This game is perplexing. Not because of what's in it, but what came after. This was the pinacle of action space shooters, nothing before or since came close. Volition were set for big things, and when they announced an FPS where you could blow shit up I nearly wet myself. But then, dissapointment. Summoner proved formulaic with atrocious dialogue, Summoner 2 looks little better, Red Faction failed to live up to anything and the sequel doesn't go far enough to amend that. Oh how far the mighty have fallen.

Anyway, what makes Freespace 2 so excellent? Pacing, pure and simple. It just never lets up. Floating in space on a "routine mission", you just know something's going to go wrong, and when it does it's still a blast. Remember how great Aliens was, mainly because it kept you on the edge of your seat with things continually going wrong? Freespace 2 is great for the very same reason.

Beyond that simple fact there's a lot else here to like. There's a neat gameplay mechanic where you have to balance shields, speed and firepower. It's really easy to do - nudging one up nudges the other two down. You can also balance shields in all directions. So if you need to escape from an attack fast, whack the shields to your rear, pull the juice out of firepower and into shields and speed and get the hell outta there!

The graphics still stand up well, primarily because very few games have shown you such massive enemies. Thought those in Serious Sam were huge? Try a 2 mile long juggernaught bristling with weapons. The first time you see one I challenge you not to go "woah". Even better, some of the missions task you with destroying one of these beasts. It's not easy, and thankfully you'll have support, but it's still utterly exhilirating flying past this huge structure with energy beams, flak and laser fire streaking past you as you try to see through a gorgeous nebula to take down at least part of the massive enemy ship.

Everything in this game fits together so wel - the story's good, the pace excellent, the action frantic, the graphics still excellent (the nebulae and energy beams looked amazing and still do) and the little details all add together to make this game an absolute classic and an unmatched pure action space shooter.