''Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance'', also known as simply ''X-Wing Alliance'', is a
space simulation video game, the sequel to both ''
Star Wars: TIE Fighter'' and ''
Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter''. ''X-Wing Alliance'' presents the story of the Azzameen family, a family of space traders. The player assumes the role of Ace Azzameen, the youngest of the Azzameen children, juggling military duty as a fighter pilot for the Rebel Alliance, and allegiance to his family, flying larger heavily armed freighters for the family business, amid a bloody family feud and in the larger context of a galactic civil war.
Features
Apart from the usual badges and medals for winning missions – a feature shared by the other games of the
X-Wing computer game series – progress is also indicated by the number of souvenirs collected in Ace's room. There is also a "mail" delivery between missions that helps to evolve Ace's background story while also providing a deeper look into his personal relationships and his family's whereabouts.
''XWA'' is the first game of the series to offer a full voiceover soundtrack and full in-flight dialogue. Flight control is marginally updated from the previous games of the series, allowing the player to link his or her different energy weapons to fire together, as well as the addition of rudder support. Graphics are also overhauled in this game; high resolution textures, more complex models, and full three dimensional cockpits were added. However, the cockpits are not faithful to the other games; indicators and screens are separated from the cockpit, depicted as floating windows as part of the in-flight
heads-up display
A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informa ...
. The player also has three "mission skips" that allow him or her to proceed through the linear storyline without having to complete a particular mission. "Family missions," however, cannot be skipped.
The ability to fly multi-crew craft like the ''
Millennium Falcon
The ''Millennium Falcon'' is a fictional starship in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Designed by Joe Johnston for the movie ''Star Wars'' (1977), it has subsequently appeared in ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), ''The Empire Strikes Back' ...
'' was a major new feature because the player could freely choose to be the pilot or operate one of the turrets. The AI would take over any position not controlled by the player, but could be given orders by the player. ''X-Wing Alliance'' also introduced multi-part missions that involved making hyperjumps from one region to the next; in previous games, any hyperjumps the player experienced were either to start or end the mission.
[ Additionally, players could now enter a starship's hangar bay to rearm and/or receive repairs before rejoining the fight. They could even witness the battle continuing to unfold outside the hangar. Finally, ''X-Wing Alliance'' added a much-desired custom mission builder feature. This allowed players to quickly set up a variety of battle scenarios involving almost every vessel in the game, including dozens of fighters and combat transports that had been fought against in the single-player game and were now flyable in this mode.
]
Story
The game's prologue (and tutorial) concerns Ace's "family missions" in which his elder family members and Emkay instruct him in the flying of Corellian transports so that he can begin working for the family.
These missions reveal that the Azzameen family are in heated competition with the Viraxo and are generally sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic (colloquial: Rebel Alliance; the Rebellion; the Alliance; or the Rebels) is a fictional stateless interstellar coalition of republican dissidents, imperial defectors, revolutionary factions and anti-imperi ...
. Due to their sympathies, the patriarch of the family, Tomaas Azzameen, smuggles bacta for the Alliance in the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story ...
. This causes them to pay dearly as the Galactic Empire
Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of s ...
raids their home station for running bacta to an Alliance outpost. Tomaas and Ace's older brother are killed and the family subsequently seeks asylum with a Rebel task force.
As a Rebel pilot, Ace participates in a variety of missions for the Rebellion while also helping his family fight the Viraxo. During his tour with the Rebel Alliance, he proves himself to be a significant pilot as he participates in missions that uncover new Imperial projects, such as experimental TIE fighter
The Twin Ion Engine (TIE) fighter is a series of fictional starfighters featured in the ''Star Wars'' universe. TIE fighters are depicted as fast, agile, yet fragile starfighters produced by Sienar Fleet Systems for the Galactic Empire and by ...
s and the second Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the '' Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves t ...
.
Some events connect the game to the movies ''The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...
'' and ''Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'', such as sequences that track the Rebellion's situation after the Battle of Hoth,[ as well as the theft of the shuttle ''Tydirium''. The game also concludes with the climactic ]Battle of Endor
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who w ...
.[ Several events connect to the '' Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire'' story, such as a mission to assist ]Dash Rendar
''Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire'' is a 1996 multimedia project created by Lucasfilm. The idea was to create a story set between the films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Return of the Jedi'', and to explore all commercial possibilities of a ...
in the capture of the Imperial freighter ''Suprosa'', which carries the plans to the second Death Star.
Release
''Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance'' was released in 1999,[ and it was released on Steam and ]GOG.com
GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...
in 2015 along with other games in the series.
Reception
The game received favourable reviews according to the review aggregation
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website GameRankings.[
Tal Blevins of '']IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' praised the ability to hyperjump from area to area and the space battles for being much larger than the game's predecessors, with up to 96 ships in space. He also praised the game's graphics and called the game "the best-looking ''Star Wars'' title from Totally Games", but criticized its software mode when 3D hardware mode is set off. Blevins felt that the game's improved details added cinematic elements that make players feel as if they are Rebels fighting in a never-to-be-released movie.[
The game's sales reached 143,371 copies in the U.S. during 1999.
The game was a finalist for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 1999 "Simulation Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to '']Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000
''Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000'', abbreviated commonly as ''FS2000'', is a flight simulator video game. It was released in late 1999 for Microsoft Windows. A ''Professional Edition'' was released alongside the standard edition. It added two air ...
''. It was also nominated for ''CNET Gamecenter
''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
''s "Best Sci-Fi Simulation" award and for ''PC PowerPlay
''PC PowerPlay'' (''PCPP'') is Australia's only dedicated PC games magazine. ''PC PowerPlay'' focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for u ...
''s "Best Fantasy Sim" award, but lost both to ''MechWarrior 3
''MechWarrior 3'' is a vehicle simulation game, part of the ''MechWarrior'' series. It featured a new 3D accelerated graphics engine at the time of its release. The game contains over 20 missions, with access to 18 different Battlemech, mechs. A n ...
''. Likewise, the game was nominated for '' Computer Gaming World''s 1999 "Science Fiction Simulator of the Year" award, which went to ''Freespace 2
''FreeSpace 2'' is a 1999 space combat simulation computer game developed by Volition as the sequel to '' Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War''. It was completed ahead of schedule in less than a year, and released to very positive reviews, but ...
''.
References
External links
*
{{Star Wars games
1999 video games
LucasArts games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Multiplayer vehicle operation games
Space combat simulators
Space MOGs
Star Wars: X-Wing (video game series)
Totally Games games
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games
Windows-only games