| Descent
Freespace: Silent Threat For: pc Genre: action/space sim Reviewed by: Escee (Brandon) Developer: Volition Publisher: Interplay Released:winter 98 Freespace: Silent Threat is the expansion pack for the acclaimed Freespace: The Great War (also known as Descent Freespace). I was hoping for the expansion pack to add a great new campaign to the already-great Freespace. I got my new campaign, and although the final level is a bit too difficult, the campaign overall is very good. And once you beat the Silent Threat campaign, there are tons more single missions done by fans which you can play, included as well in Silent Threat (access them in "missions" in the Tech Room). Then you can play online with the new ships and weapons avaliable in ST. Graphics The graphics are the same outstanding graphics found in the original Freespace. Silent Threat is an expansion pack, not a sequel. It uses the same awesome Freespace engine. But the one thing that really upset me was that there are no cutscenes in Silent Threat. I would've liked to have seen some new FMVs in the Freespace lineage. Starcraft: Brood War included a new intro, so why not Silent Threat? Sound Again, Silent Threat uses the Freespace engine so the sound is the same as in the original. But that's a good thing, for the most part, except for that sound of a weapon hitting a ship's hull. Gameplay In an expansion pack, the gameplay is what matters most. And the storyline is well-played in Silent Threat, though not nearly as riveting as the storyline is Freespace: The Great War. The command and mission briefings move you easily between missions and though the storyline. The missions are well-made and issue a nice challenge for fans of the original Freespace. I must complain that the final mission is far too difficult, as the Hades' hull is unrealistically strong and takes far too long to take out. Luckily, only the final mission, appropriately enough, issues this kind of difficulty. The other missions are challenging enough to be fun, but not far too difficult. Control The controls are the same outstanding controls used in the original Freespace: You don't have to hold down an acceleration key, as you just set your speed using the +/- keys. Steering can be done using the mouse, joystick, or even keyboard, and is fairly easy. The training missions acquaint you with the controls as you need them, and the game comes with a stand-up control reference sheet. Targeting ships is also well done, with over 5 different target commands. You can cycle through all ships, hostile ships, friendly ships, or ships you are to escort, all easily targeting the closest ship first. You can also target any ship which you point at, target your attacker, or target the ship which is attacking your escort. Very well done. One gripe I have is that I cannot tell a wing to guard another wing, only to guard an individual ship. The controls are set up pretty well, but there are few things that could have been done better. Ratings
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10.3.00
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