Starshatter is an excellent game. You can have a lot of fun with the mission creator the game comes with too. I can't say how many times I've set up various situations that will test the boundaries of a pilot's skills. Try commanding a single Terellian Alliance Devastator-class cruiser against an entire Hegemony battle group.

Still, the game does have its drawbacks. It is well known for crashes during the dynamic campaign, and the graphics are beginning to show the game's age. Overall, though Starshatter's a great game and I still find myself playing it from time to time, not to mention taking a crack at a few of the mods the community has produced.

starshatter the gathering storm's graphics are decent even compare with modern standards.  Besides, it is a space combat sims, so i don't think people should be too picky about it.  Unless you want X3 quality, but then that is pushing it.  I like both games as well as Freelancer, but c'mon, X3TC has lagging issues even running on the latest Toshiba Qosmio or a quad core with top notch grapchis cards.  So Starshatter is the next best thing if you want decent graphics, good size battles and non lagging issues.