Description
Fans of Totally Games's excellent X-Wing series are going to be thrilled with Star Wars Squadrons, as are... well, Star Wars fans. With this latest dogfighting space combat game EA Motive is looking to channel that same nerdy attention to detail onto the current generation of gaming hardware, marrying the depth of those '90s games with the spectacle enabled by modern consoles. The game is set several years after the Battle of Endor.
The Empire is in disarray, but it's far from vanquished. The Rebel Alliance, meanwhile, is adjusting to its newfound legitimacy as a galactic government. In the midst of all this turbulence you fly as pilots from both sides, with the single-player offering interwoven narratives between two rival flyers and the multiplayer modes pitting teams of five against each others in fast-paced, explosive dogfights. In a nod to the earlier X-Wing series power management is at the heart of Squadrons, offering a strategic and almost sim-ish quality to the experience.
You have to juggle power between boosters, blasters and shields, occasionally overcharging one of them if the situation demands it. It's a fine art, but it doesn't distract you from the cool factor of classic Star Wars moments like flying into the guts of a star destroyer, blasting it (and enemy fighters) to smithereens and then careening out of the other side. The class system offers a further layer of depth, with players choosing to fly in an X-Wing or TIE Fighter (all-rounders); A-Wing or TIE Interceptor (faster and more agile); Y-Wing or TIE Bomber (bomber class) or U-Wing/TIE Reaper (repairs, and disabling of enemy weapons). It all comes together in a game that aims for both depth and spectacle in on classic Star Wars package.
