Parents' Guide to Battlefleet Gothic: Armada

This epic space combat game captures the most exciting moments of warfare that energize science-fiction fans. Lasers and torpedoes pepper the background as ships of all sizes dodge and weave through the firefight. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada does an amazing job of putting players right into the thick of this action. You genuinely feel in command as you order your ships into battle, execute deft maneuvers, and make the hard choices to either sacrifice a ship or send it out for repairs, leaving the rest of the fleet vulnerable. The tension builds once you realize that the actions you take and the choices you make have real consequences, as your character and ships carry over from battle to battle.

Running off the Unreal 4 engine, Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a beautiful piece of eye candy. While it's usually best to keep a wide view of the action, it's hard not to zoom the game in close to see just how intricately detailed the ships are. Detail also applies to the environment, not only for appearance but for function as well. Vanishing into a gas cloud or using the wreckage of a defeated ship as cover are valuable tactics to use in battle. In fact, the sheer number of abilities and tactics available are almost overwhelming. It's also not a very fast game, as cruising through the vastness of space happens at an almost glacial pace. But Armada is a complex game with a steep learning curve, where it's much more important to have a sharp mind than sharp reflexes, which should appeal to strategy and sci-fi fans alike.