Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War
"Descent: FreeSpace" was well received as a single-player space simulation that integrated all the desired features of its genre, from competent AI wingmen, to the presence of large capital ships that not only dwarf the fighters piloted by the player, but also explode spectacularly when destroyed. However, the game's multiplayer mode was criticised, as it was plagued by lag and inaccurate tracking of statistics. An expansion for the game, which was less well received, was also released in 1998 under the title of "Silent Threat", and focuses on events after the main game's campaign with the player working for an intelligence branch of the Terrans' armed forces that later attempt to overthrow the Terran government. A sequel to "Descent: FreeSpace" entitled "FreeSpace 2", was released in 1999 to critical acclaim.
Destiny 2
Like the original game, player versus environment game types make up the majority of the game. Areas to explore include Earth's European Dead Zone (which was only represented by PvP maps in the original), Saturn's moon Titan, Jupiter's moon Io, and the centaur planet Nessus. The "Curse of Osiris" expansion adds Mercury as an explorable area, while the "Warmind" expansion adds Mars. "Forsaken" adds two new explorable areas in the Reef: the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City, the latter being the mysterious homeland of the Awoken race and an end-game area that is accessible after completing the campaign of "Forsaken". There is also a new social space in the European Dead Zone called "The Farm", as the main portion of the Tower of the original was destroyed at the start of "Destiny 2"s campaign. However, a lower, undamaged portion of the Tower becomes the main social space post-campaign. Like the original, there are Patrol missions and public events, but emphasis has been placed more on exploration of the worlds, including towns that players can visit and friendly NPCs who can be found in-game and will give side-quests. New missions were added called "Adventures", which allow players to explore the area and go on a treasure hunt-like journey to dungeon-like areas. Some Adventures culminate in what is called a Lost Sector, which are somewhat hidden areas in worlds that lead players to a boss that yields rewards upon its defeat. Lost Sectors can be found and accessed without doing an Adventure. Starting with the "Curse of Osiris" expansion, Heroic Adventures were added, which are harder versions of Adventures and they rotate each week. A map has also been added to the game, which shows the locations of the NPCs, Adventures, Heroic Adventures, Region Chests, and Lost Sectors. The maps of these new areas are much larger than those in the original "Destiny", with one being described as twice as large as any area of the original. Players no longer have to leave a planet and go to orbit to travel to another location; they can now do so immediately from their current in-game location. Another new activity has been added called Flashpoints, which is a weekly milestone that takes place on one of the eight locations and rotates each week. Players complete public events, loot Lost Sectors and complete Heroic Adventures to earn high level rewards. Similar to the original game, players can pledge their allegiance to one of three factions — Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, or New Monarchy. In "Destiny 2", however, the factions now compete against each other in the Faction Rally, which is a periodic event that lasts for one week. Faction points are earned by doing various activities. The faction with the most points at the end of the week earns a high level reward for 1,000 Glimmer (in-game currency). The losing factions can also gain the reward, but must pay 50,000 Glimmer for their faction's item.