Sound off (Issue 54): Favorite Space Game

Joe

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Jul 7, 2006
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You've read the issue, now tell the world.

What's your favorite space-based game?

For me, this one's easy. No matter how much I enjoy games like EVE, StarCraft still holds onto my heart like a vice grip. The CD is still in my drive at home. Honorable mention, of course, goes to Homeworld 2. Between the three, I'd almost not miss Earth on an inter-stellar mission into deep space.
 

Virgil

#virgil { display:none; }
Legacy
Jun 13, 2002
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TIE Fighter. No question.

First off, it was just a great engine. The whole X-Wing series was a blast to play. Swoop in behind, hammer on the match speed button, line up, and pew pew pew! TIE Fighter was just the coolest because you get to be the 'bad guy'.

My hope is that someday we see a resurrection of this series on a console, with online play. You might never get me away from the Xbox if that happened.

[font color=#00CC00]pew pew pew[/font]!
 

Russ Pitts

The Boss of You
May 1, 2006
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I'm with Virgil here. I saved paychecks for weeks back in '94 just to buy a new machine for TIE Fighter. The music made it for me.
 

Kross

World Breaker
Sep 27, 2004
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Master of Orion 1 - I didn't even try the second one because it might have caused an equally large addiction.
 
Jul 12, 2006
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Escape Velocity for me, I grew up on that game on my PowerPC Mac... God, I loved that thing. I can remember sitting there for hours at night, late into the night running from pirates, and getting absolutely decimated in Strict Mode.. .Such a great game.
 

Araman

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Nov 12, 2002
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I'll have to second Master of Orion, though I didn't stumble on to the series until MOO 2. That game happily ate up many hours of my high school life.

Honestly though, it's very hard to pick just one, especially after being reminded of some of the excellent titles mentioned in this thread so far.
 

razor

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Mar 3, 2004
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Adding my vote for TIE Fighter [http://home.nc.rr.com/razorkhan/swgTIE.jpg]. That whole series rocked, culminating in X-Wing vs TIE.
 

Archon

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Nov 12, 2002
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Cyrus - I was genuinely disappointed in Gal Civ 2. The lack of MOO2's turn-based tactical combat left me frustrated. A general trend in games I like is that they combine a strategic element with a tactical battle -- this was true of MOO2, of X-Com, and more recently of Shogun & Medieval Total War. When the tactical battle is removed the game feels empty to me... the payoff is missing. With Gal Civ I kept playing and playing waiting for the pitched, climactic battle that never came.
 
Jul 13, 2006
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I used to play EV: Override on my cousin's old Mac. Running missions for hours to get an awesome ship, then seeing an even cooler one within 10 minutes of my purchase... it really did make it feel like there was a whole universe in that old beige box.

edit: I think one of the main reasons space games feel so impersonal is that it is naturally hard to relate our experiences to the game. If you walk through a green meadow in a game, you feel relaxed because you know you're probably safe there. If you are dangling above a volcano you know you're in trouble. Flying towards a planet that is sloooowly growing larger on your screen is just that - flying towards a planet. The beautiful nebulae millions of kilometers away can't give us the emotional cues we expect.
 

te2rx [deprecated]

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Jul 19, 2006
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I rather liked Star Control 2 back in the day. Its universe was full of personality, humor, and mystery. It made me want to explore around, make contact with every alien race, and discover all the secrets of the universe. The problem I have with recent games like X2/X3 is that the personality is not there, thus the "adventure" aspect is lost, rendering it a repetitive stat/management game. I wish there were more space games in the style of something like Morrowind, where the game world is very colorful and exciting and full of oddities, giving you a sense of adventure. I dislike space games where every space station / planet is exactly the same outside of its computer-generated variables. Where's the fun and mystery in exploring a universe like that?
 

Bongo Bill

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Jul 13, 2006
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Count me in for Star Control 2 (or, as it's called these days, The Ur-Quan Masters). Though I can't say I would say no to a simplified and streamlined space flight sim....

I'd say SMAC (pronounce it "smack" for the most appropriate acronym ever) is more like Civ in space, but I knew that's what you were thinking. Starcraft is already in space.
 

Incommunicado

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Jul 13, 2006
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The greatest Space sims I can think of were Privateer + Righteous Fire Extension and of course Freelancer. I loved they way these games combined free roaming and possibilities to earn some cash with a good storyline and interesting characters. The X series is really well done and I bought all 3 parts of the series, but they all miss the story and characters. So I totally agree with te2rx here.

I would have someone poking my eye with a fork just to get a game like Privateer or Freelancer for the 360. Talk about crushing productivity for a few weeks.