Yager

"Ever since the dawn of time man has yearned to fly, but long gone are the days of people jumping off cliffs..."

...with a handful of feathers. Nowadays we can go to any location we desire by aircraft. It won\'t be long before flying is an everyday occurrence...

Yager deals with this brave new world of flight, with everybody\'s life revolving around some sort of flight travel. Some people transport cargo, others just fly casually and some even fly for the thrill of combat. This last category includes freelance pilot Magnus Tide, a man who has to battle with the mistakes of the past and rebuild his reputation.

Players will gain control of Magnus Tide as he starts from the very bottom, forced to undergo the kind of embarrassing training that any rookie could easily accomplish. From here Magnus must follow orders and rebuild his once-huge reputation. Of course, this setup gives adequate training for the player by teaching the basics and the workings of the ship. At the very start of the game somebody has \'\'changed the preferences\'\' in Magnus Tide\'s ship and a recalibration is deemed to be in order: cue the usual \'\'this button does this\'\' and \'\'try it now\'\' tasks.

The game itself is a futuristic action air combat game, with playersable to control the ship from both a first and third-person perspective. As soon as you see the game you will notice the similarity between this and Halo, with similar graphics as well as the same style of action. The game\'s dynamics are also very similar to that of Halo: each mission has certain checkpoints which can be returned to upon mission failure. A slight twist is that each checkpoint can only be used three times, and after this the mission has to be restarted from the beginning. The usual flight functions are present and correct with a large radar in the bottom left of the screen to indicate objective directions, enemy ships and friendly targets.

There are seven different weapons on Magnus Tides\' ship - standard Laser, speed missile/rocket, machine gun, rail gun, napalm gun, disable and target marker - some of which have a second mode of fire. Each weapons has its strengths and weaknesses and all of them have an ammo cost, with the laser slowly replenishing over time. Players are taught the basics of how to use these weapons over the course of the first few training missions, and as the game progresses hints are also offered to the player, by other pilots and by Magnus himself. For example, if you keep getting hit by heat-seeking missiles then Magnus will say \'\'I thought I could use that machine gun\'s secondary mode of fire to destroy them\'\'.

Yager is an enjoyable experience and dogfights are a regular occurrence. The game starts off slowly but soon erupts into a huge twisting plot. Along the way Magnus will meet around twenty difference characters that will lie to, steal from and befriend him. The button assignment for Yager is well thought out, with simple clicks of buttons being assigned to key tasks. Pressing down the right analogue stick allows quick transfer between hover and fly mode. Players can also lock onto enemies by clicking the B button and then hammer them with a barrage of bullets from the right trigger. These simple button combinations allow for quick and easy game navigation, and help the player to get the most out of the game.

The graphics of Yager are of an extremely high quality, both in-game and during the many cutscenes, even if they are highly reminiscent of Halo. The game can also support 60Hz mode for those out there with decent TVs. There are some nice effects, such as water rippling as bullets fly into it, and the game can also support high numbers of enemies of screen at once. The game moves at a nice fast pace and never really has any dull graphical areas at all.

The sound is also of a high quality, with some superb voice acting. The main character, Magnus Tide, is superbly acted, and players will really be able to associate with him. His observations are often highly sarcastic: one such example is when an urgent message comes in from a woman saying, \'\'Urgent, we have a major situation arising\'\', to which Magnus Tide replies, \'\'Smudged your lipstick?\'\' Throughout the game we get to see Magnus Tide\'s attitude through these sarcastic and over-the-top conversations. He often shouts things at destroyed enemies such as \'\'Another one bites the dust!\'\' or \'\'That\'s going to leave a mark\'\'. The other characters are also superbly acted; one of these, Gunther Van Berg, is a stereotypical bad guy and accordingly has the usual evil voice. The voices are used throughout the game, and there are not many moments of silence. The music score also helps to create the game\'s fast-paced action style.

The game is twenty levels in length, and will take a little while to work thorough. Each mission has little sub-objectives that can be accomplished in return for medals. Often in the game you will fail certain aspects and then have to return to the last checkpoint - I have already touched on this, but you only have three attempts from each checkpoint. This often results in missions having to be restarted from the beginning, thus increasing the time spent trying to do each one. With Halo you could just continue straight from the last checkpoint, but in Yager the checkpoints are much less common, and come with a certain number of tries. Sometimes this leads to the player thinking \'\'Oh, never mind, I have to do it again\'\' and sometimes it\'s more like \'\'For God\'s sake, this is the 81st attempt\'\'. The system certainly raises the difficulty level of the game, as well as making each attempt that more important.

The game only really has three major downfalls to it. Firstly, the control system can get too overbearing at times. For example, to get the ship to go in reverse you have click down the left analogue stick and press the left trigger, and from here you can then steer with the left analogue stick. However, you can accidentally re-click the left analogue stick down and then send the ship forwards again. Also the control seems to go astray at times - when you command the ship to go vertically during a dogfight, it\'s often easy to lose your bearings. Not only do you lose track of the enemy, you also can find yourself hurtling straight towards the ground. Tracking the enemies can also be a difficult task with the analogue sticks, as the game doesn\'t quite seem to want to respond as quickly as you would like it to.

The second problem is the AI: at times you can be tracking a ship perfectly, firing a mountain of bullets, only for a friendly craft to fly straight into them and get damaged. It\'s not like there is little choice for the computer pilot - they just seem to choose to head into your bullets, and it looks like they deliberately change course so they can fly straight into them. Sometimes it\'s like they are trying to collect bullets, and it\'s especially frustrating as you can also fail a mission for hitting your own ships. Also, the enemies have a habit of flying straight into you. I don\'t think Yager has been programmed so that the enemies want to Kamikaze into you; it\'s just that it always seems to end up that way. You can be flying along, just minding your own business, when an enemy will fly straight into you and destroy itself.

The final problem is only a minor one really, and it\'s to do with the checkpoint system. Sometimes you will be killed right at the end of the mission and you will be returned to the last checkpoint; often the hardest battle is at the end of the mission and it\'s easy to fail here. Once you have used a checkpoint three times, you will have to restart the mission from the beginning, and this can get very frustrating and repetitive at times.

On the whole, Yager is the Xbox equivalent of Freelancer, with the same type of game physics being used. The game is also like an aerial version of Halo, with the same graphics and a similar control system being implemented. Yager is a good solid sci-fi flying game, which contains frantic battles mixed with a deep storyline. The game\'s high-quality graphics and sarcastic voice acting is a great mix. Players will also be kept busy with the hidden little side missions that are available throughout the game.

Gameplay: 8
Zooming over the water whilst chasing two retreating fighters is an amazing experience. The game manages to keep players interested with rewarding gameplay and a twisting plot. The simple button layout also allows for uninterrupted dogfights.

Graphics: 10
This is the Halo of flying games; it features amazing, stunning visuals at all times. Fly over the water and watch it spray into the air. The cutscenes also look amazing. Each level has been thoroughly designed and features brilliant textures and lighting effects.

Sound: 10
The constant conversations between Magnus and the rest of the crew are full of sarcasm and importance. The characters\' voices are perfectly chosen and recreated for the game, and each character can be pictured perfectly from their voice casting alone. The music and sound effects are also of a high quality with fast pumping tunes helping to move the game along.

Longevity: 8
The game will keep most people interested thanks to its unpredictable and twisting plot. The levels are also huge and will tempt most into coming back for more. The only drawback is that you might end up repeating most missions thanks to a failed objective. Also it would have been nice to perhaps see a two-player mode.

Yager has got both brains and beauty: the stunning visuals and sound, mixed with the gameplay and plot, make this a fantastic product. With very little like this currently on the Xbox, this really has to be the game for all those flying freaks out there. The frantic battles always make for an interesting game, and this together with the ever-changing plot will keep players absorbed in the game. Yager is a great game that most people would enjoy: love Freelancer? You will love this. Love Halo? You will love this. Love Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball? What is wrong with you? Yager is simply a unique experience that pushes the Xbox to the boundaries of its abilities. A fantastic addition to a dying genre, Yager is a game which can be recommended to any Xbox owner.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/06/03