Sundog: Frozen Legacy

I spent many days of my life enjoying Sundog: Frozen Legacy. This was truly a game ahead of its time.
You start the game inheriting a spaceship from your uncle with some cryptic information about rescuing cryogens (frozen people) and establishing a colony. Then you are on your own in this huge world. You can fly your ship around to many different worlds, buying and selling commodities, visit all sorts of shops and restaurants, and even get attacked by muggers!
The game was unique in that it gave you the freedom to do whatever you wish.

While the main quest involved finding a hidden colony on a backwards world then traveling the galaxy finding the necessary commodities in order to upgrade it to the next level, which is very fun and entertaining by itself, you could do your own thing at any time. I found hours of enjoyment purchasing weapons on one star system, flying them to another where they were in higher demand, and making tons of credits for my time. Another favorite pastime was hanging around outside of banks waiting for muggers to attack me. Then I would shoot them down with my weapons and take their stuff. Alternatively, you just go to the various bars in town, sit in a booth, and wait for someone to come up and offer you a deal. Your ship also comes equipped with a small vehicle that you can drive around the town or out on the planet with.
Another area that was unique was the spaceship related gameplay. In order to travel around to the various star systems, you had to set warp points in subspace and watch your ship travel to that point while your warp engines were charging. Once you reached that point you could enter warp speed. This was fun because quite often pirates would sense you out and attack you for your goods. At this point, a chat screen would open up with the pirate. You could try to use diplomacy or bluff to get the pirate to leave you alone, you could jettison your cargo to give them what they wanted, or you could try to fight them or run away. It was very tense waiting for your warp engines to charge while a pirate was blasting away at you, and very fun to hit the warp button and leave them behind.
If you choose to fight, this opens an engaging combat screen where you choose your weapons and fight it out. Your ship could then receive damage to its internal subsystems and blow out parts, which you would need to purchase from part stores on the planet. Be on the look out for the elusive stealth part, which makes traveling around much safer.
For the time period the game was released, Sundog: Frozen Legacy offered a staggering amount of replay ability, customization, and freedom. It is well worth a play.