Looking for a good space game

I'm guessing you mean cockpit-based games? If so, Mass Effect has no flying whatsoever.


However, you won't find many good modern games like this... my favorite is of course, Wing Commander: Privateer / Righteous Fire, but it is VERY dated. (1996 - If you are interested anyway, let me know) The hayday of Wing Commanders is over.

X3 - Reunion / Terran Conflict has all of what you want, but it lacks the 'spirit' of the older space games. Very mechanical feeling to it. You can even build starbases/mining bases etc... and with mods, take over entire star systems. In fact, you can turn it from a flight space sim to an empire management sim just by following a certain path... and mods expand on it. The modding community is pretty active so you can find a mod to fix almost any annoyance, even the lack of cockpits. (The days when space simulators lost their cockpits were the days I knew it was ending. ) If you want 'realistic', this is probably it.

Freelancer is arcadish but it's space, and you can trade/pirate/upgrade etc.

EVE Online is epic in scale, human interaction/evolving economy, but it's an MMO. You really CAN do anything you want though - be a trader, smuggler/blockade runner, pirate, member of a fleet, start a corporation, mine, bounty hunt, you could even never leave a station and amass a massive wealth simply through trading goods - or even stocks of real in-game corporations that are run and staffed by real players... etc. etc. But it takes a lot to get into. It's a real time investment.



Edit: Took the X3 screenshot out, was way too big. Here's a linky. http://www.pcgamefuntime.com/wp-cont...n_conflict.jpg
Edited by Tainok - 5/17/09 at 7:05pm

Even though you are looking for space combat games i would still recommend Mass Effect, you don't fly a ship and shoot but you do engage enemies on other planets and it is a very fun game and looks amazing. There really are only third and first person space shooters i would also recommend Dead Space it is scary but fun. I know this is not what you are looking for but if you like space i recommend you at least try Mass Effect.

Mass Effect is a good action RPG, granted, but that's all it is. It's just set in space as opposed to the usual fantasy setting.

That's not to say I wouldn't play it, OP, but it's DEFINITELY not what you're looking for. And while you do have choices that change the outcome, it is NOT open ended to the point where you can just trade and pirate. Very linear in that sense.

Dead Space is just a 3PS horror, nothing even close to what the OP wants. I think the closest he'll find these days is X3.

yea i know it is not what he wants but it seems like he likes space i was just trying to expand his interest.

If you want to play a MASSIVE singleplayer game that is quite realistic, I would suggest X3: Terran Conflict. Its a game where you fly around in various ships, you can buy stations, trade, pirate, capture ships, mine asteroids, go through plotlines, do missions.. you name it.The game has far too much to explain here, and it has a massive learning curve because of everything you can do with the game. The only thing you cant do is customize your ship components, they left that as pretty much just buy a certain ship, max out the shields, and you CAN customize what weapons you want on it, but not their location. I recommend giving it a shot. Im not big on the subject, but EVE is another good one if you're willing to pay a subscription fee.

http://www.gamershell.com/tv/13484.html
Edited by 0rion - 5/17/09 at 7:22pm

ill agree with freelancer. and with the discovery team keeping the online part alive it still holds worth.

Give X3 some time... you might want to read a bit before diving in. Also, the ships are not quite as simple as most space sims - A > B > C > D in terms of upgrade path and power.

The most powerful ships are slow, bulky, and their guns have a harder time hitting the smaller ships. (And generally use AI controlled turrets)

The smaller ships, the smaller they get, the faster and more maneuverable they are but the less shields and weapons they carry. A great pilot can do wonders with a tiny fast ship, but even with perfect flying you'll be hard pressed to take anything down a class or two above you.

This is where the AI/fleet control/empire management comes in. You can 'capture' ships, or just outright buy them, and then have the AI fly them at your side. If you like, you can fly a small fast ship and zip around the battlefield to get a good view and help out in the fighting, or save up and sit down in a big cruiser, offer fire support, and send orders out.


Making starting money can be tough in X3 - the most common routes are trading (for more laid back/management type pilots) or 'capping', for more twitch-type pilots. There's plenty of info on their forums for both styles. (Capping can involve going after Pirates, or you can target traders and make a fortune if you're careful which nationalities you target in which sectors and remember that they won't like you after that)

This game scales very well with your system too - it can run at low settings (P4, crappy video card) but when cranked up it's very pretty. Then combine that with texture/graphics mods, and you can have an absolutely breathtaking experience.


Edit: Also, if you are very into the atmosphere of space games, I'd highly advise the first thing you do is get your hands on the cockpit pack to make it feel like you're actually sitting in the pilot's seat, not looking at a computer screen.
Edited by Tainok - 5/17/09 at 9:35pm

Just going to jump in here real quick.

Does this game have a multiplayer function? Maybe like a LAN feature?

Seems like a great game... but it would be great to share with friends.