Description
The Taranova Lab is expecting a shipment of parts needed to repair war-damaged Hercules fighters. They will arrive via the PVS Sandstorm and its escort, Aries Wing. Your mission is to oversee this shipment.

Storyline:
The Shivans have been hitting cargo depots hard, and are causing big problems for Hercules repair crews, as the parts for the Heavy fighters have been hit the most. The resident wing of Hercules onboard Taranova station is in dire need of repair, and a Scarab class support ship - the PVS Sandstorm - will be bringing spare parts. The player is given command of the last four Hercules in good condition and will be supported by a wing of Ulysses in protecting the Sandstorm. However, the story takes some wild twists and turns, and keeps the mission interesting. The breifing is nothing spectacular, but works fine.

Balance:
Excellent. The mission allows for the player taking almost any combination of ships and weaponry, although flying Hercules is highly recommended. While reinforcements - the station's wing of Hercules - are available, they are moderately damaged from the start.

Design:
Good. The attack wave stregnths are clearly well-designed and incorporated into the storyline well. In the latest incarnation, the waves of ships are no longer tied to teh destruction of the previous one, so there are no problems. At all.

Gameplay:
Wonderful. The mission keeps you on your toes the whole time, and offers almost every type of gameplay, including defense, dogfighting, and escort. The enemy is present in numbers just high enough to keep things interesting without becoming frustrating, but Taranova is by no means a cakewalk.

Other Thoughts:
While I can't describe it well, Taranova is one of the best Freespace missions I've played so far. The original had a small problem, but in the updated version, I really have not complaints, except that the Atens seem a bit tacked on - but I am nitpicking. I would reccommend Taranova in a second.