Gamers.com have posted a preview of the upcoming Microsoft/Digital Anvil Game, Freelancer. Here is some of the preview and some eye candy:
Freelancer plays unlike any other space sim. For starters, you drive with a mouse, not a joystick. Your ship will automatically pilot itself, following nav points to complete missions or performing a variety of maneuvers in combat. Unlike traditional space games, which frequently play like a shooter in a 3D arena, Freelancer has a much more tactical feel. You simply click on the maneuver you want your ship to perform, target your enemy with your mouse cursor, and fire away. Freed of direct piloting chores, I found myself making strategic decisions in combat: Which enemy subsystem do I target, how is my power being managed, which weapons should I be using? It was much more engaging than the de rigueur furballs of even the best space games. And should you so desire, you can override the automatic pilot and steer yourself.
The autopiloting and mouse use are just two great examples of how the Freelancer team is focusing on making their game accessible to an audience greater than that of StarLancer or Freespace 2. You can target enemies in the main view window or just click on them in your radar. The interface negates pointless wandering—if you want to go to the bar, click the Go to Bar button instead of knocking on every door on a planet until you find the damn bar. A “story star” will pop up whenever a story mission is triggered, giving you the option to click on it and dive in or to wait until after a few more random missions.
You can read the rest of the Preview here.
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