The AI in FreeSpace 2 is more than up to the task of challenging even elite pilots, and in your allies' case, helping you out. Your wingmen, beyond competent for once, actually warn you when you have a bogie on your six, and move to intercept him if you fail to do anything about it. And the enemy is no slouch either - I've watched as a lone Shivan fighter managed to avoid both myself and my wingman, drawing us closer to the immense star-gate (whose huge but mysterious workings reminded me of giant fish swimming in circles) before deftly juking between two interconnecting pieces. I managed to slip through, but my wingman wasn't so lucky and was consigned to the vacuum. And when I did manage to eke out a measure of revenge against the slippery Shivan (no, not the Magic card) by launching a pair of heat-seekers into a very uncomfortable place (sigh, no, not the back seat of a Volkswagen), I paid the price in splash damage from the explosion and the impact of the remains of his booster rocket smacking into my cockpit. The AI opponents are canny, but they still have nothing on the wily human players you can fly with in a multi-player game
The registration process for Parallax Online, the free multi-player server FreeSpace 2 uses, was somewhat tedious but not too lengthy. I was suited up and getting my behind kicked within the span of ten minutes. Maybe I've been spoiled by Blizzard's Battle.net, but I shouldn't have to futz around with registration numbers and emailed URL's that claim to be hyperlinked but aren't, only to have to exit the game four times to set everything straight. Still, it's a free lunch, and once logged in, it's a hassle-free experience. Even playing with a 56k modem through gamer-unfriendly AOL, there was no noticeable slowdown… and I could've used some. Thanks to "Vengence" for showing me the ropes and taking me down a few pegs in the ego department. Still, nothing quite compares to a harrowing free-for-all in an asteroid field, and kudos to Parallax Online for providing lag-free multi-player death match and co-op game play. Now if only they could convince my opponents to stop moving around so much…