I have played this game on and off since about 2004.
It came free with a new graphics card.
It's.. umm. kind of a first-person RPG / RTS set in space.
You need a LOT of time to play this game, but it has a special appeal.

The game starts you off in a tiny, weak fighter and throughout the entire game you have the option whether to continue the story or go off and do your own thing. You have to work your *** off to afford new ships; following the story doesn't give you a free lunch.. But it's worth it, because you earn your own rags-to-riches story.

Eventually you can afford to start building your own factories and security forces, and you find the gameplay changes from doing gruntwork trading, to becoming the CEO of your own coorporation.

Although it has a STEEP learning curve, half the game is played in the menu screens, and certain gameplay elements could use extra depth; it still delivers an overall atmosphere and style of sandbox gameplay that I keep coming back to and haven't found anywhere else.

7 / 10