ROM drive, this game was absolutely STUNNING. Unfortunately, like most sci-fi PC games, they don't sell well. The game has been out of print since 2000. To get to the point: the graphics are very smooth and crisp for a game in 1998. In fact, they're what you would find standard on any other high-end space sim today. The game only requires 2 MB of video RAM, which is rather low. But I assume that is only with the default 640x480 resolution. If you have a least and 8MB video card, tune up the resolution to 1024x768. You'll be glad you did. The default resolution doesn't show off the game's true glamour. With a higher resolution, you have much finer detail, which leads to much more enjoyable performance. I was amazed at how smoothly the game ran at higher resolutions. To put it short, it's like playing in a Star Wars movie--but with tons of radical ships: carriers, cruisers, destroyers...the list goes on and on. You'll find yourself easily dwarfed in a little cramped up fighter. Don't get discouraged though, the difficulty is reasonable. Wingman actually DO SOMETHING in this game, rather than just fly around shooting at fighters and missing, leaving you to do all the work. The wingmen are very intelligent in this game. After turning up the resolution, the weapons on some of the ships will leave you in awe. Beam weapons looking much like the Death Star superlaser (but about half as deadly) will be flying left and right from capital ships as they slice each other apart. There are anti-fighter beams, like their bigger counterparts although they are much weaker and fire faster; for the purpose of making you spin in smoke to your death. This game is not only a space-sim action game. It requires strategy to maximize the effectiveness of your wingmen and thinking of where to go next. Also, the storyline won't keep you sitting back in your seat drooling of boredom. There are NO animated cutscenes that take forever to load, they are all incorporated into the game. Although there are pictures of a person talking during a communication, that's about all you'll find that gets close to cutscenes. It's this balance of action, graphics, storyline, strategy, and vessel and weapon design which makes Freespace 2 unique from other less successful space sims. The requirements can be fullfilled by any modern computer (any PC a year old and younger). You'll need a joystick to get the full control of the game, preferrably a force-feedback one since this game adds more realism with force-feedback support. BUY THIS GAME if you are an action or sci-fi fan! You may have to do some looking around for a good deal since it's out of print, but believe me, it'll be worth it.

"The Best Sci Fi Flight Sim", I played this game when it originally came out and fell in love...no, was obsessed with it instantly. I played it constantly, hours on end. Dreamed about it. It consumed all my waking thoughts.

Why? Because this game is intense. The richness of the story and universe that they created with this game is amazing. However, the mechanics of the game is what is truly unmatched. the graphics are amazing, the sound is out of this world, the vocal acting is good (for a video game, anyway). There are so many ships and weapons to choose from, and the way the ships move and get hit look quite believable. And there is nothing so frightening as when you have the volume cranked and you are going against a capital ship and you hear those beams start to charge up. Unlike in other sci-fi flight games, going against a capital ship in THIS game is very risky business indeed.

But what I think really made this game so great which noone ever mentions is the FRED editor which allows you to create your own missions and campaigns from scratch. There is nothing more exciting than when you complete your own mission/campaign with your own story and you go in and try it and it all works the way you wanted and even in some unexpected ways as well. It's the editor, at least in my case, that ensured the enduring playability of this game, even after I had completed the main adventure.

Unfortunately I had lost my access to a computer and could not play this or any other PC game for a couple of years but recently have been able to play games again. First one I went back to try was Freespace 2. I was worried that it might seem dated or the "magic" as it were, may have worn off. I'm happy to report that the spell has not been broken, the game is as incredible now as it was in 1999. there is simply nothing to compare to it. I'm sure my waking thoughts and dreams will be consumed by it soon.

"Childhood dream comes true", Freespace the Great War came close, but this time, Freespace2 is exactly IT: my dream of space battle when i was young. Fleets of giant spaceships beaming each other, and you being a minute fighter/bomber, chasing others while being chased, will occasionally fly close enough to the ship to marvel at its size and details.

more importantly, you feel you are IN for something huge. RPG's let you take over a piecec of personaly history. but Freespacec series really puts you in a position that you feel you are part of the history of huhmanity. you are in the turning point of the history. but you aren't the superhero who will determine it. you do your best and see what happens. your limited power makes you feel that you are still a human, but you are making your part in this history of humanity.

this IS my all time favorite.