In addition to offering the full plot from the original game plus the one from Righteous Fire, the official add-on, this version's developers added a bonus plot and many welcome features to the game. For example, you can hire wingmen in the game (like in Privateer 2), mine asteroids, use repair droids, and buy and sell ships with the ship dealers. You can also tell your turrets to auto-engage enemies in sight – a welcome addition that greatly lessens the frustration I have always felt in frantic dogfights. These, and numerous little additions throughout the game, make Privateer Remake feel like a truly modern update of the old classic and not just a straight remake.

As you would expect from the great Vega Strike engine that this game is based on, the graphics in Privateer Remake are drop-dead gorgeous. All the ships, bases, and planets from the original game now look even better than in Privateer 2. Piloting the various ships, targeting, and navigating feel very much the way they did in the original game, and the explosions now look better than ever.

As good as Privateer Remake is, I can't help but feel that a certain amount of charm has been lost. I can't quite put my finger on the reason, but I suspect it is the combination of little things such as the lack of launch/landing video sequences, the impersonal new interfaces such as the mission computer and upgrade center that replace the old full-screen and more interactive interfaces (which someone told me is due to technical limitations involving bitmaps in the original game). The new fanmade plot also is not nearly as well-scripted nor interesting as the original story. All these little things make Privateer Remake less captivating than the original game. If you have never played Privateer before and don't want to fiddle with DOS settings, this remake is a great start to a great series. However, for die-hard fans like me, fiddling with DOSBox and other programs to get the golden oldie running again is well worth the wait. This remake comes highly recommended, but is unfortunately not quite as 'magical' as the original was.

Note: There was another remake as well called Privateer: Gemini Gold. Check it out in the links below.