Okay, it’s space day today :) …..Again! You’ll find three excellent space shooters below ranging from a Galaxian clone to asteroids and a space adventure RPG. Today’s post is rather rushed as I’m still trying to fix one of my computers. I hope you don’t mind more space orientated games, of which I seem to have posted an inordinate amount recently.
Exotic Armada 2: (10Mb)
OVERVIEW
This game offers some fast and furious spacecraft melee action for 1-4 players (on the same computer). The game isn't even meant to be innovative, rather just offering pure shooting fun in the spirit of games such as Star Control. Build an armada in the ship shop, then go battle it out in a real time combat arena. The teams are fully customizable, even allowing mixed human / AI teams.
The game sports over 40(!) different ships with unique armament and stats, although only 10 are initially available. To gain access to the rest of the ships, you need to win challenges. Every time you win a challenge, you gain access to one new ship.
If you're a fan of retro-style spacecraft melee action, you should definitely try this game.
How to play:
The game’s really pretty simple to learn, but here’s some basic instructions to get you started.
In menus, use the mouse to move around. You can set the ingame controls from the options menu.
To start a game, click the new game button and select a game mode. In Challenge mode most of the settings are automatical, while melee is more customisable.
Each time you win a challenge, you gain access to one new ship. That ship becomes available in both challenge and melee modes. After you’ve gained all the bonus ships, there isn’t much point in playing the challenge mode any more.
If you find the challenge mode too hard and just want to get all the ships instantly, read the next section (cheats). However, going through the challenges is good practice and is usually the recommended way to go.
In the melee mode, it is possible to play with 4 human players. You can also substitute some players with AI ones if you want. Any combination is possible.
In the ship-shop you can either use the mouse or the following keys:
-Arrows: Move slider left or right
-Enter: Buy a ship
-Backspace: Cancel the last purchase
-Space: Accept armada
-Escape: Abort gameWhen you get into the game, the first thing you need to do is choose one of your ships and warp it in the battlefield. You move from a choice to another by using the “left” and “right” keys of your player. Pick a ship by pressing the “primary fire” key. Note that there is a timer of 10 seconds during which you have to choose a ship.
You may find that some of the ships turn too fast, making aiming a bit difficult. This is what the “sniping mode” key is for. When you turn on the “sniping mode”, your ship will turn slowly, whether or not the normal turning rate is fast. You can disable the sniping mode with another press of the same key.
It is not possible to damage or harm a teammate. Your shots will simply fly through them. Positive effects, such as energy rechargers, WILL effect your teammates in addition to you.
Cheats:
Some people may find it tedious to have to play all the way through the challenge mode to gain access to all of the different ships. For this reason, there is a cheat mode included that allows you to immediately get all the ships. To activate it:
-Go to main menu
-Look around the metal background and you will find a small red button
-Left-click the button
-Cheat mode should now be active (indicated by a flashing text in the upper left corner)
-After you quit and reload the game, the ship progress returns where it was before activating the cheat mode
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Display: 1280 x 1024 capable
Video Card: 32 Mb
CPU: 300 MHz
RAM: 128 Mb
OS: Win98/ME/2000/XP
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Laser Age Gold:
LaserAge is a retro game similar to Galaxian and Galaga clones. This shooter features power-ups and is highly detailed, combining nostalgia with 24-bit color. Four levels have 100 waves of ships. Destroy 15 enemies with 13 power-ups. You can play in windowed and full-screen modes; then show off your skills to the world with Web-based high scores. Your ship can be controlled with the mouse, which comes in handy when you're trying to dodge enemy fire. The Gold version features a new interface and a massive list of bug fixes.
The only down side is that you can only play it in windowed mode (as far as I’ve been able to see)
Epochstar:
You can find details of all the species and ships that are found in the Epoch world by following the download link below. You’ll find a tabbed database covering most aspects of the game as well as a comprehensive storyline and forums where you can find or pose answers to queries about the game. I’d forgotten I had this game.
Play the game Asteroids like never before. Asteroid - ES utilizes the Epoch Star game engine for updated graphics and features, adding to the classic game play of the original arcade version. Gain levels, acquire power-ups, and beat your high score! Asteroid - ES supports both keyboard and joystick interfaces
Enter a universe of epic space adventure! Master combat with hundreds of ships and thousands of weapons. You will clash with dark and mysterious enemy races. Engage in missions to help a crumbling republic, and restore peace to the Galaxy.Twelve distinct alien species live within the Epoch Star Universe. Each race represents a unique civilization and timeline that dates back to the very foundation of recorded history: the Ancient Ignus War. Some are friendly to the Galactic Union, while others have ravaged the frontiers of the crumbling empire for centuries.
System Requirements:
Pentium III 1Ghz processor; 256MB RAM; 32MB Graphics card; DirectX 8.0 or better.
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