An Hour and a Half of Magazine Time (April 20, 2007)

[Bandit LOAF]

The May 2007 issue of the Official Xbox Magazine, on news stands now, includes a brief preview of Wing Commander Arena! It's strangely hung up on the Wing Commander movie, but it does offer a nice look at how the game's controls work:

Wing Commander Arena

Free Freddie Prinze Jr. not included!

Sixteen-player games on Live Arcade? We're listening!

At the height of classic PC space-combat series Wing Commander's popularity in the late '90s, a feature film was made with Freddie Prinze Jr. in the lead role. This proved to be the worst idea in the history of videogame movies until Uwe Boll was allowed to step behind a camera, but sadly, this is where the franchise left off.

So in what is perhaps an attempt to wipe the slate clean -- but more likely an opportunity to do something new on Xbox Live Arcade -- EA is reintroducing Wing Commander on a small scale: as an XBLA space-dogfighting shooter.
Fortunately, we're not just talking about Asteroids with the Wing Commander name slapped on it. Famous ships (18 in total) from both the Terran and Kilrathi sides are available in different classes -- bombers, fighters, and so on -- and in fact, series veterans will note that this is the first time the Kilrathi have been playable.

Gameplay is straightforward: the thumbsticks control your ship (with the right stick also able to initiate barrel rolls and other special moves), while the triggers and shoulders unleash your weapons arsenal. Your single-player modes are included, but it's the 16-player online play that distinguishes Arena from the pack. And while we weren't able to get a confirmed price, we suspect it will run you 800 Microsoft Points ($10). Our suggestion: grab some Battlestar Galactica DVDs and prime yourself for some space-blastin' action -- just do yourself a solid and try to pretend the movie never happened.
- Ryan McCaffrey

Platform: XBOX LIVE ARCADE
Publisher: EA
Developer: GAIA
Live/Multiplayer: YES
Release Date: SUMMER 2007
For Fans Of: Asteroids, Gradius, Wing Commander

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Original update published on April 20, 2007

 

[Dundradal]

Funny. I think veterans of the series will note that the Kilrathi were playable in Armada and we got to fly a Drathli in SM2.

Other than that it's nice to get a control layout. Interesting how both triggers and bumpers fire weapons. LOAF any insight to exactly how that works? Is each button mapped to a certain weapon type? It seems odd to have all of them shoot something unless guns are divided along with missiles and torps?

 

[Death]

As shown in the screenshots in this update, each of the shoulder buttons controls a missile type, and each trigger controls a gun type.

 

[Dundradal]

Thanks Death, must have missed that. Makes for interesting gameplay as you can either pump both for full guns or alternate for possible longer fire.

 

[Kevin Farlander]

You think these guys from XBOX magazine even know the history of Wing Commander?

As pointed out, you play as the Kilrathi in SM2 AND in Armada.

Notice how they didn't mention anything about any one particular game. Wonder if they know that Mark Hamill and Thomas Wilson were in 3,4 and Prophecy?

 

[AD]

You think these guys from XBOX magazine even know the history of Wing Commander?

As pointed out, you play as the Kilrathi in SM2 AND in Armada.

No, you only ever play *as* the kilrathi in Armada. There are a number of times we get to fly Kilrathi ships, but the only time the player actually plays as a kilrathi is Armada.

The magazine people seem to be quoting from the early press releases. We talked to Sean Penney shortly after the initial Arena announcements and he quite sheepishly admited to forgetting about Armada.

 

[GreyViper]

Any idea if next games in series are going to follow the style of Arena?

 

[AD]

Any idea if next games in series are going to follow the style of Arena?

There might be additions to arena and possibly followups, but I'm fairly certain this isn't the direction they intend for the entire series. If arena is a wild success, I'm certain well see something on a larger scale.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Yeah... Arena isn't a conscious decision to change the Wing Commander dynamic for all time... it's an opportunity to get Wing Commander out to an entirely new audience. If... rather, *when*... there's another ten million dollar Wing project in development, I'll bet a thousand twixes that it'll be an "interactive movie" of some sort.