Kotaku
OK, let's get this out of the way: Wing Commander Arena isn't Wing Commander.
If you were hoping for cheesy graphics, cheesy cut scenes, a bit of Mark Hamill, maybe a cockpit view, you're going to be disappointed. If you can put all that behind you and try the game with an open mind, you might like what you see.
Wing Commander Arena is essentially an online only Xbox 360 game. Sure there are some single-player, off-line modes, but they're designed to just hone your skills for online play. While the game doesn't support split-screen gaming (a big disappointment to me), it does include a very robust online mode which can host up to 16 players at a time.
The game itself sort of plays like a super version of Galaga. You start the game by choosing your ship, each of which has it's own stats and weapon layouts, and then launch into space.
The left control lets you move right, left, forward and back, but nothing lets you move up or down, something that takes a big of getting used to. You use the right control to do things like barrel rolls, loops and strafing. The buttons let you fire weapons, drop bombs and change your views. But no matter how many times I pressed that view change button I couldn't get a view inside the cockpit.
I asked one of the EA guys about that and he told me that the cockpit view just didn't fit with this version of the game. Mostly, he said, because the game is so fast-paced and can have up to 15 others in the game dog-fighting with you. He also said it' a view that can make you motion sick... and I know what that's like.
I found the game fun to play, though it was hard to get over my initially disappointment that it was so very much not Wing Commander. It's fun to play, but I don't see why they bothered to attach that particular franchise to this game. Besides the look of the ships, there really wasn't much WIng Commander in Wing Commander.
Comments
It's subspace.... just nowhere near as good as subspace was. That had hundreds of players in huge battles with clans and everything. 15 players? Pshawww
What is with game companies using old IPs for games which bear little to no resemblance whatsoever to their previous incarnations? First we've got Warhawk turning into a generic GRAW ripoff with planes. Now Wing Commander is Galaga online.
What's next? Dino Crisis: Card Battler? Streets of Rage: Happy Dating Funtine?
It kind of looks like Warhawk, only less running around and more flying around shooting stuff goodness.
Plus, it's Wing Commander. Sure, it's LOOSELY Wing Commander, but Wing Commander non-the-less.
Still waiting for a sequel to Freelancer, guys. You have your orders. Get on it.
Sorry Brian, it still seems pretty crappy. 40 Helens agree.
PS: I would probably have played this, if it wasn't for my -out of warranty- 360 frying out this week.
No Wing Commander-derivative for me.
@Lanky Bugger: First we've got Warhawk turning into a generic GRAW ripoff with planes. Now Wing Commander is Galaga online.
You forgot Fallout being changed to Obilvion With Guns (yes, that's a supposition on my part, but since it's the same engine I think it's safe.)
It happens all the time. Nostalgia sells. Why do you think there's a new TMNT movie, Transformers movie, Miami Vice movie, Voltron and Robotech DVDs... it's all marketing. Kids who loved these things (like me) are now out of college and have disposable income.
And I second (third?) the call for Freelancer sequel. If you can't give me that, give me a Privateer sequel.
any chance of pics etc?
@baberg:
To be fair, I am squeeling with glee for a FPS, open world Fallout. Maybe that's just me.
I see my nomination for the Freelancer 2 has been seconded. Motion carries. All in favor say "Aye."
Also, Privateer sequel would be MORE than acceptable. Freelancer was just the spiritual successor of Privateer anyway. They just simplified the controls for the general audience.
Personally, I would like to see a sequel to either one of them. Hell, I think I might just reinstall Freelancer right now and get on another 24/7 server and build up a ship again.
Note to developers: Next time, give us the ability to have more than one ship. I don't like having to sell off an awesome fighter just so I can make some decent money doing shipping runs.
/ramble off
@Scazza:
They have a bunch on IGN. Definitely not as pretty as Warhawk, but pixilated, simple textured space battles are better than no space battles at all.
That's my personal motto, anyway.
Hey, I'm in that picture, sort of! Yay, me!
I would actually compare the gameplay of the thing as more of a 3rd person version of SubSpace than Galaga.
As a die-hard Wing Commander fan, I was initially dissapointed with this. I felt at first it was just EA raping yet more of my beloved memories of the Golden Age of pc gaming, BUT once I actually got to play it, I had a lot of fun with it. The developers are Wing Commander fans, they consulted many of the WC developers from Origin that still work at EA on it, and they did a pretty good job with the IP overall. Is it an awesome Space-Sim, no. But it is a Wing Commander game, and if it's successful it could lead to other games built around the traditional genre.
It was a fair amount of fun running with 4 players. 16 players must be a party. I will be getting this.
@PapaBear: I would never trust you with my gaming money. You think *that* is Wing Commander? You *want* a Fallout FPS?
You, sir, got your anchovies in my peanut butter.
Still sounds like Wing Commander in name only. But like I said before, I would still give it a shot.
Also: Freespace 3 bandwagon GO!
@Draconis:
FreeSpace is the only space-shooter franchise i hold dear to my heart (so sad that Volition lost the license when Interplay went under)
Wing Commander got played out a long time ago IMO, but a FreeSpace 3 with a concluding storyline would be LEGEND amongst all space shooters
THQ you listening?
Oh boy, Galaga with pretty graphics and multiplayer named Wing Commander! SNOOOOOOOOOZE.
So like, they don't think that they could make mountains of money if they retouch the original Wing Commander games and drop them on the arcade?
Well I am still hoping Project Sylpheed comes through with the ship to ship combat goodness. I miss Freespace.
Just as I feared, nothing to do with the old games except the name. So, lame!
Never the less, I will probably pick this one up if it clocks in around the 800pts mark. It sounds like it has decent gameplay.
It would be nice to see some live vison support on this one. You know, like the old games you could see into the cockpit of your opponent and friends.
Super Galaga actually sounds better than Wing Commander to me, actually. Sorry, had to speak for the 2-d lovers.
Ok is the guy in the 1st pic in the baseball cap checkin the white Xbox360 for over heatin issues? lol! no am just playin he does seem to be feelin for hot air though. Maybe it's his and he's worried it'll overheat. lol! Naaw am just playin.
I wasn't a fan of space shooters much but with 16 players online it does sound like fun.
Hey guys! Guess what? Games IPs can have different genres.
@Shumina:
Hey, it's not like I am opposed to the genres that the games were a part of. Great games all around.
But I also liked the universes they were set in. The story, the environment, everything. So if I get to experience it in a different way or no way at all, I'll take the altered experience.
I believe this fits into the "Wing Commander-lite" category.
I can't believe they stuck everyone on the same plane.
No 3D movement = no interest from me.
Never mind. I dove deeper into this game, and it has NOTHING redeeming about it.
I take back my earlier comments about this looking decent. Blah.
Continuum (formerly Subspace) is free, has a ton more than 16 players at a time, robust clan support, multiple servers with different rules...yeah, no. Thanks, I'll pass on this.
@Watership: Yeah, nobody's denying that outright. It's just strangely blatant when a company revives an IP which has lain dormant for years. It smells all cash-grabby, and games developed to be cash-grabby have never typically been well done. There's no real reason for this to be lumped into the Wing Commander universe except to snag gullible Wing Commander fans.
Is it a good game? Might be. Sounds like it could be fun, actually. Is it Wing Commander? Title says yes, gameplay says no. It's the very rare franchise which takes it's IP across different Genres well.
I'd be a lot happier if they'd named it after zaxxon or something. I'm kind of in to trying it, but what does it actually preserve from the original other than the name?
PS - I wasn't pleased with the Wing Commander movie either.
This is is really disappointing looking, from what I've seen I'm not impressed. I don't by we didn't do it in first person mode, that's producer speak for we couldn't.
This game would of be badass if it was any close to Wing Commander, it's a shame the Wing Commander license is slapped on this.
@PapaBear: " Never mind. I dove deeper into this game, and it has NOTHING redeeming about it.
I take back my earlier comments about this looking decent. Blah."
Bring on that Fallout FPS, now, eh? And I'm not slighting you personally. You're obviously giving things the benefit of the doubt, and that's cool...as long as our graces aren't being squandered into quick bucks for profit mongers.
I'm such a fan of quality, I expect it in my cherished intellectual properties.
@Shumina: I've got somewhat high hopes for the Fallout FPS, actually. It's a cautious optimism. It could be done well with an expansive world, and we all know that the Oblivion crew takes expansive FPS games out to the far edge. I'm just hoping that for Fallout they decide to shitcan their crappy "RPG-physics on an FPS" game model and do for the Oblivion engine what Bioware did for the KOTOR engine with Jade Empire.
But with less "Spam these two attacks to win the game" and more "If you hit someone, it doesn't require obscure die-rolling to be a hit".
Has anyone actually got a confirmation that Fallout will be first person? I was under the impression that not a lot was known about it so far except that it was going to be on the Oblivion engine. But that doesn't mean it couldn't be the Oblivion engine being used to render a third person game.
Why do reviewers keep comparing this to Galaga and Space Invaders? If you want to compare this to an arcade classic, it would be Time Pilot -- a kick-butt, 16-player version with updated 3D graphics and various missions and modes.
Basically, this is a Wing Commander-branded version of the classic freeware online game SubSpace (now called Continuum). If you ever played and enjoyed SubSpace, you're going to love Wing Commander Arena.
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