Dreadnought

Forget the little X-Wings and Vipers that are often the focus of space sims and space combat fighters Dreadnought is all about the big ones. Capital-class ships duke it out within a free-to-play frenzy in Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager’s upcoming PC title.

Players control ships from a third person perspective, aiming the full concentration of turret fire with the click of a mouse button. From heavy armor-clad destroyers that can withstand extreme punishment, support cruisers that can repair damaged ships, and fragile sniper-style artillery loadouts, players have the option to select an archetype that suits their play style. Each ship also has four special abilities, ranging from cloaking, blinking, missile strikes, snares, projectile jammers, and epic blasts. Loadouts will presumably be able to be altered and fine-tuned on release; the team deathmatch demo session only allowed us to play with preset  templates.

The action is bite-sized, with matches taking around 10 minutes. Coordinating with your teammates to locate that support ship hiding under the rocks that’s beaming repairs to an undefeatable destroyer on the front lines is essential to victory. Each ship can also choose to route power to the shields, which is the recommended course of action should you become the focus target of the opposing team and need to survive whilst your team picks them off.

This Unreal Engine 4 powered space combat game promises more than just team deathmatches, with episodic single-player missions and other competitive modes. Look for Dreadnought in early 2015.