What a disgrace!

[Bandit LOAF]

I fail to see how making WC1 on the Prophecy engine would've been innovative. I'd have called that a fan mod, or expansion at best... but not innovative.

Yeah, it's slightly crazy that we have everyone yelling about how awful it is that EA never innovates *and* complaining that how *dare* they develop a game that isn't like anything we've seen before in the same breathe.

 

[shimano]

I absolutely agree with you, Danaus! I would not mind spending some serious cash for a new machine if I knew the game is worth it as it ever was. When I saw "arena" for the first time i would bet my soul that it is joke! Unfortunately...probably it´s not.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

See, again, this isn't an intelligent post -- we should be talking about what you don't like about what you've seen, not engaging in this pointless internet pufferfishery. Bet your soul? Get over yourself.

 

[LeHah]

I would not mind spending some serious cash for a new machine if I knew the game is worth it as it ever was

Since Arena is most certainly worth your time, I assume you'll be spending some serious cash on a X-Box 630?

 

[Eder]

Arena may not have many of the elements that made some of us love previous WC games, but it's just a spin-off game with different gamplay and different focus. That's what Academy and Armada are... and it doesn't make them "not Wing Commander", and it didn't make them "kill the franchise" or anything like that.

A game like Arena is better than nothing, or indifferent at worst (if it turns out the different gameplay really doesn't appeal to you at all). You're free to say that you liked the style of the previous games better, but don't act as if Arena's mere existance was a personal insult or something.

 

[Danaus]

I thought I would state some of the differences I saw in the trailer:

Cons:
1. Cartoonish graphics (not seen since WC2). (I hated Zelda WindaWaker)
2. No vertical movements like a plane.
3. Tiny ships. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...ing-commander-arena-20070222050327100-000.jpg
4. No targeting.
5. No cockpit view.
6. No Full Motion Video.

Pros:
1. Most Xbox Live Arcade Games are $8.00.
2. They seem to have done there homework on the WC universe with planes, weapons, and mythology.
3. Laser's and explosions look pretty.
4. Xbox Live.

***********
I will wait for some more reviews before deciding whether to buy this game.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I don't think the grahics are 'cartoonish' -- you're looking at the color tabs which mark what team a ship is on. Check out this shot of the selection screen, keeping in mind that this is the exact same modelwhich is used 'in game': https://cdn.wcnews.com/newestshots/full/arenadralthistriker.jpg

Vertical movement does exist in the game, but it uses a special "maneuver" system involving the right-stick. It's a really interesting take on an old gameplay problem (space is very empty). Players who learn the maneuvers, which are similar to those taught in the old WC manuals, will find that they become the game's top aces.

I believe the game is supposed to have some form of targetting -- we see radar locks and missile tracking in the demo movies.

As for no cockpit, I'm with you there -- but I'd address my complaint care of 1996. Wing Commander 4 killed cockpits for everybody... I'm happy to see things like a damage VDU and a radar in this game, which shows that it's more complex than a brainless shooter.

 

[Frosty]

Cons:
1. Cartoonish graphics (not seen since WC2). (I hated Zelda WindaWaker)

So, in your opinion, Wing Commander 2 was a bad game?

You dislike probably the greatest Zelda title made up to that point in time because of the style of its graphics? Graphics which, by the way, were technically amazing regardless of their aesthetic quality.

Anyway, as LOAF said, Arena's graphics aren't "cartoonish." They just aren't.

2. No vertical movements like a plane.

I have no idea what "like a plane" is supposed to mean, but I did see vertical maneuvers.

3. Tiny ships.

This makes no sense. The ships are the same size they have always been.

4. No targeting.

Being that there are guided missiles, I'm assuming you have to get a lock somehow. Not that it really affects whether the game is any good.

5. No cockpit view.

Does not affect game quality.

6. No Full Motion Video.

Does no affect game quality.

Pros:
1. Most Xbox Live Arcade Games are $8.00.

It's a lot more accurate to say 400 or 800 MS points, with add-ons running you more. 1 MS point is slightly more than 1 penny.

2. They seem to have done there homework on the WC universe with planes, weapons, and mythology.

Absolutely, and in such a complete, detailed, and reverent way it should shock and amaze us.

3. Laser's and explosions look pretty.

Yes they do. They also require no apostrophe.

4. Xbox Live.

This really is a major plus, and it's great that you listed it. Xbox Live is unparalleled as a matchmaking service in terms of quality and features. There's no better place for a game like Arena to live.

I will wait for some more reviews before deciding whether to buy this game.

I'm ready to buy it now. It's worth the MS points just to have WC achievements on my card.

 

[SXGlory]

Yes, those Wing COmmander Achivements will bre great... along with some WC gamerpics.
One of the best things that XBOX Live Arcade so far has offered is the tiral/demo version of each & every game. You can download the game, try it out (usually extensively) and then decide if you want to buy it or not.
Every game in the series has had a number of changes made, and I think all have contributed nicely.
WCA the 1st, and WCA the 2nd (i.e WC Academy & WC Armada) were substantially different than the rest of the series, yet we're quite fun.
Should the Privateer games not exist, because they too divert (what carrying food items in my starship... blasphemy).
I'm just happy there's a new title in the series, and I hope it proves to be fun enough to get a new series going (or maybe eventually find out officially what happened to Blair). Cause personally, I'm in need of a serious space fix, and if Wing Commander can return, I can look forward to more WC in the future (and hopefully some Privateer & XvT too).

 

[HammerHead]

About the targeting thing - in the gamespot interview you can clearly see "some kind" of targeting - right at the beginning and even later on, at certain points the enemy fighters get a nice red rectangle shape around them...

and about the catoonish look - WC1 and WC2 styles are my personal favorite...

 

[Frosty]

Wing Commander 1 never struck me as cartoonish, anyway.

 

[Danaus]

My rant is over. I will try to be more positive in the future.

WC2... it was one of the very first games to use talking.

Strike Commander was one of the very first CD games.

WC3/4 ... one of these used a 3d video card. If you had an S3 video card... the game supported "Translucent Fog"... another first in the video game industry.

In addition, the online game play of the wing commanders was awesome. Even with a dial-up modem. It was revolutionary.

WC3 incorporated Full-motion video on 4 cds. It had an enormous $4 million budget.
WC4 was 6 CDs and had a "then-unheard-of budget of USD $12 million."
*******
The early games were cartoonish. At the time they were state of the art. Nothing else came close.

WC1 Screenshots:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/wing-commander/screenshots

WC2 Screenshots:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/wing-commander-ii-vengeance-of-the-kilrathi/screenshots

Privateer Screenshots:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/wing-commander-privateer/screenshots

 

[Frosty]

For the purposes of maintaining truth and accuracy in language, we should avoid using "cartoony" to denote a visual quality unintended yet achieved as a result of technical limitations.

 

[Chicken]

Wing Commander Arena is about multiplayer mayhem on a grand scale involving lots of other human players kicking the stuffing out of each other playing as Confed or the Kilrathi (though I hope the Border Worlds could be a new faction for some added ass kicking in future expansions).

Since it's on a console, I wasn't surprised at the focus of the control scheme. Seeing how a 360 has a gamepad as opposed to a joystick is not surprising. And since this is a console game, it has a different gameplay focus too, it's geared towards many players.

Danaus, I think your judgment was a little rushed regarding Arena. I look forward to actually cutting my teeth with it before panning or praising it.

 

[AD]

I believe the game is supposed to have some form of targetting -- we see radar locks and missile tracking in the demo movies.

I asked Sean Penney about this last night. In the gameplay videos you will notice a targeting cursor that leads your ship.

Some missiles in arena are dumbfire and require no lock, and torpedoes that move real slow (and thus easily shot down) are dumbfire as well, like in privateer.

Beyond that there is a two-stage locking system. To aquire a lock, you keep the cursor over an enemy ship for the legnth of time it takes to get a lock. The target goes red and you fire your missile. There are heatseakers and Imrecs in the game (the vampire missiles are also heat seekers) and Sean mentions that there are two levels (of which I'm not entirely sure what he meant). I think he meant that depending on which missile you are firing is how long it takes to get a lock of which there are basically to timings. You *can* hit fighters with torpedos too which is kind of an insta-kill. But It's probably fairly hard to do and you need to conserve them for taking down the capships.

 

[Red Heartagram]

I thought I would state some of the differences I saw in the trailer:

Cons:
1. Cartoonish graphics (not seen since WC2). (I hated Zelda WindaWaker)
2. No vertical movements like a plane.
3. Tiny ships. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...ing-commander-arena-20070222050327100-000.jpg
4. No targeting.
5. No cockpit view.
6. No Full Motion Video.

Pros:
1. Most Xbox Live Arcade Games are $8.00.
2. They seem to have done there homework on the WC universe with planes, weapons, and mythology.
3. Laser's and explosions look pretty.
4. Xbox Live.

***********
I will wait for some more reviews before deciding whether to buy this game.

But the fact is this is the first new Wing Commander game in a decade. EA is finally giving the series a chance again. Whether Arena is your ideal Wing Commander game or not, we need it to do well. If it does well enough there's a chance EA will give us the big budget, FMV ladden flight sim your wanting.

For one I'm looking forward to the game so much that I've already bought an XBOX 360.

 

[Delance]

1. Cartoonish graphics (not seen since WC2). (I hated Zelda WindaWaker)

There's nothing cartoonish about the capship battles and the ship selection. Besides, cartoonish is not necessarely bad, Civilization makes a deep and superb game with cartoonish graphics.

2. No vertical movements like a plane.

There are no planes there, but spaceships. There are vertical movements, but, for gameplay purposes, the combat takes place on a single plane. For similar reasons fixed space objects on Freelancer were on the same plane as well.

3. Tiny ships.

They are in scale! When objects are far away, they look smaller.

4. No targeting.

As Panther once said, that would benefit those who can aim. Well, actually there probably is some kind of targeting since you shot missiles and lasers at enemy ships.

5. No cockpit view.

I suppose you mean there's no First Person view. Simply because it's a Third Person game. Wing Commander IV had no cockpits, either. WCP sorta had them back.

6. No Full Motion Video.

Just like the original Wing Commander. FMV was an innovation from WC3, which was the like the 10th game to be released after WC1, SM1, SM2, WC2, SO1, SO2, Academy, Privateer, Privateer Righteous Fire and Armada. Maybe you are talking about cinematic storyline, it's not what Arena is about.

 

[KrisV]

WC3/4 ... one of these used a 3d video card. If you had an S3 video card... the game supported "Translucent Fog"... another first in the video game industry.

You're thinking of Prophecy, and fogging had already been around for quite some time.

Arena has multiple game modes, each larger than most full titles on the Live Arcade. 16 player multiplayer will be a first. Like every other Wing Commander title, Arena will set the bar.

 

[LeHah]

But the fact is this is the first new Wing Commander game in a decade. EA is finally giving the series a chance again. Whether Arena is your ideal Wing Commander game or not, we need it to do well. If it does well enough there's a chance EA will give us the big budget, FMV ladden flight sim your wanting.

For one I'm looking forward to the game so much that I've already bought an XBOX 360.

Well, thats a refreshingly positive post. Thanks for cutting to the point!

 

[AApt24]

Getting your hopes up???

Just because the game has Wing Commander in the title doesn't mean it will be a good game. I mean if you look at the Wing Commander games, especially three and four, personally I felt they were just film productions with mediocre gameplay just thrown in. I mean who's to say this game won't just be all flash and graphics, but having absolutely no gameplay what so ever. Thats usually the problem with these arcade simulator things, they usually take away what made the series great in the first place. Personally I never put stock in videos and interviews, people make those things to sell their product anyway, wait till the game actually comes out before I can even make an opinion. I don't want to be pessimistic, but there hasn't been a wing commander game in years, and perhaps its possible that some people might be so excited at the very name of the game, that they might miss the bigger picture, its possible this game will just blow your mind, and its also possible the game will just fustrate you even more with this stagnant franchise.