Overpriced Privateers Make PC Format Mad

The reviewers at PC Format seemed to have had something against Wing Commander. This time up it's classic and Wingnut favorite, Privateer. At times praising the game, overall the reviewer is not impressed and sees it as a collection of rehashed ideas. We could also say the same thing of the reviewer's odd writing.

Yes, the enemy ships look incredible, the explosions are spectacular and the planets and bases are sumptuously drawn, but gorgeous graphics doth not a brilliant game make.

At £49.99 you expect to receive something special, something new. OK, so there's loads of scope to upgrade your ship, fit new weapons, buy new ships, indulge in a spot of trading or smuggling, but didn't we find all these features in Elite (PCF 10, 29%)?

By introducing rogue bandits, smugglers and military conflicts, Privateer attempts to add colour to the Gemini Sector, but it's not enough to make you feel as though you're getting a new gaming experience. Even though there is ostensibly a wide variety of missions, they all boil down to: fly, shoot, deliver stuff, shoot and fly.

It really is simply Wing Commander 2 again, with a few high-res intermediate screens. The gameplay hasn't changed (it's shoot, avoid, shoot), the graphics are precisely the same technology and those jerky scaled bitmaps are looking very ropey these days. Any why is there only a tiny viewing window? And why is Origin recommending a DX2 to play it on, to move a couple of sprites around? I could go on for ages, but all you need to know is £50? 52%? (Hear, hear - Paul).

- Ed