Try Evochron Legends [http://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegends/index.htm]. It's an indie game that falls more under the Elite/Freelancer free roaming type of game rather than the Colony Wars/Freespace mission based type. Graphics are decent(very good for an indie game), but it's no X3. I don't want to post absolutely everything about the game(that's why I included the link), but here are a few of the more interesting features of the game(taken from the site):
Diverse gameplay choices and activities including racing, spying, mining, trading, commodity shipping, exploring, asteroid clearing, equipment cleaning, crew management, and ship designing. New options including passenger transport, capital ship escort, military war zone missions, multiple waypoint patrols, and planet atmosphere combat contracts. There are many ways to make money and advance in the game.
A vast seamless universe that lets you fly anywhere without loading screens. Fly from planet to planet, star to star, solar system to solar system seamlessly.
Unified gameplay architecture and profiles lets you keep the ship, upgrades, equipment, money, weapons, crew, and commodities you acquire in the game for use in both single player and multiplayer.
Seamless planet descents that can include weather effects such as rain, snow, and turbulence. Explore planets for hidden benefits, trade at city stations, mine their surfaces for valuable materials, recover cells from plants for valuable biological material, or hide in their atmospheres... they are an important part of the game's interactive universe... not just background scenery you can only look at.
No required trade lanes or warp gates to hold you back. The game's universe is yours to explore with an open space navigation system and built-in jump drives. Optional warp gates are available for faster long distance travel and you can also install new gates in desired locations with the game's customizable universe.
Realistic zero gravity inertia based 'Newtonian' style flight model including complete 3-way rotation and 3-way direction control with optional variable input. An advanced inertial dampening system helps keep flight control simple in space, atmospheres, and gravity fields. The physics system has been enhanced for improved realism based on ship type and design, including thruster-to-weight and acceleration/deceleration agility. Heavier and lighter ships alike now handle more realistically for their mass and configurations. Even the cargo your ship carries is a factor. Note: the "advanced inertial dampening system" pretty much makes it fly like an arcade style space game for those of you who hate Newtonian physics
Supports keyboard, mouse, gamepad, and joystick flight control. Use the control device you prefer to play the game. Force feedback control is also supported.
Supports Natural Point's TrackIR 3D head control system for managing the viewpoint from the cockpit with all six degrees of movement.
And here's the trailer:
