[Question] Games with massive space battles

Can you recommend any games that involve large, interstellar battles where two or more massive space fleets duke it out? I've been looking at EVE Online's videos, and plan on trying it out, but in the meantime, I'd like to hear recommendations of games you thought were memorable. The system it's on doesn't matter too much, but I'd prefer something on the Gamecube, Xbox (or 360), Playstation 1 or 2, or the PC (but if you know of one from another system, feel free to mention it).

The only real requirement I'm looking for is that flying a ship (whether it's a small, one-man fighter, or commanding a large capital ship) is a prominent feature of the game (although I'll make exceptions to FPS games if the flying sequences it has is fun).

To give you some ideas of what I'm looking for, something like the Star Wars Rogue Squadron series (I already have that series though, so no need to mention it), or Robotech (I did like it, but I hated that the big fight against the entire Zentradi fleet which was pretty prominent in the show was only one stage).

The Colony Wars series on the PS1 is another good example of what I'm looking for (I'm probably going to look for them on Ebay when the PS1 memory cards come in, and hopefully they work so I can save PS1 games again). It's been a while since I played them (first and second one, never tried the third one though, largely cause reviews said it was radically different from the first 2), but I remember them having a good storyline, as well as being fun to play.

Homeworld on the PC, its spinoff Cataclysm, and sequel, Homeworld 2 are other good examples. This game revolved around space combat (and was cool in that the battlefield was in 3-D, meaning you could hit the enemy fleet from above or below them, although they could do the same to you). You're also in charge of an entire fleet of spaceships, rather than piloting just one like in the other games I mentioned (not that there's anything wrong with just being a pilot though).

So, if you have any good recommendations for space-combat games that are somewhat like the ones I described, let me know, and if possible, mention some memorable moments or cool features from that game. I'm interested to see how other games have done space combat.

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The X-Wing/Tie Fighter series should have plenty in that regard, though unfortunately a new game hasn't been made for about half a decade now

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A few titles I can think of that come close to your description are Starlancer (PC), the Wing Commander series (PC, some console ports) and the Freespace series (PC). Of these, I've only played Starlancer and the original Wing Commander, both being quite similar to Colony Wars.

While I never finished Starlancer, I remember being quite impressed by it. Its sequel, Freelancer, is a space combat sim as well, but has an entirely different feel to it - something more akin to Elite (if anyone remembers it).

The thing I found most memorable about Wing Commander was its branching mission structure, and the storyline that could change for better or worse depending on your success in the missions. Being able to converse with your fellow pilots - who each had a small background story - added a lot to the atmosphere as well.

Good luck in finding any of the mentioned games, though, since they're all pretty old by now.

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Personally I think Freespace 2 is by far the best game that fits this description. I think it's still unmatched as far as space shooters go, and I've never seen a game with such a huge scale. Some of those capital ships are just ridiculously massive, and seeing two or more of them duke it out while you provide support is a pretty epic scenario.

Although I've been out of the loop for a while, I hear there's a few really nice fan-made mods for it too (I seem to recall seeing screenshots from a Babylon 5 mod a while back). And it has a nice editor included too, I don't think it has any real limits as far as the scale of the battles go.

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Starwars: Empire at war. Not sure how this hasn't been mentioned. But yeah the whole point of the game is to approach planets, duke it out in space with your fleet, then send in the ground forces to take out the ground bases. It's RTS though, not sure if you were looking for Rouge Squadren type games or not.

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Originally Posted by Solis

Personally I think Freespace 2 is by far the best game that fits this description.

I'll have to second this. And note that if you enjoyed Freespace 2, you might want to consider Project Sylpheed; here's the relevant thread.

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I know that this isn't quite what you meant by clash of space ships and interstellar battles, however it's also always great to expand your horizons a bit, as long as the games are good that is

Freelancer: Is a great game that you are a... well... freelancer pilot. There are a multitude of factions in this large galaxy with multiple systems and planets for you to go to. There are also a multitude of space stations to explore, factions to work for, trades to make, and almost any other job you want including bounty hunter work. Also you can trade, buy, sel, upgrade and outfit your ship throughout the game. After you're done playing solo, you can go to online servers and the game plays similar, except without the single player story, and with a bunch of other active players who's intents are unknown, however you can still make allies, allegences and enemies. Trust me man, I was hooked on this one for a good while.

When or if you finish that one, there is another game called X3 (no, not X-men 3, lol) It's along the same lines as Freelancer, except the single player is far larger and technical in about every aspect, and there's a good amount more to do (and Freelancer was big to begin with). Also the graphics are WAY better then most space games. However there is no online play, but if that's fine with you then it's definatly worth checking out.

By the way, each of these games are under $20USD which gives you a LOT for your buck. Trust me ^^

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I personally really enjoy the space battles in Star Wars Battlefront 2. The game was always pretty laggy on Xbox Live if memory serves but if you found a decent game, it was helluva fun online. It's also pretty damn fun in the single player mode although it can get a tiny bit repetitive after a while. There is a running around on foot element but you can complete the battles without ever getting out of the ship if you set your mind to it.

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Originally Posted by Slayer X

Freelancer: Is a great game that you are a... well... freelancer pilot. There are a multitude of factions in this large galaxy with multiple systems and planets for you to go to. There are also a multitude of space stations to explore, factions to work for, trades to make, and almost any other job you want including bounty hunter work. Also you can trade, buy, sel, upgrade and outfit your ship throughout the game. After you're done playing solo, you can go to online servers and the game plays similar, except without the single player story, and with a bunch of other active players who's intents are unknown, however you can still make allies, allegences and enemies. Trust me man, I was hooked on this one for a good while.

I agree with this recommendation. There aren't many massive space battles, but the game is just pure fun. The open-ended gameplay doesn't get old and the story is pretty intriguing, with the big battles coming at the end of the campaign. It's highly addicting and the graphics are still pretty good even if you play it today. Also, the atmosphere is just awesome. The galaxy feels populated (unlike Darkstar One) and the scale is really great. Only downside is that the planet textures don't look good and kills the feel of the game somehow. Other than that though, it's probably one of my favorite PC games. Highly recommended.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Another prop for Freelancer here. I only played parts of it, but it there were some really intense battles. Nothing on the scale of Homeworld, though

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X-com interceptor was a good game. lots of space wide range of weapons and a few unique areas to fight in. definitely a game worth checking out. it is a little out of date though.

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I remember Starfox and Starfox 64 haveing some pretty cool space battles.

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