As Freespace 2 does not take place that much farther along the story's timeline than Freespace, you can expect to see a lot of similarities in the ships and weapons available to you. Old standbys like the heavy-hitting Zeus make return appearances, and you'll be capable of equipping the standard array of particle-based cannons and missiles. This does not mean, however, that the team at Volition is sitting on its laurels. There are a whole slew of new ships to be seen in Freespace 2, from light fighters to heavy bombers, some of which are much more creative in design than their counterparts in the original. Players will have the opportunity to fly both Terran and Vasudan craft, but my particular favorites were those vessels that were obviously a product of joint human/alien research and development. The shape and structure of these hybrids clearly reflected a blending of technologies, and some just look downright wicked. There are also several new armaments with which you can outfit your ships, including less conventional projectiles such as the TAG missile that sends out a strong sensor reading, making elusive enemies to which it has attached itself much easier to track.

And then there are the capital ships. Freespace was probably the first space combat sim on the U.S. market to give us truly daunting cruisers, carriers, and frigates, and Freespace 2 looks like it's going to blow even that high standard out of the water. The big bruisers on all three sides (Terran, Vasudan, and Shivan) are enormous, absolutely dwarfing everything else occupying the same area of space. What's more, they actually do something this time around. As is fitting their considerable girth, Freespace 2's capital ships pack a significant punch. I only encountered two variations in my test-drive, but both look to have a distinct impact on gameplay. The first was the anti-fighter beam, a ray of blue light that will instill fear in any player assigned to a bombing run on a much larger ship. These puppies tear through shields and armor like a hot knife through butter, meaning one or two hits may be enough to disable most middle-range craft. My advice for prospective Terran pilots is to avoid these if at all possible. The second piece of the capital ship weaponry puzzle is the inclusion of massive beam weapons that can be used against other capital ships. If you remember the SDF-1's Grand Cannon from the Super Dimension Fortress: Macross anime series (Robotech to the uninitiated), you get the idea of what I'm talking about. But, unlike their animated counterpart, Freespace 2's leviathans are not one-shot wonders. It will not be an uncommon thing to see two capital ships ripping into one another with their main guns; a conflagration in which any fighter jock would be wise not to become entangled. Even the early glimpse I got of this kind of conflict was enough to impress me, and I've no doubt that it will only get more intense as Freespace 2 really hits its stride.

Another new addition to the Freespace model is the inclusion of nebulae -- gaseous clouds that dot the inky void. Unlike those in most other space sims, however, Freespace 2's nebulae are not mere background eye candy. Instead, it will be possible (and often necessary) to actually take the fight into a nebula, and doing so has a significant effect on the way in which combat is carried out. Visual and sensor ranges will both be severely limited, meaning that you could be only a few clicks away from an enemy fleet without either party being aware of the other. The game's designers have likened encounters in the nebulae to the kind of cat-and-mouse chase that usually defines modern submarine warfare, and that means that detection and the avoidance thereof will play a key role in determining the difference between victory and ending up as that much more space dust. To aid in that cause, player will have the available assistance of support craft whose sole purpose is to detect other ships. Of course, this means that these AWACS-type ships will be a valuable commodity in the nebulae, and thus in need of constant protection against enemy attack.

One area in which Freespace really stood out from its competition was its relatively thorough multiplayer suite. It took several patches to function properly, but was much more than was to be found in the grand majority of space combat sims. Freespace 2 will continue this tradition by adding two new multiplayer modes: A one-on-one dogfight that was conspicuously absent from Freespace, and a perpetual battle system known as Squad Wars, in which teams of players fight for control of territory on a large galactic map. Look also for the reemergence of FRED -- the Freespace Editor -- in a new and improved version known as FRED 2. FRED 2 will allow for the creation of custom missions, even including new sound effects and scripted events. Much like those created by the original FRED, these user-built missions can then be traded over the Internet and plugged in freely. It all adds up to a great deal of extended play once the single-player campaign has been fully explored.

The market into which Freespace 2 will arrive is significantly different from that occupied by its predecessor. Whereas Descent: Freespace appeared as an upstart contender to the throne long dominated by Wing Commander, its sequel will come into being as one of the leaders in the space combat sim category. What with the rash of new titles currently in development, it's going to face some stiff competition. But from the looks of things, Freespace 2 has both its head and its heart in the right place. It provides the same blistering, fast-paced interstellar action as its predecessor, but this time with a lot more backing it up in the way of story. Even in the game's early stages, I'm impressed at how well this is integrated, not only in the structure of missions, but in the design and functionality of ships and armaments as well. And, of course, it doesn't hurt when there's a whole heaping pile of eye candy on top of it. This combination of thematic depth, intense combat, and eye-catching graphics is what first allowed Wing Commander to revitalize the space simulation genre, and Freespace 2 appears prepared to take that model to the next step when it ships this fall.