Starlancer
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| Starlancer | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Digital Anvil |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft |
| Platform(s) | PC, Dreamcast |
| Release date | March 31, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Space simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single player and Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T |
Starlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin Roberts, under the auspices of Digital Anvil.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Roberts is on record as saying that Wing Commander was designed as "World War II in Space"; anyone who plays the game, however, can see that the premise has changed somewhat. Starlancer returns to this original formula. It is the year 2160. Mankind has colonized the solar system and two political entities have emerged: the Alliance consisting of American, Australian, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, British and German forces, and The Coalition of Russian, Chinese and Middle-Eastern interests. The game begins with a surprise attack on Fort Kennedy, where a peace treaty turns into a bloodbath: all of the inner four planets are overrun, including Terra herself, and the Italian and French fleets are utterly lost. The Alliance fleet regroups at Triton, Neptune's moon, and attempts to regain lost territory. The player takes the role of a rookie pilot in the international 45th Volunteers squadron, under the command of Captain Robert Foster and Wing Commander Maria Enriquez, aboard the re-commissioned British carrier ANS Reliant.
As with Wing Commander Prophecy, the pilot's flying ability is the only metric by which success and failure is measured, though Starlancer does not feature branching mission paths. As in Wing Commander I the pilot may be promoted throughout the course of the campaign; unlike WCI, their rank determines which fighters and missiles they may choose to employ during each mission. The game provides a "virtual carrier" through which to navigate, including nearby crewmembers whose reaction to you depends on your current rank and standing. However, the true gem of the game lies in its textual and video news broadcasts, which keep the player informed as to the status of the rest of the war, which seems to be progressing just over the horizon. Players frequently find themselves flying alongside squadrons and pilots they have heard about on the news just recently, providing a dose of 'celebrity exposure' and also increasing the sensation that they are just one part of a much larger war effort.
Gameplay is standard flight-simulator fare, with afterburners, a gun-energy pool and power system allotments; but several features stand out. For one, the player can choose between a 1st-person, in-the-cockpit view or a 3rd-person chase-plane view. Secondly, all fighters are designed to provide daunting barrages of rapid-fire weapons, returning to a WW2 paradigm but resulting in one-sided dogfights as the enemy prefers to evade than shoot back. Finally, the game plays far more similarly to, for instance, the Star Fox franchise, in that it includes the so-called "Superman Syndrome": the player is held responsible for accomplishing any and all mission objectives by themselves, often several at once, and without assistance from wingmen. With a lack of experience, certain missions can be nearly impossible to complete, a problem exacerbated by the inability to change difficulty settings in-game, a lack of a mid-mission save feature, and a truly insufficient targeting/navigation system. (This particularly applies to missions where the player must protect friendlies from torpedo bombers.) Finally, it features an entertaining but hard-to-access multiplayer mode through Microsoft's networking systems, supporting both head-to-head deathmatches and cooperative campaign-mission modes (this latter being the obvious answer to some of the game's more intensive missions).
Starlancer's story is continued in Chris Roberts' Freelancer project, though the two belong to different sub-genres (the first is purely focused on action, the latter also features trading and the player can freely move through the game's universe when they are not on a mission.)
[edit] Ships
The game allows the player to take control of 12 fighter-class ships, advancing in different areas, such as top speed, agility, armor, and shield power. Each have a number of hard points which can be used mount things like guided missiles and dumb rockets. Ships are issued to the player as his or her achievements increase.
[edit] Other Systems
Starlancer was also available on the Dreamcast console. GameSpy hosted its online play with up to six players at once. It is still online, one of the few games for Dreamcast which still has functional online play. Although most of the graphics and frame rate were intact, the game did not include the intricate menu system and options that the PC had.
