Top 5 Video Game Space Battles

[StewShearerOld]

Top 5 Video Game Space Battles

Video games have played host to some of the best space battles in science fiction. Join us as we share a few of our favorites!

Read Full Article

 

[Alcom1]

I love how the Lucifer Battle video ends with the "Insert FreeSpace CD 2" message.
Anyways, how about some FreeSpace mods, yo!

Blue Planet: Universal Truth

Blue Planet II: Delenda Est

 

[SilverHunter]

Honestly...? Mass Effect's place there feels rather weak. You mentioned Battle of Naboo wasn't as satisfying ultimately because you don't take out the big bad ship. Yet even that is playable, Mass Effect 3's space battle however is a static event. It doesn't take into consideration any of your choices, it pays no heed to any of the allies you may or may not have. And no matter what, it always plays out the same way. On the other hand, the charge into the Omega Relay in ME2 feels a lot more personal. And if we are settling for cutscenes in this list too, I'd of much preferred that. Your choices, how you played, all the things leading up to that easily affects the outcome of that scene and the mission following.

As a player, Suicide Charge just felt much more epic than The Final Battle. Heck, while that isn't quite so much a space battle I'll admit, ME 1's battle for the Citadel feels more impactful as well, because your choices again are impactful. It's also the first time you take out a Reaper, and see that they can actually be beaten.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Re: Star Fox

My friend and I would play the Katina multiplayer stage, and spend the whole time fighting the endlessly spawning NPC ships instead of each other.

 

[StewShearerOld]

Honestly...? Mass Effect's place there feels rather weak. You mentioned Battle of Naboo wasn't as satisfying ultimately because you don't take out the big bad ship. Yet even that is playable, Mass Effect 3's space battle however is a static event. It doesn't take into consideration any of your choices, it pays no heed to any of the allies you may or may not have. And no matter what, it always plays out the same way. On the other hand, the charge into the Omega Relay in ME2 feels a lot more personal. And if we are settling for cutscenes in this list too, I'd of much preferred that. Your choices, how you played, all the things leading up to that easily affects the outcome of that scene and the mission following.

As a player, Suicide Charge just felt much more epic than The Final Battle. Heck, while that isn't quite so much a space battle I'll admit, ME 1's battle for the Citadel feels more impactful as well, because your choices again are impactful. It's also the first time you take out a Reaper, and see that they can actually be beaten.

I get where you're coming from and I would definitely agree that in many ways the Suicide Run is far superior to the Mass Effect 3 battle. That said... the Mass Effect 3 battle just got to me for some reason! It's just so big and bombastic and the music and the impossible odds and.... When this sequence began I literally turned to my wife and said "Holy shit, they're all going to die." It was just so cool and I still love it, even with the ending being what it was.

But yeah, your criticism are still really valid and I did struggle with that one.

 

[GundamSentinel]

Seeing Starlancer mentioned anywhere always makes me sad. I just can't get my current PC to run the damn thing.

Good list, makes me want to play some of those games again.

 

[Silvanus]

No mention of the sheer cosmic terror involved in the tense, life-or-death struggle against the horrifying Tatanga?!

 

[Ironman126]

Shame there was no mention of EVE Online. We have an enormous space battle like twice a month. But it's not a set piece deal that everyone sees, so I understand the lack of EVE representation. And I suppose there's also the issue of the fights taking what feel like years. Thanks to Time Dilation, the battles can last for hours upon hours. Still, I would argue that EVE's battles have far more impact than any of these linear events.

Also, to parrot an earlier comment, Mass Effect 3's finale doesn't really belong. Mass Effect 1's, however...

At least Rogue Squadron 2 was there.

 

[Tanis]

As odd as it sounds...I'm going to have to add a Gundam game to the mind.

Gundam: SEED (PS2) was a solid game with some VERY chaotic space battles.

 

[renegade7]

No love for FTL with the fight against the Rebel Capital Ship? Because that's without a doubt my favorite.

 

[Kinitawowi]

Shame there was no mention of EVE Online. We have an enormous space battle like twice a month. But it's not a set piece deal that everyone sees, so I understand the lack of EVE representation. And I suppose there's also the issue of the fights taking what feel like years. Thanks to Time Dilation, the battles can last for hours upon hours. Still, I would argue that EVE's battles have far more impact than any of these linear events.

Yeah, I totally expected to see at least the Battle Of Asakai here (which seemed to be the first one to really cross over into the popular consciousness); I note that Wikipedia actually has an article on the Bloodbath of B-R5RB.

 

[StewShearerOld]

Shame there was no mention of EVE Online. We have an enormous space battle like twice a month. But it's not a set piece deal that everyone sees, so I understand the lack of EVE representation. And I suppose there's also the issue of the fights taking what feel like years. Thanks to Time Dilation, the battles can last for hours upon hours. Still, I would argue that EVE's battles have far more impact than any of these linear events.

Also, to parrot an earlier comment, Mass Effect 3's finale doesn't really belong. Mass Effect 1's, however...

At least Rogue Squadron 2 was there.

It's funny you mention that because I actually considered throwing an EVE battle in this. I was trying to limit the list to games I'd personally experienced though and I've never played EVE.

 

[Fox12]

No, friends. You've forgotten the greatest space epic of all.

Spoiler

A lone savior fights against fate, and the inevitable entropic decay of the universe. He knows he can't win, but he keeps fighting anyway. The difficulty of the game only reinforces the nihilistic nature of the theme of the game. Thus we see the gameplay reinforcing the themes.

There's also a fair amount of ambiguity. Why is this noble foul fighting to save the universe? Is it for his family? For love? Or because he still has hope? If he gives up, then its over, and so the struggle is real. The game doesn't give us any answers, only the grim, set, determined jaw line of flappy bird.

Spoiler

You almost believe he can make it. Then...

Spoiler

 

[L3D]

Yay, space battles. Starlancer seemed interesting, so added my +1 to http://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/starlancer Lets hope they can make a deal and can fix it so it works.

 

[deathmothon]

ME1 definitely had the better cut scene battle. Plus you got to make a major decision that should've had a great impact down the line.

 

[Jingle Fett]

Aw, no Love for Halo 2?


Granted it's a cutscene and not playable, but it's still in a videogame...Good list otherwise though, very happy Rogue Squadron made the cut.

 

[Ironman126]

Yeah, I totally expected to see at least the Battle Of Asakai here (which seemed to be the first one to really cross over into the popular consciousness); I note that Wikipedia actually has an article on the Bloodbath of B-R5RB.

The after-action reports from Asakai were what drew me to EVE in the first place. It was definitely the first time I had ever really looked into EVE. I'd never seen a game where that many people could interact in the same place, at the same time. As for B-R5RB, you know it's serious when the devs build an in-game monument to the battle and then the real world media talks about it.

It's funny you mention that because I actually considered throwing an EVE battle in this. I was trying to limit the list to games I'd personally experienced though and I've never played EVE.

Fair enough. EVE's certainly a niche market and there's a lot to wade through to really get to the core of the game. For all the tired spreadsheet jokes people make, EVE really is something remarkable, in both scale and complexity.

 

[praetor_alpha]

Is it just me, or are there two number fives on this list?

 

[Recusant]

You're to be congratulated, Stew. I read your number one entry, and my first reaction was saying to myself "Oh, man, wait until he plays the sequel"- while giggling. I haven't found myself giggling in a very, very long time; it's something few people can boast of doing.

By the way, have you ever seen the magazine ads for the first game? What brought the game into focus for me was seeing those and wondering just how much they'd exaggerated the scale- then being astounded when I discovered the result was "very little".