Description
Stranded in deep space with a malfunctioning reactor, the Vasudans ask for help in repairing and defending the newly commissioned Hatshepsut destroyer, the GVD Nekhbet. Alpha and Beta Wings respond and take action.

Storyline:
As storylines go, this one isnÂ’t bad. While not really original, the story is nicely expanded on in the excellent Command briefing and briefing. I especially liked the idea that the squadron you are flying with has its own motive to become the most respected one on board the GTD Mandrill. The debriefing is also very well done, although there are a couple of tiny spelling errors. This is mainly nit picking though.

Balance:
This mission is extremely well balanced. It isnÂ’t actually too hard to save the Nekhbet if you shoot down the Shivan bombs, but if you donÂ’t youÂ’ll find the destroyer is in serious trouble. The ship and weapon loadout has been carefully chosen so that you have a good choice of ships but canÂ’t do everything in the mission yourself. The number of ships that appear with the Selket may be a little high, though, but they arrive late enough for it not to be too much of an issue..

Design:
The design of Nekhbet is superb. All three axes are used to the full, especially with the placement of the Shivan attack wings, and waypoints are used well too. Arrival and departure cues are all carefully set up. However, the best design aspect here is the s-exps. Send-message-list is used frequently; all the directives execute perfectly, and thereÂ’s even a directive to stop the Karikeya firing when it is at 2% hull so that the frustration of it destroying the Nekhbet at this point is eliminated. The author most certainly knew his way around FRED2.

Gameplay:
With the balance so good, the gameplay is fantastic. You do actually have to get involved to prevent the destruction of the Nekhbet, but itÂ’s not too hard as to be a trial. The mission is also packed with action, messages and thereÂ’s some nice beam weapon combat to watch. The messages are well-written, especially those from Terran Command, who seem suitably tyrannicalÂ

Other Thoughts:
SolrazorÂ’s first released FreeSpace 2 mission doesnÂ’t disappoint, but then, should we have expected anything less? Oh, this is my inaugral review as well. Expect to see more of me in future.