The 15 Best Space Combat Sims of All-Time

[Ihateregistering1]

I loved TIE Fighter, but I'm in agreement with what some people have already put on here, Freespace 2 was the best.

None of the games captured the massive epic fights between enormous ships as well as Freespace 2 did, nor the sense of fighting against insanely overwhelming odds. It also did a great job of making you feel that, even though you were this ace pilot, you were still just a small fry in this organization, as so much of the information and mystery of the game was classified to you.

Amazingly, Freespace 2 could actually be downright scary at times. I still remember one mission where:

Spoiler

you were in the nebula, and during the mission a fighter appears from a squad who, in a previous mission, they had lost contact with. He gets on the radio and says "we have to get out of here, there's SOMETHING out there command!!" Holy cow that scared the crud out of me, and it made you feel like your paltry forces were going up against some sort of Lovecraftian space monsters

Also, the Shivans had freakin' awesome ship designs, and kudos to the game for keeping them extremely mysterious and, well, Alien.

Damn it, now I'm depressed that there won't be a Freespace 3...

 

[Shinkicker444]

^^ Yeah I loved that about the Shivans and those missions beyond the Knossos Space Portal were terrifying in scope. Especially when you first saw the Sathanas and the subsequent rush of missions afterwards. There was a very real feeling of a threat there, and the victory was great...

Spoiler

Well, until you do that recon mission deeper into the Nebula... and realise how utterly screwed and outgunned you are.

The very last mission was great to, leaves you wanting more. Talk about ending with a bang.


Love all the mods for the game to, still very playable to this day.


FS1 ending made me kind of sad though and left you with a lot of questions, was a good setup for FS2 however.

 

[grigjd3]

Of course I could always pick hairs on the ordering. One thing though, Sol was terrible. Anyhow, I would have placed Privateer above WC1-3. Anyone who makes the "storyline" argument about those games is clearly thinking only in nostalgia (saying this as someone who loved playing those games).

 

[TheMemoman]

I think FTL deserves really special mention among space games because it focuses on being concise and easy to get into and easy to play (but not easy to win, not at all...) and providing just as much entertainment as more complex space games while still being far simpler.

I agree. FTL has provided me with some of the most memorable and immersive space faring escapades!

Also, considering the vastness of space, I'm more inclined to think that real life space battles would be decided more on cunning tactics than on dog-fighting maneuvers.

 

[Shinkicker444]

FTL isn't really a space combat sim like the others though, so doesn't quite fit the criteria.

 

[johnzaku]

Wait...
Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception is even mentioned?

I mean, talk about a fantastic game on a CONSOLE.

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! I never believed I would actually encounter another person who not only actually played that game but enjoyed it as well. I am 99% posative we are the only ones on the whole planet.

OT:
X-wing Vs Tie Fighter was the first game I ever really played on the PC so I have alot of love for that game. Me and my friends would always open a gaming session with the four of us taking on a Star Destroyer. Only won about 50% of the time but it was fun as hell 100% of the time.

Make me number three! I was waiting for it to appear on the list... but it never did... ToT

It's a great list though! I just gotta say, coulda been 16 greatest games...

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Freelancer is on this list.

GOOD

+10 points in Staff Faith

 

[r_Chance]

Well, both my favorites made the list; Wing Commander: Privateer and Tie Fighter. As grigjd3 mentioned above mentioned, I would have placed Privateer above the other Wing Commander games. WC 1-3 were fun, but Privateer was absorbing. And RSE Star Citizen seems set to scratch that itch...

 

[Je-Tze]

Also, no EVE Online?!?? Not even as an honorable mention...

 

[marurder]

6 Star wars games? Really?
4 Wing Commander games
2 each by Volition and Digital Anvil.

I'm all for keeping to series, but what about Frontier (the sequel to Elite)
Eve Online
Or any of the 'X' series.

Surely we aren't limited to the star wars universe for (good) space combat?

 

[Sol_HSA]

Oh boy would I ever love to get my hands on the tie fighter source code so I could make a modern port. Miracles do happen, right?

I thought the X games would be good as the screenshots are nice and there's some hype around them, but when I threw money at one (can't remember which one) I played the tutorial (dying several times during the tutorial since the tutorial was faulty) and seriously couldn't find myself playing it further. A lot of work has clearly gone into the games, but it feels like they're tailored for people who already play them.

Also tried freespace 2 after a long time, having fond memories of it, but couldn't get over the fact that you have to play through hours of tutorials before getting "into the game".

As for missing games, where's space rogue? Come on! =)

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Oh boy would I ever love to get my hands on the tie fighter source code so I could make a modern port. Miracles do happen, right?

The game - either the stand-alone Collectors Edition White Label (which includes an inbuilt editor) game or as part of the X-wing/TIE-fighter/X-wing vs TIE-fighter complilation pack - is still available through <a href=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-TIE-Fighter-PC/dp/B00077DK8A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406714471&sr=8-4&keywords=tie+fighter+pc+game> Amazon.co.uk for as little as £5, I recently bought a copy to add to my 'I used to play the shit out of this as a kid' collection.

 

[Sol_HSA]

Oh boy would I ever love to get my hands on the tie fighter source code so I could make a modern port. Miracles do happen, right?

The game - either the stand-alone Collectors Edition White Label (which includes an inbuilt editor) game or as part of the X-wing/TIE-fighter/X-wing vs TIE-fighter complilation pack - is still available through <a href=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-TIE-Fighter-PC/dp/B00077DK8A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406714471&sr=8-4&keywords=tie+fighter+pc+game> Amazon.co.uk for as little as £5, I recently bought a copy to add to my 'I used to play the shit out of this as a kid' collection.

I'd much rather have a version that runs natively on windows, uses 3d acceleration and supports various resolutions and aspect ratios.. =)

 

[Kahani]

6 Star wars games? Really?
4 Wing Commander games
2 each by Volition and Digital Anvil.

I'm all for keeping to series, but what about Frontier (the sequel to Elite)
Eve Online
Or any of the 'X' series.

Surely we aren't limited to the star wars universe for (good) space combat?

Yeah, seems a bit of an odd list really. Not that any of them are bad games, but listing basically the entire Wing Commander franchise while completely failing to mention many games at all is pretty weird. Especially given that the description for most of them could just have been "Like the other ones, but with better graphics". I would have assumed that they were going for a more dogfighting sort of focus, but games like Elite and Freelancer were always trying to be Eve and/or X (depending on whether you like other people or not), they just hadn't quite figured it out yet.

Far from being the best 15 space sims, this appears to be simply "a couple of franchises we like".

 

[octafish]

I love Freespace 2. It is easily the best game for dogfighting in space, though Starlancer (Crimson Skies engine looks amazing) comes close. Independence War and Independence War 2 however have the Newtownian Physics down pat, plus a pretty nice story as well.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

You made a list of the best space combat games of all time and didn't include I-War 2: Edge of Chaos? How could you miss that one?

Actually if you think about it the I-War games are the only true space combat sims. Non of the others in the list really count as a space combat sim, they are just flight sims in a pretty dress. Only I-War took into account the fact that there is no gravity or atmosphere in space and used Newtonian physics for ship movements.

 

[JenSeven]

Glad to see my love for Tachyon is shared by quite a few people here.
Just got it again recently, found it hidden somewhere deep in Steam!
So yay! Lucky me!

 

[the_maestro_sartori]

I came to this thread to make sure freelancer was on the list. I sunk sooooo much time into that online, soooo much fun back in the day

 

[antidonkey]

I'm glad to see Tachyon make the list. I bought when it first came out and debated between it and Starlancer. Ultimately, it was Bruce Campbell that was the deciding factor. I loved how he would give you grief when entering cheat codes.

 

[knight4light]

I'm not surprised EVE Online (my favorite space sim, along with its upcoming tie in EVE Valkyrie) wasn't mentioned, but, really, no FTL?

I think FTL deserves really special mention among space games because it focuses on being concise and easy to get into and easy to play (but not easy to win, not at all...) and providing just as much entertainment as more complex space games while still being far simpler.

That being said, I love space games, and need to check out Freespace 2. Also, if you haven't heard of Elite: Dangerous, look that up now.

I agree. FTL has provided me with some of the most memorable and immersive space faring escapades!

Also, considering the vastness of space, I'm more inclined to think that real life space battles would be decided more on cunning tactics than on dog-fighting maneuvers.

To me... these games are not space sims. These are fighter games set in space. Eve online is one of the best space sims around. Everyone thinks its combat sucks but honestly thats what space warefare is all about... Its not about dog fighting maneuvers. Its more battleship vs battleship combat. Ftl is also a great space sim. no dogfighting just targeting weaknesses. startrek online.. again.. no real dogfighting... just manuvers that still take forever in your ships. Kerbal space program is one of the best space sims. It might be funny and goofy and not a combat sim but once you get into space it still uses space physics.

If you look at the article about the 4 science mistakes star wars makes. the fighter combat is one of them.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/scienceandtech/11956-4-Science-Mistakes-Star-Wars-Episode-VII-Needs-to-Fix.2

again.. this is why i do not classify any game with aerial fighter mechanic as space sim. They are just glorified ace combats set in space. now get me a fighter game with actual space physics...then we'll talk.