Games in Space

[Lord Quirk]

After playing (and loving) the Mass Effect games, I suddenly want more games set in space. The problem is, I don't have many games set in space (aside from Infinite Space for the DS, that was awesome), so could any of you please reccomend me a space game? Genre isn't really an issue, but I appreciate story in games (hence why I loved the Mass Effect series) and don't like multiplayer very much.
Thanks!

 

[Euryalus]

Halo Trilogy, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Super Mario Galaxy, Galactic Civilizations II, and... Metroid: Zero Mission? Those are the only ones I've got.

 

[Tupolev]

space

story

If you're able to get comfy enough with the 1994 control scheme, Marathon [http://source.bungie.org/] is a fantastic (and compared to most modern FPS games quite upbeat) first-person shooter with great atmosphere and some very interesting writing. It was made by Bungie back when they were known as a Mac developer. Marathon was a significant influence on Halo, at least on Combat Evolved, as emphasized not particularly subtly by the presence of the Marathon logo within the Halo 1 logo.

It's also free.

 

[Noetherian]

Do you like Star Wars?

If so, this post dovetails very nicely with this thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.385575-Rejoice-The-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Bundle] proclaiming the rerelease of both Knights of the Old Republic games for current-generation Windows platforms.

Also, even if you don't like Star Wars-- hey, it could happen-- KotOR is in many ways a spiritual predecessor to the Mass Effect series. The first KotOR game was also made by BioWare and both feature a moral choice system, nuanced companion characters, interstellar travel, etc., etc. I've played and loved both series, so, highly recommended-- at least, if you don't mind putting up with older graphics and some seriously strange combat controls (at least in the first one).

 

[Jazoni89]

if you have a computer head over to gog.com and find wing commander 3 and 4. great stories and games even today

*edit* i forget most people dont own joysticks these days. you will need one of those too

Or a 3DO, as Wing Commander 3 is on there as well.

Also, Star Control 2 is pretty much what inspired the Mass Effect series in the first place, and some of the elements are quite similar. It also has an incredibly in depth story to it, so I think it's right up your street.

You can also pick that up on the 3DO, or if you are not a collector of obscure retro consoles like me, you can grab the PC version for free.

I think the PC version is missing the Voice acting from the 3DO version though, and it may or may not work on a newer OS such as Windows 7.

 

[Lord Quirk]

Sweet, thanks!

CAPCHA: Labour of love
Now let's not make this creepy...

 

[Tanis]

Galactic Civilizations 2: Endless Universe

Best 4X game out.

 

[The_Lost_King]

Do you like Star Wars?

If so, this post dovetails very nicely with this thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.385575-Rejoice-The-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Bundle] proclaiming the rerelease of both Knights of the Old Republic games for current-generation Windows platforms.

Also, even if you don't like Star Wars-- hey, it could happen-- KotOR is in many ways a spiritual predecessor to the Mass Effect series. The first KotOR game was also made by BioWare and both feature a moral choice system, nuanced companion characters, interstellar travel, etc., etc. I've played and loved both series, so, highly recommended-- at least, if you don't mind putting up with older graphics and some seriously strange combat controls (at least in the first one).

Seconded. These games are amazing. If you do get these get the restored content mod for KotOR 2. Now I have to go play these again. Good thing they are already installed.

 

[PrimitiveJudge]

Star Control 3
Deadspace
Eve Online (I know it's a MMO but it's stuck in my head atm)

 

[skywolfblue]

Shootery
Dead Space 1&2
Halo series

RTS
Starcraft series
Homeworld series

 

[RJ Dalton]

In space, no one can hear you scream and throw the controller at the screen.

 

[Archangel768]

Halo Series (Many don't seem to but I enjoy the story at least)
Starcraft

Dark Forces, Dark Forces 2, Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy (the last two aren't too disgusting when it comes to graphics)

Shadows of the Empire

Knights of the Old Republic (made by bioware so you should enjoy it)

 

[RicoADF]

After playing (and loving) the Mass Effect games, I suddenly want more games set in space. The problem is, I don't have many games set in space (aside from Infinite Space for the DS, that was awesome), so could any of you please reccomend me a space game? Genre isn't really an issue, but I appreciate story in games (hence why I loved the Mass Effect series) and don't like multiplayer very much.
Thanks!

Ok well that's a large pool of options, I suggest you be more specific.

A few general suggestions under the main categories:

Space Sim (flying ships):
Freespace 1 & 2 (note, freespace 2 has its source code released and the community has upgraded it and continues to do so, it's keeping up with the times)
Wing Commander series (depends how far back your willing to go)
Freelancer & Starlancer
Many Star Trek and Star Wars games

RTS (Real Time Strategy):
Sins of a Solar Empire (plus expansions)
Homeworld 1, Homeworld Cataclysm and Homeworld 2
Star Trek Armada 1 & 2
Star Wars Empire at War and it's expansion Forces of Corruption
Haegamonia (spelling?)
Star Craft 1 & 2

Turn based strategy:
Galactic Civilization 1 & 2 plus expansions
Endless Space
Legends of Pegasus
Sword of the Stars 1 & 2 plus expansions

First Person Shooters:
Too many to even bother to name, seriously. Besides their often not in space and thus probably not what your after

MMORPG's:
Star Trek Online
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Battlestar Galactica Online
Eve Online

As you can see, just off the top of my head theres alot of good games that'd keep your busy for days. Just depends what your after. Have fun, and feel free to ask for more/specify what your after

 

[viranimus]

For those suggesting Wing Commander, if your wanting something that doesnt look a decade old, go for the recently released fan made (with blessing) incarnation Darkest Dawn.

http://www.wcsaga.com/

If steam hadnt been such a douchenozzle, I could have recommended a couple of space dogfighters there. Oh and one of the indie bundles active right now ( http://www.indieroyale.com/ ) includes SOL exodus, which is a pretty good attempt.

Plus none of these require a yoke.

 

[octafish]

Well the obvious one would be Freespace 2, available at GOG. A free option though is The Wing Commander Saga [wcsaga.hard-light.net/] a stand alone mod using the open source engine from Freespace 2.

I like the Independence War games, available at GOG again.

It's a shame that you can't play System Shock 2.

snip

Damn you NINJA!

 

[Sangnz]

Just to add a few I haven't seen mentioned

the X series of games which are all tactical based space sims.
X-Tension
X: Beyond the Frontier
X2: The Threat
X3: Terran Conflict
X3: Albion Prelude
X3: Reunion

Some indie titles
S.P.A.Z, a top down shooter with rts/rpg elements in it
SOL: Exodus, a space shooter
Gratuitous Space Battles, bugger all story but a blast to play
AI War: Fleet Command, little story but very deep strategy game.

 

[Dr.Panties]

There is a game coming out soon that looks to scratch a whole lot of space combat itches. Space ship combat, with transformations into a mech! Touch my pelvis as it thrusts uncontrollably!

It's called "Strike Suit Zero". No site up for it yet, but check out some youtube vids.

Pelvis.

 

[renegade7]

1.) EVE Online. If grand strategy and extreme complexity set in an MMO universe filled with players who are basically diabolical geniuses to the last is your cup of tea, go for it.

2.) Blockade Runner. http://blockaderunnergame.com/ An interesting and ambitious Indie project. Early in development right now, but the gist is you build your ships out of blocks like Minecraft and fly them in a procedurally generated universe. There is also an online functionality planned, which will likely be either multiplayer servers (like Minecraft SMP) or team based matches. An MMO style server is possible, but not certain yet.

 

[DustyDrB]

Endless Space is a new strategy game and it's quite good.

 

[ComradeJim270]

While it straddles several genres, everything else in Spore just leads up to the part where it becomes a space game. The game is kind of hit or miss as far as people liking it though, and really don't have much story at all if that's what you're after. Still, worth checking out at least; you'll probably be able to figure out pretty well if it's something you'd like.

Someone mentioned Freelancer. That's a good one to start with as far as space sims go because it really works just fine with a mouse and keyboard, you don't need a joystick to play it well. It's got a decent story that gets a little weird sometimes, nothing special, but it works.

Tachyon: The Fringe is a lesser known space sim with quite a good story and a robust single-player experience, provided with a lot of delightfully snarky commentary due to the protagonist being voiced by Bruce Campbell of Evil Dead fame (who hams it up at times, but he hams it up so well that it's good anyway). It's a lot of fun and does have some replay value.

If you're willing to go very retro (like DOS/Windows 95 era), I played Privateer 2 (also without a joystick since I never got one to work on the same machine) many years ago and had a blast, or at least I seem to recall that I did. It does have a decent story. I keep wanting to play it but I never bother figuring out how to make it work on a modern PC. It uses live actors for cutscenes and while they may look a low-budget they don't look dated. When you're in space things do look dated, but since it's... well, space it's not that big of a deal.

Gratuitous Space Battles was also mentioned, and the title basically just says what it is. There are ships in space and they shoot lots of lasers and missiles and stuff at each other based on orders you have given them, and it's awesome. The story is basically nonexistent, with the backstory for each race just explaining why they want to blow up everybody else, but it's very fun and I believe there's a demo on Steam. There's no traditional multiplayer, instead players can post "challenges" where other players download one of their fleets to fight against. I'm not a big fan of MP either but I really enjoy this mechanic. It couldn't hurt to try the demo.