Man, this thread reminded me of some of the great old games I used to play back in the day.
And if any of ya’ll are into Space Fighters and Dog-Fight Tactics, boy have I got something for you.
‘Decent: Freespace’ and ‘Freespace 2’.
Although the graphics might seem a bit dated, believe me when I say it won’t matter in the least. You’ll be far more focused on the information your HUD is feeding you, giving orders to squad-mates and navigating the basic controls in a panic.
Unlike some modern space games, you don’t get to just screw around with standard WASD +Mouse controls. Your keyboard is your cockpit and everything pretty much controls as in one (although a simplified one). There is no auto-aim and no freebies, if you can’t keep your aim where it’s supposed to be, you miss.
There’s also a energy-management system where you get to prioritize what subsystems needs more power: Shields, Weapons or Engines. And you can overclock the different systems at the expense of the others on the fly. Choose wisely.
You get to choose your own ships and weapons loadout as you rise though the ranks and gain access to various new goodies, not all missions calls for the heaviest ordinance. Finesse and maneuverability are virtues here.
The story is fairly basic: “Terrans (Humans) and an Alien Race known as the Vasudans are at war. Third Alien Race pops in and wrecks house on both sides. Shit gets interesting as the new Alien Race are technologically superior and neigh unkillable.”
The voice-acting is phenomenal and you really get the feeling of being an expandable grunt, that slowly gets to prove his worth and is let in on more and more Special-Ops assignments, equipment and such. Everything is on a need-to-know basis and there’s a lot you don’t need to know.
The game contains plenty of bonus objectives that aren’t immediately apparent. Sometimes it pays off to stick around a bit longer when you’re told you can go back to base. ;)
I don’t know how good I am at selling the games, but damn if they aren’t the best I’ve ever played in the space-fighter genre to date.
They are worth giving a try at the very least. And they are dirt cheap on GOG as a bonus.