Come on guys be honest with me here...

[Frosty]

I don't have, and do not plan to get an X-box 360

Don't play many games anymore, eh?

I talk about shit like I'm an insider to impress all the girlies.

Knock it off.

 

[Dundradal]

I just post about what I see in the news and read on the forums.

From the Ea Forums

We are definitely aware that much of what makes the Wing Commander franchise great and memorable are the supplementary materials, subtle winks to past iterations of the game, and unique presentation of a "manual" in the style of claw marks, etc.

I can assure you that there is something in the works, that will be available here and it's really faithful to the spirit and presentation of those materials you remember and love!

 

[NuAngel]

Guys,
...
You are really happy what they are turning Wing Commander into?

I'm with the others. The game is an interesting game, that I would probably play and enjoy even if it wasn't Wing Commander. The videos make the engine and gameplay look really really fun. The kind of thing you would expect from a $10 arcade game.

But if you want a full fledged game with 20+ hours of game play and and over 5 hours of brand new, unique FMV featuring actors - don't expect to download a 50MB package for $10.

You have to remember, this isn't 'the future of Wing Commander' - no more than Wing Commander Armada, or Privateer. But it's just a new way to experience the universe, not necessarily a direct storyline or character you are familiar with. Be excited to help support the franchise! If this doesn't do well, perhaps we won't see a full-fledged game in the near future?

NuAngel

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I just post about what I see in the news and read on the forums.

To be clear, when JamesPond (EA's Arcade community manager) refers to Claw Marks he is responding to the original post in that thread - not specifically saying that EA has that type of 'manual' plannd for Arena. The "supplement" he refers to could be pretty much anything... but I'll trust him when he says it'll be cool.

This isn't entirely Dundradal's fault - *everybody* sees that thread and assumes 'manual'. I don't know why... Hades' original post about it to the CIC frontpage even called it a manual, and he edited it so as not to specify. There's just a strong implication assosciated with how the thread played out, I think.

 

[Iceblade]

I had negative impressions about it, too when I first heard what the game was. I went oh God they are turning WC into a cheap console game with no story just multiplayer fights, which conjured images of Ultima Online and no future beyond simplicity.

This appears to be false, considering the situation is different and more hopeful. The major FMV production of Command and Conquer 3 and the fact that Arena doesn't seem to have the scope or staying power to be much more than a stepping stone of sorts and not the direction of the franchise.

The game looks rather fun, though, arcadish from the screenshots I have seen. I just hope that the franchise will use the computer for bigger games. I don't want to have to fork over a lot of money just to buy a console that will probably be just for WC (those consoles aren't cheap).

It is possible that a non-MMO Ultima is in the works as well or could be, so success in the WC area should show the viablity of Origin franchises.

 

[Dyret]

This appears to be false, considering the situation is different and more hopeful. The major FMV production of Command and Conquer 3 and the fact that Arena doesn't seem to have the scope or staying power to be much more than a stepping stone of sorts and not the direction of the franchise.

Huh?

 

[Peterson]

C&C Tiberian Sun had the worst FMV I've ever seen in a game. I've not played C&C3 yet, but I'm not particularly looking forward to the FMV.

(Emperor: Battle for Dune was a close contender for worst FMV, ever. Michael Dorn really needs to stick to playing Worf. )

 

[Shipgate]

Besides the online play, which looks really fun considering you can have so many people playing a single game, I'm excited simply that Arena will spread Wing Commander awareness. I believe that if Arena is the first WC game for many people to play, they'll naturally develop an interest for the rest of the franchise.

But yes, it does seem silly not to be interested in it because it isn't precisely the type of official WC release we'd all like to see. Standing alone, I think Arena will make a really fun game for Xbox Arcade. Relative to other WC games, yes, it will be different and maybe not exactly what some of us really want out of a WC game. However, I think it will compliment the other WC games quite nicely and for me it will simply be one of the WC games for me to choose from playing.

 

[Dundradal]

C&C Tiberian Sun had the worst FMV I've ever seen in a game. I've not played C&C3 yet, but I'm not particularly looking forward to the FMV.

(Emperor: Battle for Dune was a close contender for worst FMV, ever. Michael Dorn really needs to stick to playing Worf. )

The acting in C&C3 is what you would expect from a video game. Most of the actors aren't into their roles (besides Kane and his #2 whose name I forget right now) and it shows. The gameplay, however is great.

 

[ChrisReid]

The major FMV production of Command and Conquer 3 and the fact that Arena doesn't seem to have the scope or staying power to be much more than a stepping stone of sorts and not the direction of the franchise.

I don't think there's very much "direction" you can infer from Arena beyond the obvious that consoles are where it's at when it comes to games today. The play style for any future game could be anything.

I disagree that Arena won't have staying power however. Look at Subspace/Continuum. It's a game with a lot of comparisons to Arena. It's also a more simple game. Arena has a major single player component and a variety of diverse multiplayer modes. It'll also get tremendous exposure from EA/Microsoft. Subspace came out in 1997, the same year as Prophecy, and didn't last very long before being discontinued and left to the fans. And today, the Subspace community is booming! There's half a dozen major CIC-style community hubs in their community, and the forums at some of their sites are several times busier than ours. If a game like Subspace can garner that level of enthusiasm ten years later, Arena certainly can.

I don't want to have to fork over a lot of money just to buy a console that will probably be just for WC (those consoles aren't cheap).

Computers aren't cheap either. I spent just as much on my XBox 360 as I did on a CD-ROM drive for Wing Commander 3. I got a sound card, RAM upgrades, 3d hardware accelerator and joystick all just for Wing Commander in the 90s. Buying a console is no different.

 

[Death]

I'd be willing to bet that, if you took all the various hardware upgrades needed by any given individual to play several WC games for the PC, it'd rather handily stomp anything that might be spent for playing Arena.

Hell, my 360 isn't even the most expensive single purchase to play a new WC game. That honor holds for my WC3 machine (which didn't work right, but that's another story) at $600-ish, followed closely by my Prophecy machine, at about $550. I'm not a casual gamer, no, but I'm not quite an absolute diehard like LOAF, Chris, or Hades (who've each spent many thousands of dollars on WC, and not just on hardware directly related to the games; hell, Hades plunks down roughly a kilobuck each year, just for going to DragonCon to visit with other WC fans), either.

 

[Dundradal]

I agree with Death, the amount of money most of us (or back then our parents) have spent on PC upgrades for WC is far greater than even the price of an Xbox 360 elite and Arena.

I spent over $500 alone on just my Thrustmaster stick setups. I'd still spend the same money over again, because those experiences I had playing WC and then jumping on IRC to talk about the missions are something that only WC could provide.

 

[Spoon]

You know what makes me happy about this game? It sticks very close to the already established universe. Old fighters like the Arrow and the Darkets etc. who all kept their designs only looking 2007 instead of pixilated 1994.
Not to mention camo appearances of other fighters/bombers in the backgrounds and such.

Now if we were to compare this with that new transformers movie. Where they just figured "Hey what the hell, let's just throw away the old designs and create something that looks absolutely nothing like the old ones!" As a Transformers fan i'm NOT pleased. As a Wingcommander fan they pleased me solely on the fact that they gave us a new chance to fly with our good old fighters.
If Arena is succesful the chances of us actually getting a full fledged wing commander game with an other new epic story line will only increase.

 

[NinjaLA]

I am in love with the new arrow designs.

 

[Houkiboshi]

I am in love with the new arrow designs.

That makes 2 of us... They look really nice

I also like the Paktahn... I'll have to save for an Xbox

 

[hultsfred]

My viewpoint, well I think the game is a good thing. It looks fun, and even if it doesn't appear spectacular or ground-breaking (in fact I suspect it's merely a fairly decent version of a rather formulaic genre), it's certainly better than nothing. I don't own an X-box, and this won't make me buy one, but I'll certainly buy a copy of the game if any of my friends buy the console.

I think Arena will be to Wing Commander what Rogue Squadron was to the X-Wing Series. That is to say, I enjoyed Rogue Squadron very much, and it was a good way to pass the time until the next proper X-wing game. Rogue Squadron was very popular, and a lot of my friends who wouldn't of played the X-wing games played Rogue Squadron, so as much as I was disappointed by it (because I wanted to play X-wing), I don't think it was a bad thing.

(perhaps Star Wars: Battlefront might be a better analogy, when we take into account the multi-player, but it's not a game I'm very familiar with)

With any luck, WC Arena will be treated similarly. Yes, it's an arcade game, but that doesn't mean it won't be good.

 

[ChrisReid]

My viewpoint, well I think the game is a good thing. It looks fun, and even if it doesn't appear spectacular or ground-breaking (in fact I suspect it's merely a fairly decent version of a rather formulaic genre), it's certainly better than nothing.

One thing that I think EA has had some trouble getting across is that the game is huge for XBox Live Arcade. Every hands-on preview goes into this fact at length, but a glance at the screenshots won't do it. In several ways, it's the most advanced game of its kind.

I'm not even sure which genre exactly you or I'd put it in. It has a couple things in common with something like Subspace/Continuum, but a lot of the gameplay mechanics are just like the original Wing Commander games. It's really multi-faceted. You have your fundamental free-for-alls, team matches and duels, but then there's also more elaborate capture-the-flag types, arena cage matches and capital ship escorts/strikes. That's just the multiplayer part, the game also has an "asteroids" style trainer, AI bot hunting and capship defense. Any single one of these modes would make up the entirety of many other arcade games.

Technologically it's pretty advanced as well. The game is a relatively small download, but it's also in high definition. It'll also be the first 16-player game released for XBox Live Arcade, and it'll take advantage of new communications features to make that even better. It really could have set a precedent for higher-priced Arcade games, but it'll also only be $10. It'll be, by far, the biggest game and best value at that price. Like all Arcade games, it'll have a free demo available when it's released, so hopefully then more people will get an idea of the immense scope of this one.

 

[Spoon]

This game will force me to renew my account from silver to gold again though

Oh and yeah, I agree. The new Arrow designs look neat

 

[Naféasonto]

Holy Crap guys. I was asking for your opinions not asking to be completley attacked.

I am not looking for a "Mark Hammil" returns sort of game. But what I try to say was , where is the cockpit and the joystick control, just the overall feel of the other Wing Commander games? I felt that wasn't there when watching these preview videos.

I admit when I heard about a new Wing Commander game I got very excited. However, honestly can someone tell me what this game is going to be like? What turns me off is it's an arcade style shooter with the Wing Commander logo on it. That doesn't make the game automatically good.

 

[ChrisReid]

Holy Crap guys. I was asking for your opinions not asking to be completley attacked.

You came in and saw how excited people were for the game, and then started a thread to express your disgust at it and challenge everyone's sincerity. What kind of reaction were you expecting?

I am not looking for a "Mark Hammil" returns sort of game. But what I try to say was , where is the cockpit and the joystick control,

We lost cockpits with WC4 in 1996. There is a joystick coming out later this year, but the controls have been well designed for the gamepad.

I admit when I heard about a new Wing Commander game I got very excited. However, honestly can someone tell me what this game is going to be like? What turns me off is it's an arcade style shooter with the Wing Commander logo on it. That doesn't make the game automatically good.

This is the problem. You're not really asking what the game is going to be like. You've already decided, incorrectly, that's it's a shoddy simplistic game. There are very many hands-on previews that go into detail about how it's not a simple arcade shooter.