Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Three players on a desert planet shooting bug aliens during one of the best games like Borderlands, Helldivers 2.
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 designer outlines Arrowhead's "trainwreck in slow-motion" design philosophy, and another essential guiding star: "The tingle in the ass"
Infinitesimals
Third Person Shooters Infinitesimals is a Honey I Shrunk the Kids take on Halo with a very good jetpack, and its vibrant combat sandbox reminds me of one of the most underrated Xbox 360 cult classics
two bipedal and bestial mechs stand on a sand dune
Battle Royale Games New early access mech extraction shooter and battle royale looks like Transformers Beast Wars, and the child in me is very excited for it
Helldivers 2 miniatures, dice, tiles, and components on a wooden table
Board Games Helldivers 2: The Board Game is a mighty fine cup of liber-tea, and I can't wait to play more
Stellar Blade protagonist Eve
Action RPGs As Stellar Blade PC gets booted off the Steam Next Fest charts, a sci-fi FPS that's everything I actually wanted from Starfield is rising up to take its place
A cat crew member springs free in Skin Deep
Stealth Games Skin Deep review: "A genuinely stellar immersive sim, replete with chaos"
Super Earth defenders fighting Illuminate forces across a war-torn city in Helldivers 2
Third Person Shooters Say what you will about the Illuminate, but their war on Super Earth has made Helldivers 2 more intense than ever
  1. Games
  2. Simulation

Dreadnought's a shooter with huge spaceships that actually feels as massive as it should

Features
By Hollander Cooper published 19 June 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Battlestar actual

Battlestar actual

There's no shortage of shooters on the market--throw a stone and you're likely to ping it off some poor sucker's modern military helmet. What's rarer are shooters where you control exclusively vehicles, and what's rarer yet is shooters which makes you feel like those vehicles are actually, truly powerful. It's here that Yager, developer of Spec Ops: The Line, hopes to set itself apart with Dreadnought. In it, you're fighting team battles in a wide variety of ships--some as small as the Millennium Falcon, and some as large as Battlestar Galactica.

Each ship is basically a "class," with different classes having a number of different cruisers to choose from. When I played it I went for the big guns, grabbing a destroyer-class ship and hitting the sky with all the explosions I could fire--I was basically Team Fortress' Heavy, playing alongside a variety of ships that filled in other, traditional shooter roles. One was basically the Scout, while felt more akin to the Medic or the Sniper. But despite that, it still felt like a game where I was piloting a massive ship, instead of a shooter reskinned with metal vessels. You can shift your power to shields, speed, or damage, and area-of-effect attacks are paramount. When everyone worked together it played out like a huge Star Wars battle. At one point I warped into the middle of the enemy army, launched a nuclear warhead on the nearest Support cruiser, and put up my shield. A few seconds later and the screen flashed white; A few seconds more and two ships crumpled and disintegrated beside me.

Other elements of the game were discussed, but not shown off, including ship customization and an exciting monetization strategy. Seriously, the developers seemed legitimately pumped when we asked about how this free-to-play game was going to make money. It was weird and mysterious, and I'm excited to see more.

Check out the following screenshots for additional info!

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
The different ships look totally unique.

The different ships look totally unique.

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
The biggest ships are the slowest, but some have the ability to teleport around.

The biggest ships are the slowest, but some have the ability to teleport around.

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Though you're controlling space ships, you're not actually fighting in space in every level.

Though you're controlling space ships, you're not actually fighting in space in every level.

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Sniping is fun, especially when your sniper rifle is actually a massive ship.

Sniping is fun, especially when your sniper rifle is actually a massive ship.

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
It's visually impressive, and super free.

It's visually impressive, and super free.

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Platforms
Hollander Cooper
Hollander Cooper
Social Links Navigation

Hollander Cooper was the Lead Features Editor of GamesRadar+ between 2011 and 2014. After that lengthy stint managing GR's editorial calendar he moved behind the curtain and into the video game industry itself, working as social media manager for EA and as a communications lead at Riot Games. Hollander is currently stationed at Apple as an organic social lead for the App Store and Apple Arcade. 

See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
Three players on a desert planet shooting bug aliens during one of the best games like Borderlands, Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 designer outlines Arrowhead's "trainwreck in slow-motion" design philosophy, and another essential guiding star: "The tingle in the ass"
Infinitesimals
Infinitesimals is a Honey I Shrunk the Kids take on Halo with a very good jetpack, and its vibrant combat sandbox reminds me of one of the most underrated Xbox 360 cult classics
two bipedal and bestial mechs stand on a sand dune
New early access mech extraction shooter and battle royale looks like Transformers Beast Wars, and the child in me is very excited for it
Helldivers 2 miniatures, dice, tiles, and components on a wooden table
Helldivers 2: The Board Game is a mighty fine cup of liber-tea, and I can't wait to play more
Stellar Blade protagonist Eve
As Stellar Blade PC gets booted off the Steam Next Fest charts, a sci-fi FPS that's everything I actually wanted from Starfield is rising up to take its place
A cat crew member springs free in Skin Deep
Skin Deep review: "A genuinely stellar immersive sim, replete with chaos"
Latest in Simulation
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Don't expect Animal Crossing for Switch 2 anytime soon, former Nintendo marketing lead warns: "It's maybe a little bit early"
Umamusume: Pretty Derby horse girls racing
Steam faces a stampede: horse girl game Umamusume: Pretty Derby is "actual cinema," and a massive hit on PC with 5,000 overwhelmingly positive reviews after a week
Stardew Valley Eric Barone fan portrait
Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone receives the highest honor possible: Big ConcernedApe, a gigantic in-game portrait one fan made with 20 hours of painstakingly arranged items
A woman chasing a shining butterfly with a leaping cat on her shoulder in InZOI
The Sims competitor InZOI has one big issue beating every other problem in a new player survey: it's "lacking simulation content," which seems kinda bad
Bongo Cat bangs on a counter that displays 47,177. The background is a light, peachy orange color.
Steam's fourth most popular game isn't really a game at all, but it's doubling as a "marketing tool" so effective its devs don't mind that "it's actually losing us money"
Neverway screenshot showing lead character Fiona in the center holding a sword with four residents standing either side of her
Playing a horror game is my worst nightmare, but these two gnarly farming sims make me want to brave the genre
Latest in Features
Alexej Manvelov as Akram Salim in Dept. Q
I’ve seen countless crime dramas, but Netflix’s Dept. Q and Poker Face season 2 are rewriting the sidekick archetype for the better
Emma Mackey and Fiona Shaw as Sofia and Rose in Hot Milk
Sun, sea, and strained relationships: Andor's Fiona Shaw and Barbie's Emma Mackey play a mother and daughter on the brink in new drama Hot Milk
Two menacing gingerbread men look intimidating while a candy person waves from a cage
I didn't expect to like the latest D&D book, but after an utterly stupid adventure I'm all in on Dragon Delves
Mion and Rena look uneasy in the classroom in Higurashi: When They Cry
The Silent Hill f writer's debut game was basically the original Doki Doki Literature Club, and it's still terrifying me 23 years later
Quantum Witch screenshots
This stunning 2D "plotformer" is the ultimate cottagecore fantasy with an extra dose of mystery, sapphic witches, and a giant lady who fights you
Superman
Krypto the Superdog - The comic history of Superman's best friend
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...