Anybody wish they still made space combat games like X-Wing and TIE Fighter? I used to play the HELL out of those games on my PC. With a good flightstick controller those games were thrilling, and really made you feel like you were engaging in exciting space battles. I played them when they were first released, and then later when they re-released them with improved graphics. Anyone else have long for games like these? Any fond memories? Also, anyone play the last two Wing Commander games w/Mark Hammill?
I loved these games. My first playthrough of X-wing was done with a mouse and keyboard - don't ask. Eventually I got a joystick and played the HELL out of TIE fighter. I always wished multiplayer space combat simulators caught on the way MMORPG's have. The thought of being in a squadron where all the members are real people, going on missions against other human pilots, is a much more exciting prospect for me than joining an RPG guild and going on a dungeon raid.
Also, I think many in the EU forum would agree that the novels inspired by these titles are pretty kickass.
Man, I remember sinking hours into X-wing, TIE Fighter, X-wing vs TIE Fighter, and X-wing Alliance. I should really see if I can get the updated versions to run on my laptop. My favorite moments from that series: X-wing: Death Star Trench run (Come on, it's the reason we wanted it!). TIE Fighter: Flying with Darth Vader as your wingman (also the first mission as the TIE Defender). X-wing vs TIE Fighter: The last rebel mission in Ballance of Power, taking out the SSD. Never was able to complete the Imperial campaign though. The Battle of Endor section in X-wing Alliance was pretty good, but I always kinda had a preference for the one in Rogue Squadron II. I remember trying out the space combat in Galaxies during a free trial period. It was fairly boring and dry by comparison. So yeah, they really need to make more actual flight sim games.
TIE Fighter is still one of my favorite games of all time. If you're a Wing Commander fan (or just like space sims,) check out Star Citizen. I'm still stupidly excited for it.
Yea Star Citizen looks so amazing, and made by Chris Roberts himself! Also it will have mod support, and private servers. So hopefully we will make a Star Wars mod
Wing Commander 3, at least, is one of my fondest memories. This game looks very, very interesting; it'll be interesting to compare and contrast David Braben's Elitekickstarter reboot when it comes out with this one. Eeeesh. If my experience on Mass Effect multiplayer is anything to go by, then I'm sort-of glad it never caught on. Squadron members at least are taught to and fight as one unit. A bunch of randoms on the Interwebz taking time out from gold mining on WoW, not so much.
Yep, TIE Fighter is my favorite Star Wars game and one of my favorite overall games. I still have the Collector's CD-Rom, but never got around to try and play it on my modern computers. I did try X-wing recently, and it's mad-balls hard. Unfortunately, games like this I feel are pretty niche today. Sure there was Rogue Squadron, but those were like arcade style shooters while X-Wing and TIE Fighter are in-depth. On an ordinary home console it'd be really difficult to play this.
I've a lot of fond memories of XWA. I wish they were able to release the expansion for XWA as the Azzameen campaign was left hanging on a cliffhanger! I do applaud the XWUpgrade team for all their hard work in upgrading the games visuals and models and keeping the fire glowing for the game after all these years. I would love to see what they can do now if they got the team together to make a new X-Wing/TIE Fighter title however I don't think we'll be see that happening anytime soon.
There was a falling out between the company with the license and Lucasarts, so my hope is pretty dead. I did love trying the XWUpgrade, but never actually got around to trying out the TIE Fighter conversion to XWA. I need to sit down and try that at some point. Maybe over spring break...
I'd pay top credit for an official or fanmade HD remake or HD new installment for the series. I remember watching my brother pump hours into the games and when I played them I must of spent countless days getting blown up on multiplayer.
Oh hell yes. Those two were my introduction to Star Wars gaming and, if I recall correctly, what got me into the entire franchise as a whole. Jedi, the Force ... eh, whatever. At the time I was really into flight sims and X-Wing ended up sending me down this dark path, forever to dominate my ... spare time?
Mostly WWII sims, which fit in nicely with the whole Star Wars idea of dogfighting. Aces of the Pacific and Aces Over Europe were the main ones, along with U.S. Navy Fighters. The latter made me wish an EU author had decided to gin up some Beyond Visual Range weaponry for starfighters - would be nice to see X-wings get some kind of equivalent to an AIM-120 AMRAAM or a Harpoon missile.
I never did finish X-wing. That game was ridiculously hard. I distinctly remember getting to fly a TIE Defender and geeking out so hard. Also blowing up the Emperor on that one escort mission for laughs.
This. These games hail from a time when you actually had to practice and develop some skill, dying a lot in the process, if you were ever to have any hope of beating them. In the age of the "I win" button, most modern-day gamers wouldn't have the patience to play these games, let alone beat them.
I wouldn't say it was "mad-balls hard," but it definitely required a different mind- and skill-set than simply being able to mash buttons on a controller. You could develop your own tactics based on knowing your ship's capabilities, just like a real pilot, and sometimes spectacular luck - both good and bad - could play a part. I never got the hang of the obstacle-course training runs, but I was pretty damn good when it came to outfighting TIEs - even in a wishbone.
X-wing made me rage quit more than any other game I've played. There's only so many times I can run the Korolev scenario before wanting to break something. I think I went through 3 joysticks throughout the course of that game.
Redemption wasn't that hard if you had a cunning plan. I boosted my speed (dump all shield power to engines and lasers and keep shunting lasers to maintain shields), got past the two TIE Fighter escorts, and then popped the first batch of bombers with a torp apiece. Then I ran like hell for the other side of the area - forget if I took the time to gun down the eyeballs - and did the same to the second group. Then I hung around killing TIEs until the Imp frigate ran out of them.
I tried to do Redemption by the book, but it requires a lot of things to go right. Also competant wingmen. Are wingmen ever useful? It seems like they ignore every command.
My proudest accomplishment in X-Wing was taking down the Gorgon in the first ToD mission. You never saw it if you did the mission "by the book," but the FRG would appear if you chased down the most distant FRT and destroyed it. The Gorgon was tough because it was flying at maximum speed and targeting you specifically. Destruction of this FRG was actually a requirement for joining Rogue Squadron, the elite squadron of the old CompuServe Rebel Alliance, and you needed to submit a film clip to prove you did it.
I love all the Lucas Arts flight sims and think it's utter insanity that they haven't released these games on Steam or in some digital download format.