by the fans for the fans

I don't know about any of you guys but I was and still remain a die hard X-Wing and TIE Fighter fan.

Few games from the mid ninties were really able to be in depth and fun at the same time(least the ones i liked) MicroPross had F-19 Stealth fighter which for it's age was huge. It was a full simulation with almost everything you would expect from todays modern fighter sims, even if the missions got repetitive LOL.

X-Wing and the TIE FIghter series was the next for me. The Sheer scale of the arena, the fact that the fight took place on multipul planes instead of the modern "Rouge Leader" games on the newer systems.

How cool was it to be in a two man flight of X-Wings raiding a small convoy then all of the sudden WAY WAY WAY out in the distance a Friggen Imperial Class Star Destroyer (Or worse an Interdictor class cruiser) jumps in and starts dumping TIE's like baleing water off a sinking ship?

The ability to control and manage shield power and recharge as well as lasers by rerouting power was great. Wing man commands worked well.

With the introduction of Match Enemy speed escort and dog fights got easier. The Missions were very well planned and some (like rescueing Admiral Ackbar) were maddeningly difficult.

TIE Fighter had a great story and really gave you the feeling of how powerful the TIEs were even though they seemed like fodder in X-WING.

The best part to me was the campaign ribbion award system and progress tracking, as well as the rank system. These games made you earn the ranks. If you died or got captured you lost your rank.

X-Wing it self got a face lift for the CD edditions that came out later on. However today I really wish Lucas Arts would go back and upgrade these games again to make it graphically closer to what the new games look like. These new titles that we have today are so limiting they are nearly not fun.

When I think of what would make a re-issued X-Wing and TIE game I think of the same things that would make a better Robotech game. Battle Cry was alot of fun. But personally I crave something more realistic, More flexibility to perform tasks. No "Corridor" style levels that allow you to only go where THEY want you to go. Give us some more control over the systems and functions of the fighters. If we get damaged (Another really cool part of the X-Wing system!) your fighters abilities are affected. While some can be fixed others leave you SOL.

Base Deployment, Take offs and Landing. Variable Load-outs. Campaign tracking and a true rank system. I would like to see a step away from "Arcade syle" games that Lucas Arts and HG seem so darn fond of right now and give the mature gamers something substantial to chew on for a change.


Come on guys, I'm bored.