Where to start...well, I know I won't make a catch all neanderthal statement to the effect that this is the best game ever, (that is until the NEXT best game ever comes along), because it isn't. Freespace accomplishes  many things by providing a solid story line to back up very impressive game  play. Where Freespace might lack is in two small areas-lack of creativity  for naming of vessels within the GTVN and the fact that no military  structure would allow or stand for the sniveling and back talk that gets  carried over in the com-traffic between fighters and capital ships. But  these are minor quibbles to what lies in store for the player.  Freespace 2 offers an expansive campaign with several missions that lead  you from a civil war led by Admiral Aken Bosch (voice of Ronny Cox from  Robocop & Total Recall), and his Neo-Terran Front faction to a  resurgence of activity care of the Shivans, whom Bosch has somehow brokered  a deal with. Where the missions shine is the player is never lacking  anything to do, and the game borrows from both the Wing Commander and Star  Wars games in mission design. However, unlike the other space combat sims,  Freespace 2 never suffers from the worry of having to be all over the map  in order to accomplish a mission.  The flight model is much improved  over the original game, though I think the GTVN fighters could be a little  faster, even without the afterburners. Flight dynamics are second to none,  the ships responsive, especially with a good joystick. Fighter choice,  weapons and missiles are in good supply, and each have their different  effects, though I would have preferred a little more discretion in  outfitting my fighter in early missions.  Graphically, Freespace 2 is  very strong, whether it be the detail on the various fighters to the  overwhelming scale of the capital ships, especially the Sathanas-class  juggernaught (which I think gains its inspiration from the Vorlon vessels  from Babylon 5). However, it's the little things you notice that really  make the game, like when you fire at ship and miss, your weapons' discharge  flashes over the ship hull with a visible light effect, the visual and  aural effect of a capital ship's flak guns as you do a strafing attack  across it's surface (you quickly learn how to skin dance across the hulls  of these big beasts) or the spectacular nebula effects of the later  missions as you pilot your way through pea soup-like gas clouds.  Ship  design is also better than in the first game as they play up the more  insectile forms of the Shivan fighters, whereas in the first they resembled  awkwardly placed slabs arrayed in different angles. Human and Vasudan  fighters are a mixed bag, but they all have a functional look about them,  and have much less of a polished look than either Wing Commander or the  Star Wars. Boiled down in it's essence, Freespace 2 is a solid shoot-em-up  type game, carried on thanks to a solid game engine, and exceptional  graphic design and terrific 3D support (I have 16 meg Voodoo 3000). This is  all enhanced by a great interface that doesn't over complicate the flow of  the game or game play.  This is not the best game ever, as no game can  claim that crown. However, it is the best of the current crop of space  combat sims. It easily outclasses X-Wing Alliance, and I feel that Lucas  Arts really needs to rethink how they design their game missions, because  in XWA, you are flying practically the same missions you flew in X-Wing  & TIE Fighter. Freespace 2 gives you a vast playground that is not  merely beautiful, but ultimately function and very rewarding.