#3
YoY: = My Rating: 9.8/10
I've always been more of a console player than a PC one, but there have always been games that have drawn me towards playing on PC. Whether it was various real-time strategy titles or, as in the case of this game, space combat sims, certain genres are just better on PC. At the top of my list of great PC games sits Freespace 2, one of the first games that ever made me truly notice the importance of great storytelling in video games. Not that the rest of the game is any less excellent, but there was just something about the constant feeling of uncertainty that this game instilled on you during its various missions. Whatever the briefing may have said, there was always the sense that everything could change in an instant.
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Whether it was a new enemy appearing to disrupt the mission, sabotage by someone unexpected, or a call to immediately return from the mission due to something happening elsewhere in the galaxy, you were always kept guessing as to what exactly might happen next. It's just a shame that the cliffhanger that the story ends in has never, and probably will never, be resolved. While the main storyline of the game was concluded, the overarching story that had carried throughout the series never received a proper conclusion. As a result, there are several mysteries surrounding the game's antagonists, for example, which will likely remain as ones for good.
The rest of the game is just as great, from its gameplay to its music, even after nearly 25 years since its release I can easily go back and replay it. The one aspect that hasn't held up, the graphics, have been vastly improved by fan-created mods, as the game's original source code was released by the developer for everyone in 2002. Freespace 2 is a masterpiece, the best game of its genre I've ever played, and probably the one unresolved video game narrative I would want to see concluded more than any other.
