3 Space Sims You Must Play

If you fancy exploring the galaxy, here are three games you must check out!

Space sims can be very demanding on your hardware, as they need to generate visuals for new planets and all the various ships zipping around between the stars. Thankfully, ROG has plenty of gaming laptops which can provide the performance you need, like the just-released ROG G701VI with GTX 1080 graphics and up to 64GB of DDR4 memory.

Freelancer (2003)

While Freelancer is fairly old by video game standards, it still holds up today. In the single-player mode, gamers take on the role of mercenary Edison Trent to uncover a sinister alien plot. The main thrust of the gameplay is earning enough money to buy more advanced ships and weaponry, and the game gives the player plenty of options to raise cash, from honest trading to preying on weaker ships as a space pirate, as well as to collecting bounties like Boba Fett in Star Wars.

EVE Online (2003)

EVE Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), similar to World of Warcraft, meaning people around the world are playing together within the game’s universe. The game is still popular, with hundreds of thousands of players. Players start off with small ships and improve their skills over time. Eventually, they can own a range of powerful spacecraft all the way up to huge capital ships.

The most remarkable thing about EVE is its complex, player-driven economy, where the price of in-game items change based on supply and demand. Players have formed large corporations to run different sectors of space. The game offers players a lot of freedom: you can earn cash by producing materials, work as trader by buying and selling goods, or you can focus on combat and become a mercenary or pirate who's paid to defend or attack other ships. Stealing, extorting and tricking other players out of their goods are all expected behaviors.

Kerbal Space Program (2015)

For players more interested in the physics of space travel, Kerbal Space Program is an engaging space flight simulator. Players are able to design and build their own space craft, then attempt take-off. Will your rocket have enough thrust and fuel to reach orbit, or will it crash and burn? Once you’ve gotten off the planet, can you bring the ship back to Earth? The game features realistic physics and lets players attempt real-life orbital manoeuvers – just don’t worry too much about the number of Kerbals (the Minion-like race who pilot your spaceships) who get killed in your experiments…

 

By Luke Graham