Control Command Escape

Gratuitous Space Battles was first released back in 2009, but has received constant care and attention (not to mention several expansions), and something of a cult following since. The premise is simple: you design space ships and then pit them against an enemy fleet. The "game" here is in the design of the ships though, rather than the battle. Designing a ship comprises of selecting a hull and then installing ordnance, defences and support modules in pre-allocated slots. Building a fleet comprises of arranging ships based upon those designs (limited by a budget for each scenario), giving them orders (such as engagement ranges, target preferences and behaviours such as escorting another ship or retreating when under fire).

Read the rest of this review…