Tag Archives: tie fighter

SOL: Exodus – The Final…Something Something…

  By Brian Rubin | February 6, 2012 - 7:00 am | Featured, Reviews
2 Comments
This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Sol Exodus Review

1 - Well, I THOUGHT I Saved the Hera, Dammit...

But...But...What?

See that? That’s the transport Hera, which you may recall from my last entry on SOL: Exodus that I was being asked to save from tumbling into Neptune. WELL, this time around, I had gotten to the Hera just in time or so I thought. I hacked her systems and engaged her engines and boom, saved, right? WELL, first CASSI says “Transport HERA Saved.” BUT a second later she says that the Hera is lost and there are no survivors. I was confused and annoyed. THANKFULLY…the remainder of the game didn’t end up being either of those things…

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SOL: Exodus – Hacking and Slashing

  By Brian Rubin | January 30, 2012 - 7:00 am | Featured, Reviews
4 Comments
This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Sol Exodus Review

1 - Back in the Saddle Again

Here I Go...Again On My Own...

And we’re back! If you recall from my last entry, I was having some difficulty getting past the third mission in the game, wherein the Atlas was fighting off waves of fighters and bombers, followed by a couple of frigates. Thanks to some hints from the game’s creator, once the frigates showed, I hacked the heck out of them, revealed their weak spots and eventually brought them down, saving the Atlas. Whew. Keep readin’ on to find out what happened next!

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SOL: Exodus – The Fit Hits the Shan

  By Brian Rubin | January 24, 2012 - 11:00 am | Featured, Reviews
11 Comments
This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Sol Exodus Review

1 - The Game Begins

It All Seems so Idyllic...

I personally think it’s bad to start off an article by giving away your thoughts, but I’m gonna say it, SOL: Exodus is a pleasant surprise. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the game a few days before release, so I interrupted Distant Worlds – Legends to take a look at this space-focused combat sim thingy. So join me, won’t you, as I go through the first three missions of the game…

NOTE: This game isn’t out until tomorrow, and since my reviews are basically big game diaries, there are BOUND to be spoilers in here, so you’ve been warned. ;)

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Q&A with SOL: Exodus Lead Designer Chris Stockman

  By Brian Rubin | January 24, 2012 - 7:00 am | Featured, Interviews
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SOL Exodus Logo

The Game's Out Tomorrow!

A while back, I contacted the press folks behind the upcoming space combat game, SOL: Exodus and asked to do a Q&A. Coincidentally, I got it back last night, less that two days before the release of the game tomorrow! I was fortunate enough to have my questions answered by lead designer and creative director Chris Stockman, and I hope you enjoy the answers.

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New Space Game: The Wreckless

  By Brian Rubin | December 13, 2011 - 4:17 pm | News
3 Comments
The Wreckless Logo

Oohhhh. spacey...

Thanks to scharmers over on Quarter to Three for pointing out an article on Rock, Paper Shotgun in which they talk about a new space game called The Wreckless. According to the website, the gameplay is reminiscent of “old school” space sims like TIE Fighter, but uses a FPS-like WASD control scheme, which sounds like Freelancer  to me (and that’s not a bad thing). I’ll add this to my review queue and let you know my thoughts in a little bit.

An Ode to iMUSE (or Missing Contextually-Based Music in Space Games)

  By Brian Rubin | October 27, 2011 - 1:30 pm | Featured, Op-Ed
4 Comments
IMUSE Logo

Oh iMUSE, how I miss thee...

After I published the story of my most memorable dogfight the other day, we got into a discussion about TIE Fighter and its ilk on one of my favorite gaming forums, Quarter to Three. During that discussion, someone brought up the amazing interactive and contextual music system that LucasArts was using back at the time, iMUSE (which you can also read about here). No, Apple fans, it’s not a Mac-based product, it’s a specific piece of music software. :P Anyway, this got me to thinking about contextual music, how it added so much to this and other games, and why we don’t see (or hear) it much anymore.

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What’s Your Most Memorable Dogfight?

  By Brian Rubin | October 25, 2011 - 6:00 am | Featured, Op-Ed
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Assault Gunboat cockpit

Freaking Gunboats...

Anyone who’s played space combat games for a long time probably has several tales of brilliant success or failure that have been seared into their brains over the years. A brilliant victory, a crushing defeat, a desperate battle against incredible odds, that sort of thing. If you’re a veteran of as many space battles as I am, you know you have one or two that will be with you for all time.

Mine was in Star Wars: Tie Fighter, in a mission entitled, “Destroy the Lulsla” (which you can read about here, here and here). As the sixth mission in the first “battle” (or short campaign, 13 in all with several missions apiece) of the game, I didn’t think it would be much of a challenge…read on to see how completely wrong I was.

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What is Your Ideal Space Game?

  By Brian Rubin | October 7, 2011 - 1:18 pm | Featured, Op-Ed
6 Comments
My god...it's full of space gaming goodness...

My ideal space game is made of dreams and starlight...

What is Your Ideal Space Game?

We all have dreams, things we’d like to do, see, accomplish, experience, etc. As space games have taken up a huge chunk of my life, I’ve long had the idea in my head of what my ideal space game would be, and have been dreaming of it actually being made someday. Some games have come close in one way or another, but none have ever matched what I wanted for my ideal game. What makes up this ideal game, you ask? Click below to find out…
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The Best and Worst Space Fighters

  By Brian Rubin | August 30, 2011 - 7:26 am | Featured, Op-Ed
18 Comments
The iconic X-Wing...

You knew this had to be on the list...

I’ll admit, right off the bat, that this was a tough article to write. I’ve played many, many space combat sims in my day, and through research and my own memory I strained to find fighters that actually stuck out in my mind. Sadly, while I’ve enjoyed flying around in fighters in many of the games I’ve played, I’ll be damned if I could really remember the horror or joy at flying specific fighter craft in many of them.

With that said, after a lot of thought, I’ve come up with a list of — what I think are — the best and worst fighters in space gaming. Again, this is based on my memory and opinion. ;)

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