When comparing X3: Terran Conflict vs Freelancer, the Slant community recommends Freelancer for most people. In the question“What are the best Space Sims on Steam?” Freelancer is ranked 2nd while X3: Terran Conflict is ranked 9th. The most important reason people chose Freelancer is:
This game has very low hardware requirements. It can be played even on an old netbook with windows XP, 1 Ghz Intel Atom CPU, and 1GB RAM. Game runs with 40-60 fps without single crash.
Specs
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Pros
Pro You can own an empire, not just a ship
You start in a small fighter or trade ship, but can own and control as many ships and stations as you care to build up, including some unique facilities tied to the story.
Pro Deep, open-ended gameplay
You can fight, build, trade, pirate - so much to do!
Pro Low system requirements
This game has very low hardware requirements. It can be played even on an old netbook with windows XP, 1 Ghz Intel Atom CPU, and 1GB RAM. Game runs with 40-60 fps without single crash.
Pro Great story
This game has a really good story with lots of twists. Very well balanced side missions, your pay is based on the type of task being completed while multiplied by distance to target place and few other factors.
Pro Easy to pickup and learn
The controls have been simplified to the point where it isn't intimidating for new players. You can't control which systems receive more/less power in tight situations, and other systems have been dummed down as well: repairing your ship can be done with the click of a button instead of needing to wait, there is no radar to track, and there's less information available making it easier to focus on a single task.
Pro Fun to replay in different ways
Pro Has fanbase made MODs and modified versions of the game
Has fanbase made MODs and modified versions of the game itself to get past the outdated graphics. There's story expansions, full remakes, and a lot more to experience!
Cons
Con Graphics look a bit dated compared to a game like Star Citizen
Con Daunting for new players
This series has a long pedigree. It has a lot of complexity that you get dropped into pretty quickly, and the plot has some quirks. If you don't mind sometimes checking out a wiki to wrap your head around something or to get unstuck, you'll be fine.
Con Dated graphics
Freelancer was released in 2003, and as expected from a game that's nearly 15 years old the graphics look it.
Con Can be rather unbalanced
Some parts of the game are very hard even with the best available in-game hardware and you get killed almost instantly. In these parts it is better to launch Cruise engine.