Babylon 5: I've Found Her

I Must Admit I'm not a huge fan of Babylon 5. It's not that I dislike it for any particular reason, it's just that at the tender age of eight I think I was just outside the show's key demographic. It's the sort of sci-fi establishment that demands your undying loyalty, but unfortunately I was far more interested in something a bit more pedestrian, something I could dip in and out of at my own leisure, like Captain Planet or Bananas In Pyjamas.

Luckily, there are many people who aren't me, people who love Babylon 5 so much they're inspired to create an entire Babylon 5 space combat sim in their spare time and release it free of charge. Babylon 5: I've Found Her (apparently the odd title is some reference to something) is made by such people, and is mainly set five years before the TV series kicks off - that's 2254 if you're keeping count.

What's surprising is the fact that it's quite good, exceptionally good as far as freeware releases go. It's so good that it puts me in the mindset of reviewing an average, yet full-priced space sim, let down by wild variations in voice-acting quality and sub-standard graphics. Then I remind myself that Babylon 5: IF is completely free, and that more than excuses its faults. In fact, after the now ancient cancellation of Sierra's Babylon 5 game, Into The Fire, fans (still frolicking with even a mention of their "big pile of shit" reference in Spaced) deserve all they're given.

Freeware doesn't get much more professional. Even I enjoyed it, and I don't know what a Minbari is.