|
Futuristic airborne combat in the middle of space. Yum.
From the creators of Wing Commander, before it became a rather dull futuristic space-thriller comes Starlancer, another futuristic space combat video game with enough decent thrills to keep you going to mission to mission. Instead of a basic kill-the-aliens plot, we're stuck in a rather realistic world. We're some time into the future, but don't expect any mind blowing technology. Yes, we're confined in a wide array of space crafts with laser cannons and missile launchers, flying at high speeds in outer space decimating enemy after enemy. However, that's about as Sci-Fi as it gets. Here, there isn't any life on other planets, and from what we understand as the player, there haven't even been any other planets discovered. We're stuck within the solar system as we know it, encountering planets such as Pluto and Saturn in the background while we blow up enemy space ships.
Right when we start up Starlancer, we're greeted with an extremely impressive CGI sequence, which explains the entire plot of the PC game. Russia and the United States of America have recently been at war, but now, at this time, a treaty is ready to be signed. Russian and American cruisers are ready to meet with each other, and this time, in peace. Just as the Americans are convinced that everything is safe, and the treaty is truly going to be carried out safely, cloaked Russian space crafts soon appear behind an American fighter craft and blow it into smoldering metal. Indeed, the Russians had ambushed the Americans, and immediately crush the American forces. The war is even carried down to Earth, where they begin to attack and destroy a military base. You have now just watched why we are at war with the Russians, and for good reason.
Before each mission, we're briefed by our commander and then later sent to the hull, where we choose which ship we'd like to use for our missions. In the beginning, we don't have much of a wide selection. Each ship has its own negatives and positives, going from smaller, faster ships to larger, slower ones. The heavier ships can carry more weapons, and the smaller ones can only carry few. Yes, we also get to choose which disposable weapons we want to use. Your ship has a certain number of slots in which it can hold either around 10-12 types of missiles or after burner fuel tanks. We'll usually want to save at least two slots for after burners, because it provides us a very powerful boost of speed and acceleration when activated, and depletes rather slowly.
In each mission, we're never alone. We begin the game within a crew of fresh recruits, the 41st Command. Most of you are new bloods, and are looked down upon by the other teams. Starlancer isn't just about flying and shooting; each mission is packed with about twenty minutes of dialogue. When a pilot speaks, a video of their cockpit appears on the top left of the screen, and we can fully see their expressions and movements. A lot of the top, most of the communication will come from your co-pilot, Moose, who usually has a lot of open and private things to tell you.
Combat is fun and has replay ability. Most of our guns are able to track onto an enemy ship if they are within a vicinity of the crosshairs. The small arrow will track behind it, making some of them easy kills. However, you'll often be going up against the state-of-the-art Saber, a Russian ship which has the ability to cloak. When this happens, you can barely see them, and your ship is unable to track them with the crosshairs or the radar. Mission after mission, you and your teammates combat the enemy in different scenarios. You're even able to kill a member of your own team, but Moose never seems to agree of this. If this happens, he'll take control of the ship, and you'll view a CGI sequence of the character you play going against an American firing squad for breaking one of the golden rules of the military.
Starlancer is worth the buy, and will keep you busy for quite a while.
|
Information
