All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'space' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg en-us Published by: LucasArts
Developed by: Totally Games
Genre: Space simulation
Number of players: 1
Release date: 1994, 1995

It is a time of chaos in the Empire. Rebel factions strike from hidden bases, pirates plunder unsuspecting civilian spacecraft, and traitors plot behind the Emperor's back. You, a rookie pilot in the Imperial Navy, must rise to action for the glory of the Empire and the good of all mankind.

The player's character is unnamed (however, in sources outside the game, name is Maarek Stele), but features such notable Star Wars characters as: Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and even Admiral Thrawn from the books.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter is somewhat of a sequal to Star Wars: X-Wing, however this time the player is the "bad guy." With various objectives ranging from destroying pirates and Rebels to flying wingman for Darth Vader himself, TIE Fighter offers a great deal of enjoyment for those who love the Star Wars universe.

Gameplay involves managing your weapons/engine/shield (if available) systems while dogfighting enemy spacecraft or attacking larger capital spaceships. Additionally, missiles are limited (if even available), so must be used carefully. Because this is the side of the Empire, the fighters you will be flying initially are very vulnerable to damage. Two or three hits to your TIE Fighter and you're toast, and destroying shielded enemy Rebel fighters in such a craft can be challenging.

Mission objectives are crucial to completing stages of the game, and advancing the storyline. Additionally, there are optional bonus objectives, which influence the secondary advancement in the Emperor's secret order.

]]> 24 Jan 2007 07:45:12 From Wikipedia: Star Wars: X-Wing is the first LucasArts DOS computer game set in the Star Wars universe, as well as the lead title in the X-Wing computer game series. It attempts to "realistically" simulate the experience of combat in the A-wing, X-wing, and Y-wing starfighters of the Rebel Alliance. Fans of the Wing Commander series of games often put forward the mistaken notion that X-Wing was somehow inspired by, or derivative of Wing Commander, but the truth is that X-Wing was built on an evolution of the same game engine that underlay the Air Combat Classics series of World War II flight combat games, (Battlehawks 1942, Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain, and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe), that were developed by Lawrence Holland for Lucasfilm Games. In fact, Larry Holland has reported that Chris Roberts approached him at a trade show to boast that he had reverse-engineered Battlehawks 1942 to create the Wing Commander game engine which he then attempted to pitch to Lucasarts as the basis for a Star Wars flight combat game! The failure of that pitch led to creation of Wing Commander.

X-Wing's main advance was that it featured a fully 3-D engine instead of bitmaps and sprites. The game also demonstrated a significant step forward in the AI and mission scripting so that players felt immersed in a believable simulation of the Star Wars universe, and faced intelligent adversaries that seemed responsive to the player's tactics. This was in stark contrast to the simple-minded AI of the Wing Commander series that was essentially an arcade shooter for gamers who wanted to experience the fantasy of being a starfighter pilot without requiring anything resembling the necessary skills. X-Wing was a flight combat simulator that required a high level of situational awareness, and some semblance of actual dogfighting skills. The X-Wing series appealed more to "hardcore" gamers and in its original floppy disk version was often found to be too difficult for more casual gamers.

]]> 17 May 2007 03:06:27 Elite is a seminal space trading computer game, originally published by Acornsoft in 1984 for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers. The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of 'Elite'. It was written and developed by David Braben and Ian Bell, who had met while they were both undergraduates at Jesus College, Cambridge. Non-Acorn versions of the game were published by Firebird.

Elite was one of the first home computer games to utilise wireframe 3D graphics. Another novelty was the inclusion of The Dark Wheel, a novella by Robert Holdstock which influenced new players with insight into the moral and legal codes which they might aspire to. It elevated the technically complicated software beyond the pigeon-hole of "game".

Elite's open ended game model, advanced game engine and revolutionary 3D graphics ensured that it was ported to virtually every contemporary home computer system, and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history. Even now, over 20 years after it was published, Elite is frequently used as a yardstick by which any new space trading game is measured. It has often been said that "Elite has been imitated but never bettered". While this is perhaps somewhat hyperbolic, it is certainly true to say that Elite was a hugely influential game, serving as a model for more recent games such as EVE Online, Wing Commander: Privateer and the X series of space trading games.

The Elite universe contains eight galaxies, each galaxy containing 256 planets to explore. Due to the limited capabilities of 8-bit computers, these worlds are procedurally generated: A single seed number run through a fixed algorithm the appropriate number of times and creates a sequence of numbers determining each planet's complete composition (position in the galaxy, prices of commodities, and even name and local details — text strings are chosen numerically from a lookup table and assembled to produce unique descriptions for each planet). This means that no extra memory is needed to store the characteristics of each planet, yet each is unique and has fixed properties. Each galaxy is also procedurally generated from the first.

The player, initially Commander Jameson, starts at Lave Station with 100 Credits and a lightly armed trading ship, a Cobra Mark III. Most of the ships that the player encounters are similarly named after snakes, or other reptiles. Credits can be accumulated through a number of means. These include piracy, trade, military missions, bounty hunting and the mining of asteroids. The money generated by these enterprises allows the player to upgrade their ship with such enhancements as better weapons, shields, increased cargo capacity, an automated docking system, and more.

Travel between planets is constrained to those within range of the ship's limited fuel capacity (7 light years); fuel can be replenished after docking with a space-station in orbit around a planet - a challenging task without a docking computer, as it requires matching the ship's rotation to that of the station. Players can upgrade their equipment with a fuel scoop, which allows raw fuel to be skimmed from the surface of stars - a dangerous and difficult activity - as well as collecting free-floating cargo canisters and escape capsules liberated after the destruction of other ships.

]]> 03 Mar 2007 12:00:49 Raptor: Call of the Shadows (often Raptor for short) is a 2D raster graphics vertical scrolling shoot 'em up single player game for the x86 PC written for MS-DOS, by Cygnus Studios (which has since changed its name to Mountain King Studios).

Raptor: Call of the Shadows was originally released on April 1, 1994. There is a shareware version available for this game which includes the first sector, the Bravo Sector. The full version can still be bought today

As in all shoot 'em up games of this genre, there is a vast number of enemies to kill, both on the ground and in the air. At the end of each wave, and often halfway through the more difficult waves, there is a "boss" which is a single enemy of great size and whom can take a lot of fire before succumbing.

For each target destroyed the player earns credits, with the amount of credits earned per enemy destroyed is proportional to how tough the enemy ship is. Most of the ground objects (buildings, vehicles, turrets) can be destroyed as well. Between new waves and sectors the player can use credits to select among 16 different equipment upgrades (various weapons, "shield-packs", bombs, etc) to be bought for his own aircraft.

The game is divided into three "sectors": Bravo Sector, Tango Sector, and Outer Regions, all of which have nine sub-missions called "waves", making for a total of 27 levels.

(Quoted from Wikipedia)

]]> 11 Jun 2007 11:15:52 Freespace 2 is a space combat simulator published in 1998. Long heralded by fans as the epitome of the genre, it was also sadly one of the last truly great games of its type.

In the game, you play as an anonymous pilot of the Terran Alliance, fighting for galactic peace. However, the plot quickly turns, as it appears that the Shivan threat (thought defeated in Freespace: the Great War) has returned.

The gameplay is mission based, with each mission giving you a set of often-changing objectives to be accomplished ranging from interception to recon to patrol. Just like others in the genre, the game takes place completely from the cockpit of your ship, although your ships and the scale of the forces you command change over the course of the game -- eventually orchestrating full fighter wing engagements.

The game has an amazing plot and beautifully rendered enviroments, with a truly epic sense of scale. Couple that with an intense and fun multiplayer experience, and you have one grand game in your hands.

]]> 19 Dec 2006 04:49:25 The year is 2839. Earth has been decimated by a near-by star explosion, two space colonies are all that survive. Six years pass and the groups become hostile against each other. They begin to build armies just in case things take a turn for the worst, and they do. The armies start to claim each nearby planet and use it as an empire. By now there are millions of people fighting on each side. Planets are surrounded by their teams capital ships and on the ground, there are anti-orbital cannons ready to blast any possible attackers away. Once the whole galaxy has been occupied evenly by both teams, they strike.

You play as your own character with hundreds of people on your team at the same time as you. You go from planet to planet trying to take over the galaxy. There are two types of combat, ground combat, which is similar to the gameplay of Starsiege: Tribe's "Capture and Hold" missions. Then there are Orbital Battles. Up to 5 capital ships on each team fight each other with mac guns and automatic AA guns. They can launch waves of bombers and fighters to take out the ships a little faster.

To take over a planet one must stay in the capture zone for up to 6 minutes. This is 3 minutes to remove the other team's influence of the planet, and 3 minutes to make it yours. If the planet is unoccupied, there is no need to take 6 minutes, 3 will do.

The galaxies fate is in your hands.

]]> 27 Jan 2007 08:04:44 Galactic Civilizations II is the sequel to 2003's hit turn-based strategy game of the same name.

The player takes on the role of the leader of a space-faring civilization and must guide its expansion in a hostile galaxy. Gamers must balance their economic, technological, diplomatic, cultural, and military power to forge alliances, fight wars, and ultimately dominate the galaxy.

The game is single-player and allows the player to play randomly generated galactic maps or play through a multi-mission campaign that tells the story of an ancient enemy called the Dread Lords.

]]> 24 Dec 2006 04:37:22 Fraxy is a space shooter with giant bosses. The best part being that you can build your own boss. Using hundreds of parts, you can create almost any kind of enemy you could think of. Giant lasers, vulcan turrets, suicide bombs, you name it. Fraxy is still being worked on, and new stuff is added almost weekly.

Download both the game, and the english patch.

]]> 27 May 2007 12:11:57 An excellent RTS. Control one of three races to battle and destroy the opponents. The three races have different properties and abilities, but the balance in gameplay is superb.

Made by Blizzard, creators of Warcraft.

]]> 07 Dec 2006 01:22:55 A port of Star Control II for modern computing platforms, with code released under the GNU GPL.

Latest stable version v0.6.2 here (17 January, 2007).

New features in v0.6:

• Netplay! You can now engage in Super Melee over the Internet.
  
• Key configuration is now entirely in-game.
  
• UQM now compiles and runs on 64-bit systems.
  

]]> 01 Dec 2006 10:01:46 Master of Orion II is like Civilization. Rather than take over the world, you focus on the galaxy, taking worlds instead of cities. Pick or create your own race, pursue technologies, employ strategic fleet deployments, and engage in extremely advanced diplomacy.

Various paths to victory.

]]> 02 Feb 2007 04:54:21 Galaga is the sequel to the amazing space shooter, Galaxian. You play as a lone space ship against an endless horde of space aliens. You build up your score with every ship you destroy, and are rewarded with a higher score if you destroy a ship while it is flying toward you. As you progress the ships get faster and more abundant. Soon you'll be playing on core instincts, not even seeing the screen anymore. Classic coin-op gaming and lightning fast gameplay.

]]> 19 Feb 2007 02:50:04 The original game in the Escape Velocity series from Ambrosia Software. An open ended space trading, combat, adventure rpg. It's similar to Elite, but with all the fun distilled and purified into one big addictive lump of super fun.

The following is the blurb from the official Ambrosia website:

Check your calendar: It's 2246, and the galaxy just isn't what it used to be. Spacefaring pirates roam free, civil war rages, and simple traders cheat death to make a living. Welcome to life in the 23rd century!

Ambrosia Software's Escape Velocity puts you smack-dab in the middle of that booming galaxy. As the captain of a shiny new spacecraft, you make your fortune and build your empire. If that sounds like a walk in the park, you're in for a surprise - dangers abound! Your lowly shuttle craft will need more than a little luck to make a profit... and survive.

Escape Velocity offers a rich and open-ended environment that evolves as you play. Over a hundred worlds occupy the galaxy, each with its own technology, alliances, and commodities. As you earn credits and gain fame, Confederation peace keepers and Rebel patriots struggle for power, leaving you in the middle.

Numerous sub-plots fill Escape Velocity's world; your choices affect the story's development, guaranteeing that each game will be different from the last. You'll have the opportunity to infiltrate hostile military bases, ferry emergency supplies to distant star systems, rescue passengers from stranded cruise ships, stop alien invaders, and more. In addition, Escape Velocity sports an open game engine. Future scenario designers will be able to create their own worlds for other players to explore...

]]> 14 Nov 2006 04:32:58 www.hyperbol.com
TS: Hyperbol is a game viewed Top-Down over a flat playing-field as you take control of a Ship that you customize in order to destroy your opponents. Game Types include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Spawn Capture, Attack/Defend Objectives, and more to be added later with a Map editor.
Your ship functions more like a Battleship, as it is stationary most of the time, a Turret that you can move occasionally across the map into strategically key positions, or simply to dodge incoming fire. The farther you move, the long you have to wait to move again. Or, you can customize your ship to recharge it's fuel rapidly if you wish to use a more active flighty Ship.
There are 6 Weapon modules that will produce the weapons you use. Your factory can hold up to 6 Mods total, so if you want more of 1 type, you have to forgo access to another. Having more then 1 will make production of that type faster, and allow you to hold more in your max stock. Each Mod will produce several different projectiles, for example the basic 'Ballistics' mod will give you access to Energy Bolts, Missiles, and Shrapnel Bombs. Also, once you have build a total of 6 Mods, you have the option to Upgrade 1 of them into a lv. 2 Super version. All the weapons made by this super Mod are either upgraded, or totally new versions of the weapon. As the above example, the Bolts do extra damage, the Missiles become MIRV Packs, and the Shrapnel Bombs become Shrapnel Wedges, which fires all it's shards in a cone instead of in all directions.

]]> 08 Jun 2007 09:11:09 Wing Commander II: Special Operations is a continuation from the storyline told in Wing Commander II.

"If you thought you could snatch a few Zs after that victory at K'tithrak Mang, you'd better look for another line of work!


The cats are restless and rebellion is brewing throughout Kilrathi slave worlds. As a show of force, the Emperor plans a brutal assault on the rebel populations. Millions of lives are in jeopardy until you and the Special Operations team can blunt the attack."





Having had great success with the Secret Missions distribution model, two expansion packs were planned out for Wing Commander II. Blair, Paladin and Hobbes were engaged in covert operations when they became entangled in the mutiny aboard the TCS Gettysburg. They meet up with ace pilot Jason Bondarevsky and begin to learn about the rival factions that have developed among the mutineers. To make matters worse, the Gettysburg was testing an experimental new bomber. The special ops team must defeat ruthless Kilrath and bring the rogue members of the Gettysburg crew to justice. Bondarevsky later goes on to become one of the main characters in several Wing Commander novels.





Want to learn more about Wing Commander? Visit WCnews.com or Wing Commander Universe.

]]> 27 May 2007 11:36:29 Wing Commander: Special Operations 2 is the second mission add-on pack for Wing Commander II."The Confederation's electronic grapevine is running amok with rumors that vital intelligence has been withheld from the High Command. Luckily, Special Operations has its own sources of information, and they say the waiting game just won't cut it any longer. Someone has to lead the way, and you're getting the call!"

Special Operations 2 brought Blair into contact with Maniac's Wild Eagles Squadron and their prototype Morningstar fighters. The special ops team had to also contend with mounting pressure from the traitorous Society of the Mandarins seeking to sell out the Confederation to the Kilrathi. Secrets were revealed and Blair engaged in a final showdown with Jazz Colson.





Want to learn more about Wing Commander? Visit WCnews.com or Wing Commander Universe.

]]> 27 May 2007 11:52:56

]]> 18 Sep 2007 02:03:29 Warning Forever is a special shoot 'em up. Instead of flying around, dealing with hoards of enemies, and the occasional boss, it's just you, and the boss. And every time you beat the boss, it comes back, meaner than the time before.

]]> 04 Dec 2006 11:33:56 Fox McCloud, son of James McCloud, will follow in his father's footsteps as the leader of team starfox. His wingmates, Peppy the Hare, Falco Lombardi, and Peppy Toad will fly by his side, aiding him in the fight against an evil dictator trying to control the Lylat System, and it's capital: Corneria.

Starfox 64 was a legend in it's time. And is still regarded today as the best Starfox game to date. The game featured multiple campaign paths to choose from depending on your skill and what secrets you unlock along the way, and wingmates that seemed almost real to you. Starfox 64 is a gem, and still fun to play today.

]]> 22 Jan 2007 11:26:14 Frontier: Elite 2 is the sequel to the hugely popular "Elite". You start the game with a spaceship and 100 credits, and after that it's up to you to decide how to play the game. You can be a trader, a pirate, a miner or even work for the military. There is a huge amount of diversity, and each path has its own pros and cons. For example, assassinations will earn you more money than trading, but bumping people off makes you unpopular and you'll be unwelcome at most starports.

As you progress, you earn money which can be used to buy bigger and better ships, or to add equipment to your current vessel. Smaller ships are faster and can travel further, but lack the capacity for larger weapons and more cargo.

There is a huge amount to do in the game, and you can easily spend days just exploring our own solar system. Planets and orbits are modeled accurately, so you can watch a sunrise from Earth or the moon.

]]> 27 Feb 2007 11:32:32 Frontier: Elite 2 is a computer game written by David Braben and published by Gametek in 1993. It is the first sequel to Ian Bell and David Braben's earlier game Elite, and is available for Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and PC computers.

Frontier (or FE2 as it is commonly referred to) retains the same principle component of Elite—namely completely open-ended gameplay—and adds to this realistic physics and an accurately modelled galaxy. There is no plot within Frontier, nor are there pre-scripted missions (as there are in its sequel, First Encounters); instead players explore space while trading legally or illegally, carrying out missions for the military, ferrying passengers from system to system, engaging in piracy or any combination of the above. As a consequence, Frontier cannot be completed or "won"—instead, players themselves decide what to aspire to and set out to achieve it.

The game has since been released as shareware and is available as a free download, although being a DOS game, users of Windows 2000 and Windows XP may initially have difficulty getting it to run. Using emulation such as DosBox will get the official shareware version of the game to run on modern operating systems including Windows XP, Mac OS X and Linux.

In Frontier, the player assumes the role of one of Commander Jameson's grandchildren, having inherited from Commander Jameson one hundred credits and an Eagle Long Range Fighter. By the game’s standards, this is incredibly modest, and is used as a spur to encourage players to earn money by whatever means they feel is appropriate.

As with Elite, much of Frontier is concerned with trading: players can buy and sell much—from food and computer parts to guns and slaves—with the intent of making the most profit from each trading run. Thus, learning to compare prices in various systems is essential for profitability, and calculating overheads for each trip (such as fuel, missiles, and hull repair) are essential skills. It often becomes apparent that a particular trading route is profitable, such as the Barnard’s Star-Sol route. It is worth noting that some items (particularly narcotics, nerve gas, weaponry and slaves) are illegal in most systems and attempting to trade these in a system in which they are illegal will result in being fined by the police, which can often escalate into violence. It is often worth the risk, however, as illegal goods generally have a very high price on the black market.

Frontier substitutes Elite’s arcade flying style for one based rigidly on Newtonian physics: momentum must first be neutralised to bring the player's craft to a stop, and turning 180° has no effect on the direction of travel until previous momentum has been counteracted. The craft’s control is largely left to the player, but often day-to-day tasks—such as navigating from a hyperspace exit-point to a desired planet or space-station and docking—can be handed over to a ship's autopilot.

]]> 03 Mar 2007 12:22:46 Orbiter is a free flight simulator that goes beyond the confines of Earth's atmosphere. Launch the Space Shuttle from Kennedy Space Center to deploy a satellite, rendezvous with the International Space Station or take the futuristic Delta-glider for a tour through the solar system - the choice is yours.

But make no mistake, Orbiter is not a space shooter. The emphasis is firmly on realism, and the learning curve can be steep. Be prepared to invest some time and effort to brush up on your orbital mechanics background. Good starting points are JPL's Basics of Space Flight, and R. Braeunig's Rocket & Space Technology.

]]> 08 Dec 2006 03:46:00 This is a DEMO/Prototype!
It is very much unfinished. There is only one level and after you beat the boss it will go back to the title screen.

Axion is a 4 colour (greyscale) shoot'em up made for the Retro Remakes 4-colour TI calculator style competition.

Story

Thousands of years ago the Atlantians built a huge inter-dimensional portal with the intent of trapping a huge foe inside. The portal worked perfectly, but at the last minute the huge beast was able to pull their entire city in with it. Knowing the they were unable to save the city and that the beast would eventually be able to break free without anyone able to watch over it, they sent out their last hope, Axion.

Axion was a specially designed craft known as a "Dimension diver" which made it the only man-made creation that was able to seemlesly escape the pull of the triangular portal.

Thousands of years later after absorbing much of its surroundings including people, ships and planes, the beast was able to take control of its own prision, although it was still not quite powerful enough to escape entirely. Using all the energy it had absorbed over the many years, the beast took control of the portal and projected it into outer space using mankind's own orbiting satillites. The portal was now 50 times its original size, big enough to engulf the entire planet...and this was the plan. If the beast could absorb the entire planet, then it would have enough energy to break free from its Atlantian prision.

After detecting the huge power surge, Axion emerged out of the ocean and blasted off into outer space to stop the beast before it was too late.

]]> 13 Feb 2007 08:16:24 Released in 1991, Wing Commander 2 is a sci-fi space simulation that is a continuation of the storyline that was told in the original Wing Commander.






"Ten years ago, you were the Hero of Vega Sector, idol of millions - the starfighter pilot who single-handedly turned the tide of a major Kilrathi invasion. Then something went wrong.


You were disgraced, court-martialed and transferred to a backwater outpost. For years, your lightning-quick reflexes and instinctive dogfighting tactics went to waste while the Kilrathi killed your closest friends on the front lines.


But Mankind still needs a hero, now more than ever before. And you're still the best pilot in the Galaxy. You've got just one chance to prove yourself, just one chance to keep the Terran homeworlds from falling to the massed armada of the Empire of Kilrah."



Think you can handle it, flyboy?"





Again most of the game is spent flying missions in space for the Confederation in the continuing war effort against the fearsome Kilrathi Empire. When not flying missions, the player is also able to explore the "TCS Concordia" and talk to fellow crew-mates. A greater emphasis has been placed on storytelling, which gives the player a greater scope on the people fighting this war. The mood is darker than the original, mainly due to the fact that the Humans are in fact losing the war.


Wing Commander 2 bettered the original in every regard, from the updated graphics engine to the detailed script. It is considered an all-time classic within the gaming world.








Want to learn more about Wing Commander? Visit WCnews.com or Wing Commander Universe.

]]> 18 Feb 2007 11:05:29 One of the most rich and complex multiplayer environments available, EVE Online offers players the opportunity to inhabit a single-sharded world with a wider range of gameplay choices than most MMORPGs. Monthly fee.

A number of community created videos can be downloaded from the Community Videos section. The "Great Northern War (Timeline)" is highly recommended.

]]> 09 Dec 2006 09:27:34 "Long ago, in a distant galaxy, an alien race sent a huge world-called Naju-hurtling toward Earth, loaded with a cargo of mysterious life forms.

During the long journey, these creatures have multiplied and become increasingly evil-and now Naju teems with evil. However, deep within this complex globe are self-destruct mechanisms that can be activated to destroy it before it reaches Earth.

Now, you must battle your way deep within Naju's labyrinths to destroy the alien world. You are the guardian of Earth and your saga will become The Guardian Legend."

The main character is anonymous, because their identity doesn't matter. What does matter are your actions, which include saving the world. It contains top down adventure action much like in Master Blaster and it has top down shooter sequences, which provides for a nice balance and variation in the action.

]]> 29 Dec 2006 09:31:35 Really Rather Good Battles In Space: Galactic Conflict 4320 - 4359 AD

Welcome to Really Rather Good Battles In Space - a space based real time strategy game for Windows and Linux.

The game has a website, complete with a discussion forum. You can visit it at:
http://rrgbis.sourceforge.net

]]> 08 Dec 2006 12:49:23 In 2066, all contact has been lost with the spaceship Prometheus. You are sent to the ship to find out what went wrong, and you find out more as the game progresses.

]]> 23 Jan 2007 05:07:52 You must defend Sol and expand your army outward by taking nearby systems and killing any hostile presences.

This game was entered into and won the TheGameCreators nVidia compo.

]]> 04 May 2007 12:55:00 Description:
The most spectacular race in the solar system has returned! This year's "Asteroid Run" has been expanded to 3 exciting courses. Brave the "Moons of Jupiter", the "Neptune Junkyard", and return to the dense and dangerous course of "136199 Eris."

Instructions:
The object of the game is to make it through as many rings as possible before the time runs out or your spaceship sustains too much damage. There are two health items throughout the course that can repair a bar of damage and each cleared ring will extend the remaining time by 3 seconds.

Controls:
Left and Right arrow keys - turn left and right
Up and Down arrow keys - turn down and up (notice they are reversed like flight simulator controls)
option (alt) - accelerate
control - brake
1,2,3 - change camera view

]]> 09 Dec 2006 09:55:55 Over is an MMORTS set in a sci-fi environment where, as the commander of your space fleet, you will lead it during missions against the antagonist factions dwelling the galaxy. As the game progresses, you will increase your commander skills and expand your fleet by trading the earned points with new units.

]]> 01 Jan 2007 04:02:06 In this game, as the new employee of TetraCorp, it is your job to colonize asteroids and make them successful mining colonies. You start with one asteroid to mold into the shape you see fit. Then you must break out into the great unknown, colonizing nearby asteroids. Soon, you must sell your precious ore to the Federal Ore Transporter. Once you get enough ore, money, and time, you must create massive fleets of warships, for you are not alone. The Mauna will try to destroy you. However, the other races despise them as much as you. Negotiate peace treaties, Joint Combat treaties, and hire agents to sabotage the enemy. May the best man win.

]]> 24 Jan 2007 11:03:40 Galanz is a project I've been brainstorming over for quite some time now, it involves a Space Mercenary who is drawn to a planet by a disturbing message that has reached him (sound familiar?). Once he arrives, he sees that all traces of the natives have disapeared, the only things that inhabit the planet are strange monsters and the Robots created by the Natives. Galanz (The Main character in the game) goes out searching for any survivors, or clues to what has happened. Using his weaponry and his Psychic Abilities, he traverses the planet in order to discover just what is going on.

Influences are highly based on classics such as Metroid, Turrican, and the Andro-Synth sub-plot present in Star Control 2/Ur-Quan Masters.

The goal of the game is to basically find out what's going on. The "Galious" style gameplay is a reference to Knightmare 2: Maze of Galious, which was one of THE first Side Scrolling RPGs, complete with leveling and such. Of course, I'd like to go a little bit into more detail with this than what Galious did.

Since it's set to be like a NES game, there will be a restriction on the total buttons able to use, the current format it (in NES Controller format):

A - Shoot
B - Jump
Directional Pad - Move Left and Right, Aim Up and Down.
Start - Main Menu
Select - Use Psychic Ability

Psychic abilities won't be the usual "Fire Firebolt for X amount of P.P" but instead will be closer to actually changing the environment.

Can't jump over a huge wall? Flip gravity around. Can't toggle a switch? Go into E.S.P mode and flip it using your abilities. Oh snap, need to get the password, and the guy who might of had it is dead? Do a Mind Search on him, and find out his memories shortly before he met the wrong end of your gun.

This is the sorta thing I'm aiming for with this, not extremely complicated (mind sceens could just be cutsceens, and gravity for an object can easily be reversed), but fun and useful enough to warrant use.

However, I don't believe I can do this all by my own. As a Sprite/Traditional Artist or Designer, I will not be able to produce content fast enough alone, and coding is far from my strongest point. These are the current possistions available, if anyone is interested in helping out with this project, please PM me. Thanks for reading :D.

Needed!

Programmer - Average to Skilled Ability: Needs to be able to use Game Maker 6 or such, or another structure of coding that is compatible with Windows.

Music Composer - Average to Skilled ability: Needs to be able to produce catchy tunes that are not 10 second loops in the style of the NES chiptunes.

Sound Effects Engineer- Any skill level: Needs to be able to produce NES style sound effects (The Woosh Woosh noises and such).


I'll update this whenever I can, till then, see you later :D.

]]> 21 Mar 2007 05:50:21 Strange Attractors was created for a 'One Switch' competition, a competition where the goal is to create a game controlled with just one button.

By pressing the spacebar, you activate the gravity drive of your craft and create an attractive force between yourself and the other objects in the game. Your goal is to sling and bounce yourself from the bottom of the level through the portal at the top.

]]> 08 Feb 2007 04:30:44 First Encounters is the sequel to Frontier (1993), which itself was a sequel to the seminal 1984 game Elite. The game was created by David Braben’s company, Frontier Developments. Many fans of the game refer to it by the shortened title of FFE.

Like Frontier, First Encounters features realistic Newtonian physics and the ability to land on planets. It has graphics that are an improvement over Frontier (the main difference being Gouraud shading) and, as well as employing the same open-ended gameplay of its predecessors, it also features a storyline concerning an alien race called the Thargoids.

Like the other two Elite games, it has been re-released as shareware and can be freely downloaded from the Elite Club site.

Being a DOS game, First Encounters has difficulty running with Windows XP or Windows 2000 machines, although the official site does offer solutions to get the game running. A recreated game engine called JJFFE allows playing the game on Linux, Windows and DOS.

First Encounters plays much like its immediate predecessor Frontier: the game is a combination of trading, fighting and a variety of other activitiesâ€â€

]]> 03 Mar 2007 01:23:22 Set in the year 2654, Wing Commander tells a tale of mankind's struggle for survival in a ferocious war between the Human Confederation and the warmongering Kilrathi Empire, a fierce bi-pedal feline race.





"You're a starfighter pilot, the best of the best, but nothing in your training prepared you for action this hot. Deep space dogfights against Kilrathi aces are deadly, and the future of humanity is on the line each time you fly!


Wing Commander puts you in the middle of the most intense starship action you've ever experienced outside of a movie theatre. But in Wing Commander, you're the star!"





The majority of the game takes place within the cockpit of various space fighters. Depending on how well one performs while in action, the player may find themselves on the winning or losing path thus altering the plot accordingly. Medals and the respect of your wingmen are gained if performance is exemplary, in turn leading to a more effective attack wing. In between space-flight missions the player is free to roam the legendary carrier "TCS Tiger's Claw" and have conversations with their fellow crew mates, learning more about the horrors and triumphs of the bloody war that is now being fought.


When Wing Commander was released in 1990, the in-game graphics and space-combat engine were a step above all other products during that period. The game was even one of the first to use the new Sound Blaster for PC's, adding to the already cinematic feel of the game.


The strong script and characters which has been a staple through out the series are the primary reason why the Wing Commander has gained such a strong following over the years. That combined with movie-like presentation and strong gameplay has made the venerable Wing Commander a classic among gamers and critics.





Want to learn more about Wing Commander? Visit WCnews.com or Wing Commander Universe.

]]> 11 Feb 2007 07:47:45 Samus is on yet another mission. This time, to investigate strange mental transmissions coming from the Alymbic Cluster.
Along the way, Samus will do battle with 6 other dangerous hunters, who are all out to obtain the "ultimate power" for themselves.

]]> 23 Jan 2007 01:33:08 Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula is the sequel to Starflight, the original space adventure. Unravel many mysteries and upgrade your starship by trading, exploring, and fighting.

]]> 07 Dec 2006 02:28:42 EV Nova is the third game in the Escape Velocity series, and is by far the most ambitious installment to date. With a completely redesigned gaming engine, EV Nova thrusts you into a sprawling universe dominated by a myriad of warring factions, each sharing a common bond, but so philosophically different as to make conflict inevitable.

The remnants of the Colonial Council's utopian vision of a united galaxy are littered about like so many discarded dreams. The eccentric genius in Omata Kane, whose Hypergate system brought distant stars within reach, has all but been forgotten. Like a wave in the darkness of space, colonization flowed outwards from Earth, until discord and dissent against a growingly corrupt central government caused it to come crashing down.

Open rebellion caused the destruction of critical parts of the Hypergate system, severing entire systems from the umbilical cord of civilization. They were left adrift in the lonely void of space, forced to fend for themselves, truly strangers in strange lands. The collapse of a central government caused civilization to slide helplessly into a dark age of isolation. The few pockets of humanity that did survive developed in near solitude, clinging perilously to life like a tree desperately trying to gain root on a rocky cliff.

Time marched on in its relentless journey toward the future, and each of these civilizations slowly reconstructed their humanity... but in their isolation, a strange thing happened. They each followed markedly different paths in their evolution. As rediscovered technology finally allowed contact between these far-flung children of the Colonial Council to tentatively resume, they found that they had little in common. Indeed, rather than reunited brothers, they were strangers... or worse, adversaries.

It is into this maelstrom of territorial contention that you are thrust, like a pebble tumbling aimlessly between the tectonic fault lines that uncomfortably separate these divisions of humanity. Welcome to EV Nova. Will the pebble become an avalanche?

]]> 19 Jun 2007 07:43:37 Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger is the second sequel in the Sci-Fi Space Simulation series created by Chris Roberts.







"Professionally scripted and filmed in Hollywood, ORIGIN's multi-million dollar production combines the entertainment of film-making with the interactivity of computer gaming. The result is a spectacular spaceflight adventure.


Adrenaline, romance, danger -- Wing Commander III has all this and more. This sequel completes the turbulent chronicles of the Terran-Kilrathi war. The final showdown takes place on one of the homeworlds -- Earth or Kilrah. But only you can write the ending..."









Released in 1994, Wing Commander III was the first game to be marketed as a true "Interactive Movie". It was received with much critical-acclaim due to its high playability, state-of-the-art in-game graphics engine plus well scripted, produced and acted FMV sequences, all of which contributed to the games deep and absorbing atmosphere.


Wing Commander III was the first game in the series to use Full Motion Video as the primary story-telling device and is considered to be one of the best and successful examples of FMV use in a video game. The interactive element takes form during conversation cut-scenes where the player is asked to make a choice on how to proceed. This is done by either by giving a positive or negative response when prompted and this in turn affects the mood of the characters involved, altering theyre behaviour during missions and future conversations.


This was the final game in the Wing Commander series to deal with the Terran-Kilrathi conflict. As with the previous games, it is possible to play a winning or losing path, depending on the players performance during space-combat. The destruction of Earth or the Kilrathi's home planet of "Kilrah" is at the end of one of these two paths. However the series does continue with Wing Commander IV and Wing Commander: Prophecy.






Want to learn more about Wing Commander? Visit WCnews.com or Wing Commander Universe.

]]> 19 Feb 2007 09:11:53 Noctis is a unique space exploration game where you explore the universe in your space ship, the Stardrifter. While there is no set goal in the game, you can travel around as much as you want, cataloging celestial bodies, visiting planets and moons and even exploring them if they have landscape which can be landed on.

]]> 10 Feb 2007 02:32:07 Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space is a grand space opera that will take you from a down and out starship captain to an amazing intergalactic hero whose renown travels light speed ahead of you! Set in a randomly generated universe of endless possibilities, this single-player experience will let you explore new worlds, meet exotic aliens, discover black holes, witness the deaths of stars, encounter drifting space hulks that promise untold riches or untimely death, and much, much more! And all this happens in under thirty minutes or less!

Although quick to play, Weird Worlds boasts a deep, feature-rich system that ensures each session is as fresh as the first play. Players start off with their choice of one of three ships to explore the universe with, each ship completely customizable through the acquisition of new components, either via trade or encounters. The majority of the game takes place turn-based style on the gorgeously rendered star map (always newly generated each game), and uses a simple one-click system that even your grandmother can quickly master. When your starship encounters hostile aliens the action moves to real-time, and while players have dozens of weapons and tactics at their disposal, the combat system manages to provide this great depth while still maintaining the highly intuitive system of play found elsewhere in the game.

]]> 16 Jan 2007 04:23:53 Valkyrith: Sector Strike is a fast paced, multiplayer, space combat simulator which focuses heavily on dog fighting skills, ship customization, and teamwork to succeed and win.

The game is based in a universe where the majority of mankind has been wiped out by war, and those that have survived, are still at it. Living off of scraps, and with barely no new resources to work with, the remaining colonies fight among themselves to survive.

Game is currently being developed with TGE 1.5 with a goal of being released fall 2007.

]]> 27 Jan 2007 09:50:00 Have you ever dreamed to play Bomberman-like game with modern graphics and sound? Now you have a chance to do it with Mars Miner - a game that has all qualities of a classic time proved gameplay on a completely new level!

The hero finds himself on Mars. Now his primary objective is to stay alive and find his way back to Earth through an abandoned Martian mine and a laboratory. A variety of hideous and crafty monsters are lurking on the way. Each of them is extremely dangerous, but when they hunt together, they are a real hazard, owing to the unique AI.

Players who like dynamic games will enjoy playing Mars Miner. The game will be interesting to all categories of players, from beginners to experienced arcade players. Superior graphics together with excellent music background create a fascinating atmosphere. You'll want to get immersed in this world again and again.

An excellent Story mode and an almost unlimited Survival won't let you get bored!

]]> 17 Mar 2007 02:29:05 The Kilrathi Saga is a compilation that contains the first three Wing Commander games in a package that is playable in Windows. It is extremely rare and valuable...The Kilrathi Saga was a grand compilation of the initial Wing Commander trilogy and its four expansion packs. Dropaway cockpits, remastered audio and improved joystick options were among the list of improvements. The biggest selling point was native speed-limited support for Windows. Initial sales were low because many fans still readily had computers running DOS to play older Wing Commander games.




The game received a second printing in 1998, but many fans were still hesitant to rebuy games they already owned. By the turn of the century however, a huge shift from DOS to Windows had occurred and everyone was scrambling to get a copy. Although the July 2000 edition of PC Gamer included the Kilrathi Saga version of Wing Commander I on its cover disc, auction prices on eBay soared to well over $300 for the full set. Wing Commander fans struggled to find copies until 2005 and the improvement DOS emulation. Although Kilrathi Saga has exciting extras, minor glitches and the solid performance of the original Wing Commander games in DOSBox has relieved the intense price pressure on the game.

]]> 28 May 2007 09:26:51 Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox game console on November 9, 2004, the game is a direct sequel to the critically acclaimed blockbuster Halo: Combat Evolved. From the day of its initial release, Halo 2 has been the most popular video game on Xbox Live, even after the release of the Xbox 360. On June 20, 2006, more than a half-billion games of Halo 2 had been played on Xbox Live since its debut, and by October 30, 2006, this number was raised to four billion. Halo 2 is compatible with the Xbox 360, including its Xbox Live functionality.

]]> 19 Dec 2006 02:18:15 Space Rangers 2: Rise of The Dominators represents a unique combination of a multitude of completely different gaming genres. The romanticism of space traveling and adventurism, the tactics of planetary fights and the strategy of liberating the star systems invaded by the enemy - you name it. Even the fans of arcade battling and text quests will have something to dig into with this game. It is hard to imagine a game that would be more diverse. SR2 is simply unique!

]]> 08 Dec 2006 05:33:36 Introduction
Battleships Forever is a freeware tactical Real Time Strategy game that puts you in command of a small fleet of warships in space. Combat and damage mechanics are extremely detailed. Everything is simulated in game if possible. There are no abitrary "to hit chance" values in Battleships Forever. The game also features many innovative mechanics that you've never seen before. For example, the Cronus Battleship sports a Flux Shield generator that allows you to draw a defensive force shield around your ships in any shape you want. Another example are the Deflector modules that are used extensively through the game. These modules make a single section of a ship totally invulnerable to fire. This means that you will have to manoeuvre your ships to attack sections of the enemy ships not protected by Deflectors while keeping your own protected sections facing the enemy. Position is paramount!

Players will command picked fleets made up of Battleships, Destroyers and Patrol Craft. The completed game will include ten campaign missions and multiple skirmish modes.

Battleships Forever is inspired by and loosely based on Warning Forever by Hikoza.T.Ohkubo

]]> 17 Jun 2007 12:51:03 Wing Commander I: The Secret Missions 2: Crusade is the second mission add-on pack for Wing Commander I.





"The Secret Missions 2: Crusade, another exciting chapter in the saga of the Tiger's Claw! In this campaign, a huge Kilrathi fleet maneuvers toward a planet of peaceful, primitive natives. After a Kilrathi renegade defects with the crew of a small destroyer, you'll fly one of their fighterships in undercover missions.


In these new secret missions, you must discover the truth behind the Kilrathi "holy war" before the Warriors of Kilrah can destroy you and the Tiger's Claw!"





Wing Commander I was a huge success and Wing Commander II was in development during 1991. Origin used their experience with The Secret Missions to craft a second expansion pack, The Secret Missions 2: Crusade. WC2 was shaping up to be a huge story driven adventure, so the developers took this opportunity to establish a backstory with SM2. Characters such as Tolwyn, Thrakhath, Hobbes, Jazz and Doomsday were introduced. The TCS Austin appeared as a method for characters such as Angel to survive the impending doom facing the Tiger's Claw in the WC2 intro. In each Wing Commander game the character must face the potential death of wingmates, but in SM2 the first major scripted loss occurred when Bossman died. The tension and emotions were ratcheted up another level for this expansion, and the game created a great environment for Wing Commander II to launch into.





Want to learn more about Wing Commander? Visit WCnews.com or Wing Commander Universe.

]]> 27 May 2007 10:15:10 "You could play this game just for the amazing sound tracks, but the gameplay is also very catchy. Simply, you need to steer your space vehicle along the course, jumping and dodging blocks that will wipe you out when you're flying along at light-speed. Balancing acceleration and fuel usage becomes tricky when you've got a time limit to beat with hardly any fuel in the tank. Your reflexes and timing will be the difference between getting home safely and floating aimlessly through space."
-dosgamesarchive.com

This is truly an original. Very simple, very addictive.

]]> 19 Mar 2007 09:09:34