Wing Commander Meets '80s Cartoon in iOS Sim (October 4, 2014)

[ChrisReid]

Here's something a little different... but not that much different? Philipp Seifried has created a new game for iOS devices called Ace Ferrara and the Dino Menace. Lots and lots of "serious" space sims claim Wing Commander or X-Wing as their inspiration, but - despite the wacky logo image - this cartoonish adventure appears to have a lot in common with certain WC titles. The ship designs and animations especially feel like they'd fit in with Vengeance of the Kilrathi. Players even take off out of a familiar carrier launch tube. Actual gameplay appears very similar to Wing Commander Arena, right down to the roll maneuvers and satellite defense. The aspects that differ, including dinosaur-based aliens, actually look kind of amusing. You can find more information here.

My game "Ace Ferrara And The Dino Menace" came out on iOS yesterday! It marries "Wing Commander"-style space combat with a quirky storyline set in an 80s cartoon universe:
Spacefaring dinosaurs have declared war on mankind and only the Proton Riders - an oddball group of superpilots - can save us from certain defeat! ... This has been a one-man-effort - I've created all graphics, music, code and writing myself, over the course of two years.

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Original update published on October 4, 2014

 

[Sylvester]

This is the greatest thing I've seen all week.

 

[Flojomojo]

Thanks for the tip! I never would have found or tried this on my own. Some of the reviews are a little harsh on the gameplay, but that's Wing Commander, too. This looks to be dripping with style and totally worth four bucks.

 

[ChrisReid]

Yeah, I agree it's a pretty charming game.