Imperium Galactica II
One of the most addictive games I’ve ever played. On one level I hate this game because of the amount of hours I’ve sat glued to it, getting my a_s_s kicked over and over again (my actual playtime is higher since I played this before it came on Steam). I’d say if you have problems with losing all sense of time when you play games, and might lose an entire week, then tread carefully with this one.
The good:
Overall a very compelling simulation.
The game is filled with interesting choices and trade-offs…
– Real player with 411.7 hrs in game
I have finished the game. In Steam version.
There are bugs that I encountered these:
-While you are in enemy planet ground battle , if you see a construction state of any Defense Tower, ground units wont listen you and attack it automatically.
-Sometimes ordering Fleet to attack to somewhere doesnt work, You need to press Alt or Ctrl , Reason is , It is a move command setbind and stucks randomly
Review:
This game maybe have not graphics but THE CREATIVITY is the best thing in this game
You can play in Ground and in Space
– Real player with 177.7 hrs in game
Star Trek™: Judgment Rites
It remains a good game but you need to be prepared for the 1990’s point and click interface.
They called these “Pixel Hunters” for a reason, you can easily overlook a small cluster of pixels on screen that turns out to be an object or switch vital to solving a puzzle. At times the mechanics of the game can be punishing and not intuitive. Playing pre-Internet it was easy to get stuck and get frustrated but now there are some good hint systems online (Like universal hint system) that give you a clue when you need one and keep that feeling of making progress alive.
– Real player with 29.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Space Sci-fi Games.
Restless James Tiberius Kirk with his fellow friends again boldly go to … you know where.And if you dont know you have a great chance to discover it yourself.Fully recommended.
And i made some changes in config file -dosbox_stjr.conf- ( it can be found in the game dir.) to wide the screen
fullresolution=output
windowresolution=output
output=overlay —- you can put -ddraw- if you got green dots on screen edges.
scaler=advmame2x —- makes picture a bit softer
aspect=false —- try setting -true- if screen is too wide
– Real player with 16.5 hrs in game
Fragile Allegiance
A very lovely old real-time strategy game. Looks great (well, you may need to play around in the dosbox .conf file to get it to look great on modern machines – see the community hub discussions – but it’s well worth it :P) and the gameplay is lots of fun. The game’s designers obviously put a lot of attention to detail into this title, and it shows. There’s tons to do, and the game can get quite hectic and fast-paced, depending on the settings you choose. Reading the in-game “fluff” during the quieter moments shows that quite a lot of thought went into the world-building, too, which isn’t a big deal in itself, but just goes to confirm again that this game was a labour of love. It has the odd bug and design flaw, but it’s also more than the sum of its parts, and provides a joyful and very positive experience to any strategy fan. Plays a little bit like a mix of Sim City and Master of Orion; however, this game has a quite unique feel and style to it, so it is a bit difficult to directly compare to any other major title. If you’re a fan of classic strategy games, I’d say this one is definitely worth a try. I have lots of happy memories of this game – and thanks to this Steam release I’m still having lots of fun playing it now!
– Real player with 75.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Space Retro Games.
An excellent Base Building RTS, nothing like it has ever been made, at least I don’t think there has. If you have trouble with DOSBOX, you can tweak the Dosbox config file in the game files under steamapps, by changing the number of cycles to 70000, so that Cycles=70000, cos sometimes you get stack overflow errors crashing you out to windows. Also you can tweak the resolution in the same file, by changing output to opengl (output=opengl) or setting the resolution to desktop…and so on.
A bit about gameplay. If you annoy your neighbours, by placing spy satellites around their asteroids, they will discover them and attack you. So it behooves you to build your asteroid’s defences, and invest in ScitTech blueprints for better weapons and defences. Also, getting blueprints for better ships is also important. The more ore you sell to the Corporation the better, so colonise as many asteroids as possible, but remember to use gravity nullifiers and asteroid engines on them, so they don’t collide with one another.
– Real player with 30.8 hrs in game
Freespace 2
There are no words in the English language (or any other, for that matter), to describe how much I loved Freespace 2. Especially Free Space Open from the modding community of the Hard-Light Project, which is basically the definitive edition of freespace, enhanced to todays graphical standards and featuring hundreds of hours of very high quality user made content they could actually charge money for. Writing, voice acting etc. the modding community did a better job at those than many AAA titles within the industry.
– Real player with 36354.8 hrs in game
Why I recommend this game
This game is what made me the gamer I am today. I bought it back when it first came out, I bought it on Good Old Games and now I’ve bought it on Steam. Why? I’ll tell you why - I believe it’s the greatest game ever made.
Why this game is awesome and deserves your attention;
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The original graphics were fantastic back at release in 1999.
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You won’t be using the original graphics when playing the game.
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The story was - and still is - amazing. Far better than the usual tripe.
– Real player with 412.8 hrs in game
Homeworld Remastered Collection
PLEASE SEE EDIT AT BOTTOM, ORIGINAL REVIEW IS POSTED IN ITS ENTIRETY FROM RELEASE TO CURRENT STATE
Sadly, as a HW player since the first game came out, (Back in 1999) I cannot recommend this game.
The first time I played Homeworld, I was a young boy about 8 years of age. My grandfather introduced me to the game, and whenever I go see him I will still play LAN games against him, on the same two disks that we have always played on. Now, with that being said, at 8 years of age I didn’t really understand tactics or how to win, the main objective for me was to build a heavy cruiser and try bum rushing the enemy mothership, praying that my prized cruiser didn’t get salvaged in the process! As I grew older and understood the game more, I enjoyed it more as I began using formations and tactics to alter the outcome of battles, some of which were against slim to none odds.
– Real player with 168.7 hrs in game
Homeworld remastered collection
Homeworld is one of my favorite games, when i heard it was coming to steam, i immediately bought it (and it was the reason i got into steam) and when i got my first game, i couldn’t be more excited.
By playing both remastered and classic versions, i can see all the improvements they have done, and unlike many remasters out there in popular games, this one actually improves some gameplay mechanics rather than just giving some crispy new graphics.
Classic version
– Real player with 93.3 hrs in game
Imperium Galactica
You can add about another 150hrs to that total from the early 2000s when I played a massive game conquering every single planet due to me not realising I was meant to unite all the races in an alliance against the Dargslan lol.
Imperium Galactica 1, the first amazing 3 in 1 game (Master of Orion, Sim City and C&C/Dune style gameplays) that started it all. Well okay, not quite for me as admittedly I didn’t play it until after playing its sequel IG2! However that didn’t make me love it any less, in fact there are parts of IG1 that I love even more than IG2.
– Real player with 102.0 hrs in game
An Oldie but Goldie.
Advice for early on: Build a Colony Hub ASAP, Focus on Building your Economics (largely leave taxes “Moderate” and make the Planets attractive(High Morale) with Churches, Bars, Recreation Centers, and Police), then work on commerce (Trader Spaceports, Banks) and when you are able to Weapons and Research. A good Offence is the Best Defense (just remember that most fleets are faster than you so you may only get 1 space/fleet battle to before you have to defend your planet.)
– Real player with 96.9 hrs in game
Space Rangers HD: A War Apart
This is the kind of game that, had it received proper financial support, marketing and translation back in the day - could now compete on the market with such titles as Grand Theft Auto and Sims. Or, at the very least - with X-com, for the top TBS. The reason is that the game is purely unique - not only in its gameplay that has no analogue, but also in the mixture of genres that together present a picture of indescribable detail. Sure, the game is pretty much old 2006 version(which was old even by that time), because that’s the best fans and SNK can do with their resources, but its value is not in the shiny graphics. Well, what can it offer?
– Real player with 399.8 hrs in game
TL;DR
It is one of the most innovative, clever, and replayable games in the known Universe. I have played it probably a hundred times since its release in 2004, and I still want to play it ‘one more time.’ Thanks for being there for me for so many years!
Full Review
Today is the day when this fantastic game turns 16. Funnily enough, it still receives free updates even now, which says a lot because it does not contain multiplayer mode. It runs great on modern machines, looks beautiful on HD resolutions, has many customizable settings and perks to randomize and broaden the experience. Developers have polished it so many times while contributors made so much additional content during these years that it’s a wonder to behold! The core gameplay is something newer gamers might find hard to pick up these days. It is from an era when you had to read and learn a lot to understand your options. And this game is very complex: it mixes turn-based space combat with RPG, adventure text quests, trading micromanagement, RTS missions, arcade-style shooting, you name it. If you are sedulous, you may play it for years with great joy. I don’t know how good it is in English, though. I speak Russian, so I always played it in its original Russian localization. Probably, the language is why the game didn’t receive much recognition beyond Russian-speaking countries, I guess.
– Real player with 369.3 hrs in game
STAR WARS™ SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE™
Before I begin my review, let me state the following disclaimer:
This game right here, is among my favourite games of all time.
As such, there is probably an amount of bias within my review. HOWEVER, I assure you, this bias is NOT nostalgia based, I still regularly play this game on my N64 and I honestly feel that the gameplay holds up, even today.
REVIEW:
[GAMEPLAY]:
Shadows of the Empire (SotE) is not the perfect game. Like most early attempts at 3D video games, it is deeply flawed in various ways. However, SotE understands that it is first and foremost a game. As such, SotE strives to deliver a wide variety of gameplay to the player.
– Real player with 12.6 hrs in game
To all the people bashing this game in the reviews over the controls, try a controller in stead of the mosue and keyboard… This game may have been released on PC a year after N64 but it was originally meant to be played with a gamepad. With that said keep in mind this is an OLD GAME and you may have to tweak some controller settings. (look into how to do it with big picture this helped me immensely) I would like to repeat THIS IS AN OLD GAME, some people seem to not be able to look past this. This game is not going to be good if you hold it up to todays standards it’s bloody 20 years old FFS people!
– Real player with 10.2 hrs in game
Tachyon: The Fringe
What can I say? 10/10 would buy again. This little gem has been a classic and to my knowledge no space fighter game has been able to live up to this, unless somebody would like to make a recommendation.
The intuitive nature to this game is beyond compelling, I’ve taken down multiple capital ships, overcome insane odds, all while strategically being able to manuever my craft and manage my shield and energy/ammo reserves. The ability to turbo and then slide is exactly something a space simulator should have, I’m not sure how I could play any other without it. The way the physics are set up are awkward, but make sense to how true space physics would be.
– Real player with 142.5 hrs in game
Despite being an out dated space pilot simulator that dated 2001, it scratches that nostalgic itch for me when I had this game on the disk. The game is an underrated gem of the past that would of had so much more if a sequel was ever to be made.
You play as star pilot Jake Logan (Who is voiced by the legendary Bruce Campbell) who takes on contracts to take on jobs that range on from simple fetch quests, ship escorting, and of course, the dog fights of enemy pilots and large star ships. What I enjoy about this game is, when fighting the huge star ships, you can cycle through targeting to find the ship’s weak points such as power plants that power the ship’s engines, shield regenerators, and weapon power cores to destroy and weaken those ships. Note you can’t pilot them. Just your star ships. The game does feature a nice variety of ships on 1 or 2 factions. Bora or GalSpan. Both ships have their strengths and weaknesses. Bora ships are built very durable for taking damage and have a better arsenal of energy based weaponry. They also have a few more special weapons they can use as well. Downside is, not all their ships are built for speed, and missiles are always unguided. So you have to rely on being up close using your missiles and sappers to get better results. GalSpan star ships are built more stylish and smooth like eye candy. Unlike Bora, their ships do make up in speed in exchange of defense from their ship’s shields and hulls. They have more of a wide range of being the missile users then energy weapons. They also have their own turret that uses ammo instead of energy that can be recharged after completing missions, but can run out if you’re still in the middle of a fight. Almost all missiles are guided and can be homed to your enemies. They only have one special weapon that is a vacuum to pull your enemies who are at a short distance to you to hold them from flying away and pulling them slowly to you. It can backfire if you crash into your enemy and not only damage your ship, but the enemy as well. (I also think this special weapon feels somewhat game breaking in the story. Which made dog fights so easy for me, I breezed through the game’s story!) The choice is yours on who you side with. Giving you different contracts to complete, different wingmen you can hire from the respective factions, and two different endings between the stories. There’s also added lore you can listen and/or read into from the game’s new channel of current events that happen during the contracts you complete. Involving the contracts you complete and outside events that happen in the game. Some give you added clues on things to look out for. While other news articles are just useless filler. The game may not have any character models that are mostly still images. But the voice actors are just amazing to listen to and build their own character to the game just by hearing their voice. I recommend playing this game mainly using mouse and keys for full control of the game. The game is too clunky to play using keys alone. It is possible to play using a flight stick joystick like a flight simulator, or using a controller if you can hot key the keys with the right software. If you’re interested of playing this game, buy this game when a sale hits. I am aware there’s a multiplayer feature, but I’m not gonna bother with it to think the multiplayer is dead. Maybe if enough people play this game, it can be fun. X3
– Real player with 33.6 hrs in game
Descent
I played this game like crazy when I was young. It’s really hard until you get the hang of it, and then you become basically unstoppable. The most scary part of the game for me was level 7, the first time I encountered the first boss. I went out into this big lava room and the boss made such a horrible scary sound when he appeared, and it killed me. Then I would hide inside the tunnel leading to the bosses' room, and it would appear nearby. My heart would nearly stop when I would hear the sound effect he would make, because then I knew he was nearby. The boss would fire missles into my tunnel I was hiding in, and the little green balls would lock onto my ship and destroy me. After trying countless times to beat him by shooting at him from inside my not-so-safe tunnel, I made a bold and daring move. I left the tunnel. And amazingly, even though I played only with the keyboard, my little fingers would move so fast I could slide up, down, right, left and spin in all kinds of crazy circles, the little green balls would try to lock onto my ship but I was able to dodge them all. The funnest part of this game for me was its built-in replay recording feature, which will record a replay of your game. Once I got good at beating the boss, I increased the difficulty level to “insane”, and recorded countless epic replays of me beating the boss on insane. He would shoot missles as fast as a machine gun on insane difficulty, and every one of those missles would explode into a cloud of green balls. Hundreds of green balls would be in the air at once. Shoulda been impossible for me to dodge them all. Even just one or two of them hitting me would destroy my ship at that level of difficulty. But I would dodge them all. I would do loop to loops around the boss, zig-zagging through all the green balls, all the while shootting at him and throwing his own green balls right back at him, destroying him with his own green balls! It was so much fun. Some of those replays were so insane, I wish I still had the recordings, but that was a long time ago. This is one of the few games where you will often be turning both up/down plus turning right/left plus sliding up/down plus sliding right/left plus moving forward/backward plus shooting –- all at the same time!
– Real player with 51.1 hrs in game
Descent is the kind of games which are hard to write a review about. No, not because it is kinda tricky and complicated or controversial. No, it’s quite opposite actually. The problem is else… Modern player will hardly pay attention to it and fans will buy without need of any reviews. So there is no audience for the review and a question, whether I should write it at all, rises. And that’s a pity because the game is quite unique and it still doesn’t have proper rivals (apart from its other titles). So, I am going to try to describe it shortly in hope that at least one rookie will pay their attention to it.
– Real player with 49.7 hrs in game