Description
The Shivan Fleet attacks the GTVA blockade around Vega 2. Version 1, please report any problems to me.

Storyline:
IÂ’d guess this mission is set during the main Freespace 2 campaign, as it has you defending the planet Vega 2 from those dastardly Shivans. The briefing is uncomplicated and so everything checks out in terms of spelling and ships and icons. It could do to be a little more informative or just plain longer, though.

Balance:
You should be able to finish this mission relatively easily, with the only potential problem being the hairy moment dodging flak and beams from a Rakshasa cruiser. Bomber intercept makes up the bulk of the mission, and the bombers are distanced quite nicely from the friendly ships so that you have to mix long-range intercept and frantic close-up dogfight.

Design:
<i>Blockade</i> of Vega 2? IÂ’m sure thereÂ’s an old Freespace proverb that two ships do not a blockade make. I had imagined huge destroyers being assaulted by loads of bombers and a few capital ships. Anyway, the mission seems to work okay. Directives all check out fine, as do mission goals. There isnÂ’t really much else in design except a few messages, which couldÂ’ve been condensed very slightly by send-message-lists, but that matters little. The ship positioning is curious, with all the friendlies on their sides so it appears that the planet is below them. The author couldÂ’ve just moved the planets. Still, it has no effect on gameplay.

Gameplay:
Gameplay is very tight in this mission. It takes place in a very small area and so while it’s never very far to go to intercept bombers, they launch warheads from point-blank range and you’re almost guaranteed to have an enemy fighter on your tail all the while. You’ll also have to find a large object, ohhh, about the size of a Sobek corvette to hide behind from Shivan beam weapons. Still, despite being an exceedingly small mission, it’s certainly a test of the reflexes. Fortunately my years of experience playing these antisocial games has honed my reflexes to the point of perfection. One minor problem is that the mission is very short – still, you can’t drag it out for too long with so few ships.

Other Thoughts:
If this mission was expanded with longer and more complex attacks it would score more highly. It might also be nice to have it really look like a blockade.