Escape Velocity Nova Windows game

In Escape Velocity Nova, you play the role of a starship captain, warping from system to system, trading commodities and engaging in combat.

The game interface is, oddly enough, a top-down perspective, such that you might find in Asteroids or Star Control. Point your ship in the direction you want to go, and thrust. Turn to face the opposite direction and thrust again to stop.

Should you get bored of flying around and exploring, there are a number of side-missions you can pick up whenever you feel like it, as well as a handful of "storyline" missions.

This game is very freeform; you don't even have to do any of the story missions at all. You can focus on upgrading your ship, being a pirate, or exploiting profitable trade routes. In addition, when you engage a ship in combat, it will become "Disabled" once you do enough damage. You can then board the ship and steal credits, resources, or even the entire ship itself (it becomes one of your escorts, or you can replace your primary ship with it). Naturally, ship captures don't always succeed.