Starlancer

What's this about?

The story of Starlancer is based on sort of a "Cold War" set in space. Factions representing the US, Russia, China, and other world powers are battling one another for control of the Earth, Mars, and other areas of the solar system. You play a freshly recruited pilot joining a rag tag group known as the 45th Volunteers Squadron, based on the carrier Reliant. You start by receiving briefings on the ship from your commanding officer, but as you gain more kills throughout the missions you'll receive promotions and have the choice of playing the future missions as commander of other pilots.

Rendering of a fighter

Close flyby of a capital ship

Different vessels

Over 80 starships of varying sizes are in this game, and they range from huge carriers and battlecruisers to the smaller, faster fighters that you'll be piloting. One of the more interesting ones described to me was called "the Ripper." This little ship can rip open and steal cargo containers from other ships, hence the name. There will also boarding ships full of marines that can infiltrate and take over an enemy vessel. In all there are a dozen playable fighter ships to choose from, and these can be outfitted with over 20 possible weapons ranging from torpedoes to missiles, to pulse lasers.

Another look at that ship

A big boom