Star Wars: X-Wing (video game)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
Star Wars: X-Wing | |
---|---|
Single-player |
Star Wars: X-Wing is a
Designed by Lawrence Holland and Edward Kilham's Totally Games for LucasArts, X-Wing is one of the first games to use 3D polygon graphics for spaceships and the first non-adventure game to use the iMUSE music system. The game was updated and re-released several times, and was followed by three sequels. X-Wing became a best-seller with critical acclaim.
Plot
Players take the role of a Rebel pilot fighting the
Progress through the game depends on fulfilling each operation's primary objectives; if the player fails an operation, it can be reattempted. The initial game's storyline concludes with the player flying as Luke Skywalker in his attack against the Death Star. Two expansion packs extend the story beyond the events in A New Hope, up to the establishment of the Rebel base depicted at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back.
Gameplay
After choosing a pilot file to play with, the player is presented with a "concourse" aboard the
As a
All flight takes place in space; the player does not encounter gravity or atmospheric effects. The starfighters are equipped with recharging laser weapons and limited
Missions types include dogfights, escorting or disabling other vessels, convoy attacks, and strikes on capital ships. During missions, the player can send orders to friendly craft. In the original floppy disk version, the player can assign other saved pilot profiles to be his or her wingman; the higher the rank of the saved profile, the better the computer-controlled wingman would perform. This was removed from subsequent releases.
The player earns points for each tour of duty mission by completing objectives and destroying enemy spacecraft. Medals and ranks are awarded for campaign progress; if the player dies in combat, his or her score and awards are lost, but campaign progress is preserved.
Development
Until 1992,
The game's
Cast
- Clive Revill as Dodonna (voice)
- Erik Bauersfeld as Ackbar (voice)
- Nick Jameson as Moff Tarkin (voice)
- Clint Bajakian as Darth Vader (voice)
- C. Andrew Nelson as Luke Skywalker (voice)
Release
X-Wing was originally released on floppy disks in February 1993. Later that year, LucasArts released the Imperial Pursuit and B-Wing expansion packs on floppy disk. A sixth tour of duty, set during the Rebel Alliance's time at Echo Base, was planned but never produced; the medals case of the game was also designed to hold a sixth campaign ribbon row and medal. Some of the material for the sixth tour of duty was later incorporated into the X-Wing special edition and also the later game TIE Fighter.[9]
LucasArts released the TIE Fighter space combat simulator in 1994. That year, it released the Collector's CD-ROM Edition of X-Wing. This edition runs on the TIE Fighter game engine, based on the X-Wing engine. The newer engine supports Gouraud shading and other rendering enhancements. The Collector's CD-ROM Edition includes the base game, both expansions, some adjustments to missions, redesigned cutscenes, bonus missions, and voiceovers for the mission briefings and in-game radio messages. Erik Bauersfeld reprised Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi. Clive Revill, who voiced Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back (pre-2004 version), portrayed Admiral Dodonna. The floppy disk version could be redeemed for a fee to LucasArts, and be upgraded to Gold Edition of the CD-ROM version, with a golden CD-ROM and a free gift.
In 1998, LucasArts released the
On October 28, 2014, X-Wing and TIE Fighter were released for download online for the first time. The original MS-DOS and Windows editions were updated for modern PCs.[10]
Reception
Publication | Score |
---|---|
PC Gamer UK | #2 Top 50 PC Games of All Time[19] |
PC Gamer US | 1994 Best CD-ROM Enhancement[20] |
Star Wars: X-Wing became a commercial hit that surpassed the predictions of LucasArts. Its launch shipment of 100,000 units sold out during its debut weekend; nearly 500,000 units in total were ordered by retailers by December 1993.[22]
X-Wing, which one author later stated "skillfully captured the feel" of the Star Wars films,
In 1994 Computer Gaming World stated that B-Wing was a better value than Imperial Pursuit but "To the avid X-Wing disciple both expansion disks should be considered must-buy products".[26]
X-Wing was named the best "general simulation" of 1993 by
Notes
- ^ March 4 is the retail date[citation needed] but LucasArts had fulfilled direct mail orders since late February.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c "LucasArts Entertainment Company: 20th Anniversary (Part Two: The Classics, 1990–1994)". LucasArts.com. June 23, 2006. Archived from the original on June 23, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ "X-Wing". Toronto Star. p. 17. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
Take control of the X-Wing Starfighter and experience the incredible realism of polygon graphics and bitmapped special effects...Out Now.
- ^ "GOG.com".
- ^ ISBN 978-0-345-51119-5. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-4398-7323-6. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ "Retro Game Review: X-Wing". August 26, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58450-679-9. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ISBN 978-3-531-17409-9. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ "Tie Fighter Released", LucasArts, The Adventurer, Volume VII (Winter 1994)
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (October 27, 2014). "Classic Star Wars X-Wing and TIE Fighter games are getting digital re-release". Polygon. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ^ a b Brooks, M. Evan (May 1994). "Never Trust A Gazfluvian Flingschnogger!". Computer Gaming World. pp. 42–58.
- ^ Imagine Media. August 1996. p. 101.
- ^ LeVitus, Bob (August 1996). "The Game Room". MacUser. Archived from the original on February 21, 2001.
- ^ Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 63.
- ^ a b "Computer Gaming World's Game of the Year Awards". Computer Gaming World. October 1993. pp. 70–74. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ a b "Fact Sheet". Totally Games. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ a b "1993 - Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design". originsgamefair.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
- ^ PC Gamer US(3): 32–42.
- ^ PC Gamer UK. No. 5. pp. 43–56.
- ^ a b Staff (March 1995). "The First Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer. 2 (3): 44, 45, 47, 48, 51.
- ^ "Star Wars: X-Wing Review". Archived from the original on November 15, 2014.
- ^ Cooper, James Paul (April 1994). "From A Train to Zork: The Business of Game Distribution" (PDF). Game Developer (1): 34.
- ^ Emrich, Alan (October 1992). "Flying the Rebel Alphabet in an X-Wing". Computer Gaming World. p. 80. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ Lombardi, Chris A. (June 1993). "The Universe of LucasArts' X-Wing". Computer Gaming World. p. 76. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ISSN 0194-357X.
- ^ James, Jeff (February 1994). "The Expanding Universe Of X-Wing". Computer Gaming World. p. 52.
- ^ Bauman, Steve (November 2000). "A Decade of Gaming; Award Winners of 1993". Computer Games Magazine (120): 58.
- ^ The Editors of MacUser (December 1996). "MacUser's 1996 Top 50 CD-ROMs". Games. Archived from the original on June 5, 2000.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ B-Wing Expanded: A Preview of the Rebel Aces Expansion Pack for X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
- ^ "Lead the Fighter Attack".
- ^ Cork, Jeff. "Game Informer's Top 100 Games Of All Time (Circa Issue 100)". Game Informer. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
External links
- Star Wars: X-Wing on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
- Star Wars: X-Wing at MobyGames