Star Wars TIE Fighter: Collector's CD-ROM

"The Imperial way is the only way..."

Wham!
- A game called Tie Fighter forced its way onto my PC several years ago, and it was so great, that when I recently noticed I could get it, along with X-Wing, and X-Wing vs Tie Fighter: Flight School, for a mere £9.99, the decision was easy enough.

Note:
This version is the remade Win9x version, but it *can* run under XP; select compatibility mode, live without accelerated 3D-graphics, and it'll run smoothly...Just don't run it from the launcher, but use the .exe file itself.

I've never been a fan of Star Wars, and don't think I'll ever be, but I've seen the films, and based on them, I have the general picture of how it works : Rebels = Good, Empire = Bad, and Yoda = Cute little fella, with funny abilities.
So, based on that, I was biased towards padding the rebels on the shoulder, and cheer on them, whenever they kicked the Empire...Ahh, back in the days when I was young and naive...

The thing is, that people tend to stick with the heroes they get served, and Tie Fighter proved to me, how easy it is to turn everything upside down, because after playing the game, I gained insight in the Empire, and saw their point of view : Rebels are lawless scum that just deserve to be eradicated like the lowlives they are.

The story in the game starts shortly after the first Death Star is destroyed. You're playing the role of an Imperial Pilot, fighting against the rebels and other outlaws in a series of battles, spanning several missions each. Each mission comes with some Primary objectives, semi-optional Secondary objectives, and all but a few got a load of bonus objectives, which you'll have to discover for yourself. Many of them will be hinted to you, however subtle it may be, and others you'll just happen to stumble across by chance, though you'll soon learn which actions could probably trigger a bonus objective. Hunting them becomes a game in the game, as they'll add extra points to your score, but will also broaden the storyline, which in my book counts for more than the points.

You'll have the chance to fly every single fighter/bomber in the Imperial arsenal, and use several different weapon and utility systems; most will be presented later in the game, though you can have a taste of them, in training and historical (simulated) missions, if that's your pleasure. Don't be surprised, though, if you get thrown back into an 'inferior' craft, because it will happen, and besides: There's no such thing as inferior crafts in the Imperial Navy, only inferior pilots! :)

The opposition is the known rebel crafts : X-wings, Y-wings, A-wings and so on, and capital ships of varying sizes will join the fray on both sides...Ever wondered just *how* big an ISD is? Fly close by one, and you'll know. Ever wondered how fast 8 turbolasers can reduce you to scrap? You'll know soon enough....*Evil grin*

One of the many things that makes this game so excellent, is the fact that it's classified as a simulator, but actually plays like an action game in most cases, effectively appealing to people in both camps. There's a lot of controls to get the hang on, but since the help-screen is close at hand, and most controls are grouped nicely on the keyboard, it'll soon become second nature. Unlike 'dry' simulations, you'll not be pestered with things like dockings and the like, and you can absorb the action fully, without too much hassle.

But, and a big but it is, don't think the game is just another shoot'em up, disguised in 3D...This one will require you to plan like a general, monitor systems like a technician, and fight like a true pro, but even that will come easy, well, at least the first two parts.

The game can seem unforgivingly difficult at times, and mixed with a brilliant computer AI, you'll be hard pressed more than once. Dogfighting several enemy starfighters in a minefield, mines shoots lasers in this game/world, dodging laserbeams right and left, and suddenly get a message about a mission-critical craft trying to run for it, will grey your hair ahead of time. You'll fail the mission, if it manage to make its hyperjump, but turning your rear-end to a handful of X-wings will probably get you blown to tiny bits...Eat the verbal insult you're bound to get from your commander, and try again. Maybe next time, you'll know when to do what, how and why.

Let's put it in numbers:

Graphics 8/10 : You know how the crafts look in the films, and they look almost completely the same in the game, which is all you can ask for. Lasers, missiles and other misc visual effects are what you can expect. This game is around 10 years old, and compared to newer games, it's probably a bit dated. But it *is* a Star Wars game, and with that in mind, the graphics are absolutely excellent.
You won't believe you're only running 640*480*16, in any case...

Sound 10/10 : Flawless in a way you can only dream of. Missiles fired, lasers, ion-cannons, rockets, torpedoes etc will remind you of the film, because the quality is almost as high. Everything 'sounds Star Wars', and unless a lot of action is going on around you, you'll always know what is happening, just by listening. Excellent stuff.
But the best is yet to come : The spoken dialogue. There's tons of it, and every voice is well acted, well made and well placed. *Everything* triggers some speech of some sort, my personal favorite being the confirmation voice, when you order your wingmen to do things. Briefing, debriefing, inflight instructions, inflight dialogue, changes in the battle; almost every word you see is spoken, except for generic messages, such as new arrivals of crafts, unless they're important to the current mission, in which case you'll hear something like 'A group of X-wings just joined the party...' It all helps to keep you on your toes, and up-to-date of the overall battle, and when it sounds so darn good as it does here, you'll never get fed up. Excellence in the extreme, period.
The music is the normal Star Wars music, which really is all that needs to be said.

Controls 10/10 : You'll need a good joystick to fully enjoy this, but it's more than worth it, as it'll enhance the game an awful lot. Earlier versions of Tie Fighter allowed you to use the mouse, but unless you've got Olympic gold in mouse-juggling, it'll prove too frustrating in the long run. Mouse based controls I'd rank as -2/10.
My stick got 7 buttons, and making Tie Fighter accept them was as easy as you could hope : Click a button, and select which function it'll trigger, from a complete list. You'll be allowed to assign any ingame key to any button, so add the most used to your stick, and you'll have an easier time with the keyboard.
There's a lot of keys to remember, but as mentioned earlier, it'll come to you quickly, if you're just a tiny bit patient.

Gameplay 10/10 : A simulation, that plays like an action game, tells a very interesting story, and let you kick some rebel scum...What more could you ask for? I didn't like Star Wars, and still got hooked big time.

Overall 10/10 : Giving this game such a high rating could probably seem strange, as it would mean 'perfect', but I have to admit that this game is so close to perfection, you'll cheat yourself by not getting it. You'll be playing it for a long time, even after completing it. If you're a Star Wars fan, here's the game you should have played 10 years ago, and if you're not, you'd still get a 'blast' out of it. Dogfights are intense, the constant mission changes keeps you forever alert, and the Imperial sense of honour will make you hate (and fear) every single failure, because you'll know that you failed because you weren't good enough, and not because the game was unfair. Hard, yes, unfair, no. If it gets too hairy, you can always select invulnability and unlimited warheads, but at a great cost of points. Points = Rank, higher rank = higher honour. And honour is good in the Imperial Navy.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/22/03, Updated 07/22/03