Star Wars: X-Wing

Star Wars: X-Wing is the first LucasArts DOS computer game set in the Star Wars universe, as well as the lead title in the X-Wing computer game series. It attempts to "realistically" simulate the experience of combat in the A-wing, X-wing, and Y-wing starfighters of the Rebel Alliance. It owes much to the classic Wing Commander series of games, the main improvement being that it features in-flight 3-D polygons instead of bitmaps and sprites. The game also can be viewed as a sequential step in Totally Games' prowess as game developers, as it follows their early attempts at World War II flight simulations.

It features hand-drawn (and voiced – quite novel at the time) cutscenes at crucial points in the storyline. The scenes are usually drawn-over screenshots taken from the movies but manipulated to create a new narrative. X-Wing also features MIDI music from the original movie trilogy as well as pieces of original scoring. The built-in iMUSE system causes the music to (almost) seamlessly change in response to the completion of mission objectives or the arrival of new enemies.

Some packages of the game, labelled as "Limited Edition", offer a document titled The Farlander Papers (q.v.). Parts of this document are included in the game's strategy guide which was sold separately.

In 1994, X-Wing won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1993.

Plot

The scenario is not as extensive and fork-like as Wing Commander, a series of space fighter simulation games to which the game owes much. For instance, there is no interaction with other pilots, and the missions are linear; failure on a mission results in three options: death, capture or retry.

Players assume the role of a Rebel pilot (implied to be Keyan Farlander) during the spaceflight actions of the Rebellion before and during the Battle of Yavin.

The player must complete missions ranging from simple dogfights with Imperial starfighters, to the escort or capture of freighters or capital ships, to attacks on enemy convoys and capital ships. Dogfighting is designed to resemble the free-wheeling duels of World War I and World War II, but the game also offers the challenge of managing power resources (lasers, deflector shields, and engines), commanding wingmen, and effectively using a variety of weapons (laser cannons, ion cannons, proton torpedoes, and concussion missiles).

The storyline evolves through three tours of duty of 12 missions each (except the third tour, which has 14 missions):

"A New Ally" — The search for new Rebellion allies and the Imperial campaign against the Rebels. The tour ends when the Rebels smuggle a nuclear weapon aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer (ironically named Invincible) and detonate it.

"The Great Search" — Rebels discover the plans to the first Death Star and deliver them to Princess Leia Organa's corvette, the Tantive IV. The campaign ends with the protection of the princess from an Imperial attack, allowing Leia to ferry on the Death Star plans.

"The Gathering Storm" — Portrays the Rebels' route to the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star. The last three missions cover the attack on the Death Star.

Expansion packs

Two additional tours of duty were later available separately on 3.5" floppy disks, and then included in the subsequent Collector Editions:

Imperial Pursuit — Depicts the evacuation of Yavin IV and the search for a secret location for a new base. The Rebels must resist growing Imperial pressure and the new Interdictor Cruiser.

B-Wing — Covers production of a new craft, the B-Wing, and its delivery to the Rebellion. The tour ends with the Rebels' arrival on Hoth.

Editions

Original Floppy Disk Edition — (X-Wing engine, iMuse MIDI music) Star Wars: X-Wing was originally released on five (5) 3.5" floppy disks in 1993. Its expansion packs, Imperial Pursuit and B-Wing, were also released on floppy disk the same year.

Collector's CD-ROM Edition — (TIE Fighter engine, iMuse MIDI music). In 1994, after the release of TIE Fighter on 3.5" floppy disks, X-Wing was re-released along with its expansion packs, Imperial Pursuit and B-Wing, on CD-ROM. This edition includes various tweaks, bug-fixes, easier versions of certain missions, improved graphics, redesigned cut-scenes, bonus missions, and voiceovers for the mission briefings and the in-game radio messages. The in-flight engine, having been upgraded for this release, is the same as the one used in TIE Fighter, which is actually an improved version of the original X-Wing engine, modified for the initial release of TIE Fighter to support Gouraud shading and other rendering enhancements. Owners of the floppy disk version could, at the time of release, send the back of their instruction manuals and money to LucasArts and receive a special "Gold Edition" of the CD-ROM version, which included the game on a golden CD-ROM and a free gift.

X-Wing Collector Series Edition — (X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter Windows 95/98 engine, Red Book CD-music). In 1998, X-Wing was re-released again, this time as part of the Collector Series, a compilation containing revamped versions of both X-Wing and TIE Fighter retrofitted with the 3D-accelerated X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter ("XvT") engine and tuned to run on Windows 95/98 (and possibly Windows XP). The Collector Series also includes a cut-down version of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter called X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Flight School. This version of XvT was included to renew interest in the full-version of XvT, as it was doing poorly in stores at the time.

It is important to note that the Collector's CD-ROM editions and the Collector Series editions of X-Wing and TIE Fighter are not exactly the same. Besides obvious engine and music-system differences, the Collector Series editions lack many of the small movies and animations that made up the charm and atmosphere of the Collector's CD-ROM and original floppy disk editions. For the most authentic X-Wing and TIE Fighter experience, the Collector's CD-ROM editions are recommended.

References

"The Dark Side Illuminated." LucasArts The Adventurer Magazine Summer 1994, Issue 8, p.9-11.

External links

1993 computer and video games | Mac OS games | DOS games | Star Wars computer and video games