Freelancer Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 79 Ratings

  • Summary: A society taking its first timid steps into 48 sprawling galactic systems cannot hope to dam every human spring of greed and bloodlust. Make your own way, Freelancer. Ply the trade lanes for profit or raid them for plunder; slake your own thirst for vengeance on the world or take up arms to enforce the law. Take your wealth as a hired gun if you choose. No single truth rules the limitless possibility of space. [Microsoft] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 39
  2. Negative: 0 out of 39
  1. The word epic describes Freelancer, Microsoft Game Studios' latest title, thanks to its strong narrative and virtually limitless game play opportunities.
  2. With a smooth control system, well designed game structure, and first-rate graphics, obvious time and effort was put into this game that will keep you occupied for some time.
  3. The mixture of both story-based and open-ended gameplay comes off with a decent effect, and while the interface could have used work in some areas, it is great in others. Throw all this in together with a fun multiplayer mode, and we have a very good - but not exactly classic - game.
  4. Hardcore space simmers are likely to be disappointed with its lack of depth and unusual controls, but where they see shallowness and unrealism, others will see easy learning curves and familiarity.

See all 39 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 27
  2. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. DesertFox
    10
    My favorite PC game of all time. Incredible single player story and atmosphere, and an unbelievably deep multiplayer experience.
  2. StephenM.
    10
    Amazing game, great control interface, amazing systems, great diversity. True doing missions gets old but thats once you get an elite ship you dont need to do missions then you can just explore the incredible game. Expand
  3. EonfgeC.
    8
    Really, really sweat game. throughout the entire game there is action and a lot to do. only downside is, that when you finished the campaign, it quickly becomes repetitive. Expand
  4. While this game was very innovative back in 2003, with it's realitme NPC conversations and well built multiplayer support, only today we can see some of it's major flaws. The lack of variety for such a game is rather amazing, which really becomes noticeable in both singleplayer and multiplayer missions, which are exactly a handful of Go-There-And-Kill-Target sequences. However, this is a very targeted game for third party modders, and with titles like the Discovery Mod, Shattered worlds, Monkey Universe, Flack and others, one might wonder if the Microsoft corp would finally make the game's source code public to enhance the experience of a 2003 game, which is still favored by a wide variety of players even now.

    The game's best features is it's very simple, arcade-like control system, which allows new players to quickly master the movement of their ships, something not a lot of arcade games can boast about. Obviously calling Freelancer a space sim is rather odd, the odd scaling of ships and stations vs planets, lack of gravity, very odd distance measurement and broken physics give this game a clear arcade feel to it. An arcade game, which can keep you amused for a very long time.
    Collapse

See all 27 User Reviews