Freelancer is set in the same universe that Starlancer (another game published by Microsoft a few years earlier) used. The timeline has advanced 80 years past the events of the previous game, so knowledge of it isn't really required, in case you were worried. You play the Freelancer, a.k.a Edison Trent. You're a survivor of Freeport 7, a station that was recently destroyed. Losing everything - your money, your ship - you find yourself transported back to Manhattan in the Liberty sector. There your story starts as plots and counterplots start to unspool, concerning the destruction of the station, alien artefacts and different political factions. It all adds up to the feeling of a conspiracy that somehow involves you.

That's the story part, now how about the game? Freelancer is a space fight/trading simulator game with a living-breathing universe where you can roam around doing pretty much what you want. Want to be a pirate? You can (sort of). Want to be a bounty hunter? You can (sort of). You get the idea. Now this game isn't as deep and involving as, say, the X Universe games or Elite, but it does have it's own charm and a unique (at the time), control system.

Think you have to go out and get a joystick to play a flight sim? Not this game; everything is designed to be controlled by the mouse. Flying the ship, using weapons, talking, etc. are all mouse and icon controlled. There are hotkeys, but you tend to forget about them most of the time, as the mouse seems to do most of it (though occasionally you will need the keys). This system feels "right," nothing about it seems wrong. It almost makes you wonder why it hasn't been done before when you first try it. For all you purists out there, yes you can still use a joystick, but it just seems to play better using the mouse to fly; strange, huh?

This game, while quirky, has a charm all its own. The graphics are really nice and the action is spot on for combat. The storyline helps to push the action along, but at times can hinder you a bit, in that when you want to go to a planet or another sector, the nav system will keep telling you to go to the destination the storyline wants you to. Sectors are opened up the further you get into the storyline, as are new ships which you can only purchase from new sectors, so at times following the storyline does help. This gives the game a linear quality at times, and not the freeform universe you might expect it to be.

The game has an expanding modding community (http://www.lancersreactor.com); where you can find maps, ship information etc. You can also get modules that allow you to import your favourite spaceships from TV and film. Want to fly an X Wing Fighter or the Enterprise? Well you can, from this site; you can even create your own universe. This gives the game a new longevity that is nice in this type of game.

All in all, this is a great game and if you see it in your local gaming emporium at a cheap price (which is fairly easy now) don't overlook it for something flashy. You will miss a little gem.