The dark side is that this game is really time consuming. If you will (after few hours) enjoy getting more and more money, investing, building... you simply won't stop unless few sectors are full of your factories.

But is this a dark side? :) I like this game.

Awesome game for a very cheap price.

Being a fan of Space Opera Freelancer, I bought this game because it looked very similar and I'm impressed. The space looks like poetry and once you launch the game, it's hard to stop it. I recommend this game for everyone who dreams to be an astronaut.

One of the best space sims I have played. There are a few bugs but they can genrealy be ingnored.

The learning curve is also very steep but with time and patince you really get into this game and before you know it your been called for work or school. Egosoft also have a very active x3tc site

with everything you need to know and also a lot of how to's written by x3tc gamers.

So in closing I can truly say if you but this you will not have wasted your money

The last chapter in the X series is a real step up from the previous games. For those who aren't familiar with the X universe, the game is a space flight simulator set in a distant future, where several factions fight between them to achieve supremacy. As a freelancer pilot, you have many possibilities open to you : following the main and sub-plots will allow you to obtain unique rewards, but the plot missions are generally very hard and, honestly, a bit buggy. Between the plot missions, however, you're free to do whatever you want : the universe has a semi-realistic trade system based on the offer-demand mechanic, which allows a smart player to become rich in little time (weeks), or you could be a pirate or run missions for the various factions for money and fame. The ability to fly any kind of vessel, from a small M6 scout to a huge M1 carrier, and to own a large fleet of space vessels open up many different paths to reach your goals,whatever they might be. The UI has been greatly improved over X3, and is now very functional and effective. As a final word, this game is actually quite hard in some parts : the physics mechanics are unforgiving (if you crash your small ship against a destroyer, you won't just bump away,but will take lots of damage or even lose the ship) and so is the enemy combat AI. It takes a lot of time and patience to truly enjoy the game, but once you manage to grasp all it's mechanics and learn some tricks, it's really a unique experience.

Overrall, I'd give it an 8/10 due to the huge numbr of bugs: in fact, while most of these are innocuous and can easily bypassed, there are a few major ones that will really make your life hell unless fixed. Fortunately, the X3TC community is very active, and will gladly provide support in case of need.

This game is one of the best i have played in a long time.... and i played X3 Reunion.

X3 Terran Conflict is much easier to understand then X3Reunion with a much improved interface making money and expanding your Empire is easy.

Once you configure your controls a little bit my simply pressing space bar flying is easy and Enjoyable with Beautiful scenery thats can make you cry.

This Game is a good buy.