For my buddy and me, X-wings was a co-op game. He piloted, with the joystick, while I was his trusty astromech using the keyboard. Sounds geek and yes it was. It was another way to play.
Nah, "X-wing" *not* "X-wings" should be played by a single player. You'll be stuck with braindead wingmen who like nothing more than getting shot up and blown up by enemies nearby. Even the so-called "veteran" wingmen were goners in a mission or two. Finishing "X-wing" without any cheats was an honour thing for me. I finally did it, back in the day, after having wrecked one perfectly good joystick (before learning that doing the 'Wotan-weave' or simply spiraling with the button depressed was a much more efficient way of escaping enemy laser bolts. But really, "Tie Figher" was a vast improvement over "X-wing." It had better design, different, customisable levels of difficulty, etc. "X-wing" had only one level of difficulty: 'next to impossible.' Example: in one mission, you have to board an Imperial Nebulon-B Frigate, "aided" by six Y-wings. In the movies, proton cannon had the advantage of not being hindered by any active shields on a target. But in the game, you had to first destroy the shields, then you could instantly disable the target. However, the Y-wings were being controlled by drone pilots even worse than the regular 'AI'-wingmen. They would not use their torpedoes but they would uselessly fire their protoncannon which were stopped by the frigate's massive shields. In the end I completed this mission by ordering the Y-wings to *stay the hell away* from the frigate. After destroying 9 or so Tie-fighters, I then started attacking the Nebulon-B Frigate in my A-wing figher. Alone. With two laser cannon and also having to disengage to recharge my shields, it took literally ages before the starship's shields were down. Then I ordered the useless (less than) Y-wings to stop napping and give the ship a few shots of protonfire. After having completed the entire game I abandoned it and never looked back. "Tie-fighter," on the other hand, is an actual game with decent gameplay.
"Your will be flying the Tie Bomber designated Alpha 1, you will have no wingmen. The main enemy force will consist of A-wings, X-wings and Corellian corvettes, entrenched in a heavily mined area. Scan all mines and enemy craft for information about the imperial traitor. Deliver your findings to Admiral Harkovs SSD, and await special instructions. There are no reinforcements available for this mission." 0_o "Good luck pilot!"
+MagicAccent Don't forget that you also have to inspect and disable a fleeing ship that jumps to hyperspace five seconds after the mission begins, so that it can be boarded by a troop transport with a hull made of tissue paper. Still love the game, though.
I'm kind of amazed that the idea of 'playing the bad guys' hasn't been really present in more games. The conflict between the secret theocracy and the military grunts made for a compelling story. Also the notion of being completely disposable instead of 'the chosen one' is something sadly lacking in a lot of games.
In movies there's immediate outcry from "those" people if it doesn't please them. As with recent movie Joker, there's campaign against it because story is sympatethically viewed from bad guy's perspective. I suppose same goes with games too.
@@YoStu242 I think it depends on which story or which presentation. There are a handful of bad guys in cinema we totally root for: John Wick, for example, is an assassin and contract killer - not a good guy. True, in the movies he goes after other bad guys, but fans are rabid over him. Speaking of the Joker, Heath Ledger's presentation was so good I have no doubt that people would have gone nuts to see HIS Joker's origin story. GoT had a handful (Jaime Lannister definitely counted as a bad guy early on, as did Sandor Clegane, but audiences loved seeing more of them and rooted for them) and of course there's Loki from the MCU - who I heard is getting his own series(?). So you may be onto something about needing to please people, but I don't think that's so much about the movie using a bad guy as a protagonist as much as it is about the presentation on the whole; there are too many movies to count that have a good guy in the starring role that people downright hated.
+TheNewFlesh Elite is too arcadey to be compared to a full-blown flight sim like tie fighter. Hopefully SC will give us a good twitch-style flight sim, they are certainly adding a lot of depth/customization to the controls but whether they can get the flight model to work or not remains to be seen.
Daniel Eigler AFAIK the elite 'universe' has depth and real world building, it's just not implemented into the game-play, atm factions and 'encounters' feel like diablo loot.
A perfect example of where priorities were 20 years ago vs today. Back then it was about passion and truly trying to push the limit of technology. It was an age of technological discovery. Today it's less about that and more about fulfilling quotas and profit. I have no doubt that there are many developers out there that have nothing short of a desire to make the game of their dreams but the massive companies and grand marketing schemes of today will never let creativity truly blossom. Not while there is money to be made and a consumer to provide it. It's no longer about pushing the bar but rather delivering the generic norms that people have come to expect with the latest graphics and a new number slapped next to the title. Quantity over quality and simple function over one of a kind experience. Games are shallow and only their surface appeal gets any real polish rather than actually making something deep that requires time and passion to get into. Tragic really...
I'd be so down for a new TIE Fighter game. If they were worried about alienating potential players with a complex control scheme, they could have a "arcade" option, that's simplified but lacks the in-depth control.
I still have my TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM edition disc, in its original jewel case. It's criminal that we haven't had a faithful remaster for modern systems.
gog.com is selling it ready for download and play on your Win10 for a good price. They include a fully configured portable Dos routine that launches the game. Very neat!
@rigsby2222 that mod will never release at this damn rate. They started development in 2018, and it's now almost 2024 and there is no playable version of it. They've instead decided to apparently spend the next year or so ripping out all star wars references and such, so essentially killing the X Wing part of XWVM. It simply doesn't look as exciting as it used to--personally I recommend the Tie Fighter Total Conversion for XWing Alliance. It is absolutely stunning and fully playable now, they don't do the stupidity of XWVM and keep everything completely closed and not even allow people to play any alphas or betas. I have my severe issues with any programmers who act that way in regards to mods of other peolples games. There is an inherent hypocrisy in people being protective of their mod which is using other people's art and code anyway lol
+John “Red” Guzzi Technically Academy is Jedi Knight III, but the series is a bit confusing in naming, with Dark Forces being the first entry and an expansion pack for Dark Forces 2 being the first 'Jedi Knight'.
I just got the game on Steam last night and in full screen mode. I agree about the fact that having every key on the keyboard do something makes it more immersive and interesting, because of the learning curve which makes you feel accomplishment the more you master it to become a true elite tie fighter pilot. So many good memories of playing this game as a kid.
X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and of course X-Wing vs TIE Fighter were god damn fun. I spent countless hours as a kid playing those games. Used to play against my neighbor friend back in the old days. Really wish they'd remake them with today's graphics. Hopefully, with the resurgence of space sims, we maybe lucky to see one.
'Battlefront is an authentic Star Wars experience'. Yeah, because as we all know, your average run of the mill rebel trooper had access to fucking jet packs and were drip fed bacta so their health regenerated ludicrously fast. Give me a break.
+SugaryCoyote What? You want us to put Luke in a different costume depending on his environment? Do you think we're trying to make an EFFORT or something?
+atreides213 Don't forget the the most disciplined and fanatical soldiers in the galaxy running around with their helmets off carrying Tuskan Raider rifles! Or how we just magically teleport away from the battlefield into a vehicle... Beam me up Scotty! Oh wait - wrong franchise >__>
Now that was an awesome nostalgia trip! For all the video I had a big smile in my face, and I could almost feel that long stick in my hand... That... didn't sound right... at all...
***** Sweet! But, can we use ink instead of an electric bolt for my tattoo? Last time I couldn't shake hands without giving electric shocks for two days...
I've been playing MechWarrior Online and Warthunder and on both the Joystick is next to useless. Forums upon forums say that it's because the Joystick is an inferior piece of hardware next to the mouse and it was abandoned for not being very good. I spent dozens (close to a hundred) of hours on War Thunder trying to get the Joystick to "feel" right. Even now it feels ...ok or more like slightly less than ok. I got bored one day and loaded up X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, no fucking around at all with the options I could not believe that all I had to do was plug in my joystick and it was perfect. The turning, fine controlling, easy acquisitions everything. It was just plug in play! This has restored my faith in the Joystick and casted a long shadow of doubt that companies just don't give a fuck anymore on even trying to get it right.
+Gungriffen depend what mode you play, it's useless in AB and RB, but you really can't play simulator battles without a joystick, it's quite fun to use it in those.
The 90s had a lot of great games. One of my favourites of all times (while it is a bit glitchy and a bit easy) is the first Dungeon Keeper. I fucking love that game.
I've just had flashbacks to a very distant time, sitting in front of a primitive PC with a barely working joystick, confused and lost but immersed up to my ears right into the world of my childhood's favorite movies. I very nearly forgotten that at some point games could construct this good of a suspension of disbelief. It also just dawned on me how heavily another beloved classic game from a slightly more recent memory borrowed from Tie Fighter. I'm talking about Descent: Freespace of course. Damn, remembering these games makes me really miss the old days. :D
Star Wars: Tie Fighter reminds me of how far away we've come from immersive games. Not in a visual sense, but in an emotional way. There's very long between games that actually makes you feel like you're a part of the game, and not just someone watching the game.
Replaying this game now, and one of the things I love is the sheer amount of lore and story they're adding to the game. It's not just Rebel vs Empire, like Rogue Squadron, but you going from sector to sector, meeting and interacting with all sorts of named factions. Then when Star Wars plot elements or characters appear, it feels great. One of the biggest mistake the Rogue Squadron series did in my eyes was focus entirely on the Rebel-Empire struggle and the famous movie battles, which often made the missions feel forced and shoehorned. TIE Fighter seems to be much more careful to only include characters and events when they can actually make them work.
+stumpz Yeah, flying an A-Wing almost made me feel bad for the poor schmucks flying around in TIE Fighters. That is, until they introduced the Assault Gunboat and the invisible TIE.
I was there when Tie Fighter came out. Best game of my life. Recently, I purchased the MAC version on GoG to put it on my videoprojector screen. A dream, finally, came true. 20 years ago movie like screen didn't exist (cheap ones anyway).
Oh man, TIE Fighter was my first ever flight sim. One of the first games I ever played. It was also one of the few games tiny tyke me actually "learned" the difficulty curve of. I invested hours into becoming an ace Empire pilot. I need to grab this again.
This is one of my top 5 games of all time. I played through that campaign dozens of times, i can remember almost every mission in the first 7 battles. And i can't agree on one thing with you: The story of the campaigns was just right. There was a very small amount of filler missions because almost all of them played a role in immersing you into the current campaign. Battle 5 Mission 1, and Battle 7 Mission 1 are among my all time favourite levels in gaming, period.
I played the entire game through, and was addicted to it in 1995-96, absolutely absorbed into it. Just a fabulous game. Such a fabulous game. Unbelievable.
Also worth noting is that Grand Admiral Thrawn is in the game, and that the story is canon to the good old EU, so if you're into the EU, you can't go wrong with this game.
SUPERB WORK ALPHA 1! PRIMARY MISSION OBJECTIVES COMPLETE! THE EMPEROR WILL BE PLEASED!!! Thank you for this amazing review, and once again shows that Tie Fighter is still the greatest Star Wars game of all time.
TIE Fighter is in my opinion a textbook case of how to make an accessible game appear complex. It is actually pretty simple once you sit down and try to learn it. Another example of an accessible game that appears complex in my opinion is Dark Souls
Great video! Love what you do :-) Really enjoyed the retro game, bit of a flash back to playing the x-wing equivalent for MS-DOS, i loved it, but it always crashed a few levels in :-)
Agreed, I would love an updated graphic, like the 1998 version, but it has to be the midi sounds (atleast an updated one that sounds similar and changed dependent on the battle situation. The ultimate version would be a VR ported one!
My favorite Star Wars game critiqued by my favorite TH-cam channel! This was certainly a pleasant surprise in my subscription feed! As weird as this may sound, Tie Fighter played a major role in shaping my growth as a person. I was eight years old when my parents got it for me as a Christmas present. While the solid technical and gameplay elements played major roles, it was the game's portrayal of the Empire in a positive light that really hooked me. I had never really considered alternate points of view and shades of gray morality up until then, and Tie Fighter pulled it off so convincingly that I was thoroughly entranced. I knew that the Empire was an oppressive and tyrannical regime from the films, yet I couldn't help myself from wholeheartedly adopting the Imperial mindset during my play sessions. It helped me to better grasp concepts of morality and conflict, how your average soldier is fighting for what they believe is right, regardless of the side they're on. After all, you weren't a bad guy in Tie Fighter; you were simply maintaining peace and stability by fending off terrorist insurgents and other agents of chaos (an interpretation that took on a whole new thought-provoking degree in the post 9-11 world). Even my viewing of the Star Wars films took on a whole different perspective; I found myself wondering during certain scenes if all those dead Stormtroopers and Tie pilots would be missed by their squadmates, or if they left behind grieving families back home. In this sense, Tie Fighter immersed me in the universe in a way no other Star Wars product has; it dared to challenge the strict light vs. dark duality and give a face to the faceless.
As someone who only recently got around to watching the original trilogy, I feel like I have so much to catch up on with all these games and books and things!
110% agree with this review and video. I got TIE Fighter many many years after it came out for a few bucks from some misc store as a kid, and it was just such an excellent immersive gameplay experience, especially due to all the minor and almost irrelevant things you had influence over as a player. It's a shame in many ways flight sims died off as a genre, because TIE Fighter really showed how you could take the facets and complexity of a flight sim, and put it in an environment with plenty of action and worldbuilding. I'm not sure how well a graphically updated version would do, because I'm not sure any developers (or the money behind said developers) would make a game with the sheer breadth of commands and features in TIE Fighter. It feels like too many companies are too focused on an ease of access and marketability to just let someone create such a needlessly complex but also highly rewarding experience, as TIE Fighter was.
One of my most favourite SW games of all time, it actually introduced me to the movie series. "X-Wing vs.TIE fighter" was great too, but nothing beats the experience of being a cannon fodder for huge Imperium and survive no matter what, versus sitting in an heavily armored and shielded fightercraft, fulfilling some "destiny" or something.
I would love for a hi-fidelty sim to come out for star wars again. X-wing and Tie-fighter were great to play and really immersive in my favorite part of the star wars universe.
Back when i was playing this, i broke my hand and with the cast i could not handle a joystick. But i had two free finger so i bought a trackball and continued playing. It worked surpringly well. No End-Of-Mouse-Pad dilemma, and fast turns where just violently spinning the ball. And when it came to aiming you had the benefit of mouse-like precission.
Just wanted to say that this review is a really good example of why I like your reviews in general. You don't waste time going over the plot and the basic control schematics...I can look all that stuff up on my own. Rather, you spend a lot of time articulating exactly why the game was enjoyable and how the specific design features factor towards that. I played X-Wing back in the day, but my PC's lacking performance prevented me from fully enjoying the game. Watching this review really makes me want to nab this game on GOG and shell for a flight sim joystick. Kudos.
5:13 I know I'm commenting on an 8 year old video here, but I would say this is something that Star Wars Squadrons absolutely FAILS at doing. When you play the Imperial pilot in that game, it is STRESSED repeatedly that you ARE THE BAD GUY doing BAD THINGS.
X-Wing vs Tie Fighter/Balance of Power was the pinnacle of the series in my opinion. The graphics still look great and the controls are superb. Easily my favorite flight sim/combat game of all time.
Wore out 2 of my mom's computer mouses playing x-wing, b-wing, and tie-fighter. Then I got a joystick for Christmas. I love those games. Wish we'd get some more soon.
One small thing you forgot to add: the overwhelming, amazing, orgasm inducing music during the battles? Like when a Calamary Cruiser arrives, or Darth Vader arrives on his Star Destroyer and you hear him say "To all loyal imperial forces..." man this game was awesome
Bang on. TIE Fighter is what got me to buy a PC and I have never regretted it (except that I bought a Cyrix instead of K6 or pentium... yes, I know now...).
I only recently played Tie Fighter this year for the first time and I absolutely love it! I even managed to get it setup with my TWCS throttle and sidewinder force feedback 2. I had to use joytokey to sort of emulate, but it works surprisingly well and actually makes the game significantly easier from what I've seen.
God i loved this game, to this day one of my all time favs. Very few games create the feeling of being just one small (but decisive) part of a huge battle as well as Tie Fighter did.
Recently a lot of references and videos have been made to this game, yet this is is the only review that has actually explained and presented why it seems so beloved. thanks for this video!
Utterly love this game, have since I was 14! Got it on GOG as soon as it was available and got myself a flight stick, 20 quid total spend, 60 hours plus killing rebel scum, pirates, dissidents etc. Heaven
TIE craft dual lasers fire too slowly in TIE Fighter, X-Wing, XvT, and X-Wing Alliance, devs need to watch the space battles in A New Hope again, and then they will realize how much faster they shoot in the movies.
Some Star Wars context of the time. In the 90s Star Wars had grown with it's fan base. Star Wars was seen as adult content with thick deep novels and flight Sims. It wasn't till Episode 1 Star Wars (Jar Jar) was brought back to being more of a youthful property once more.
I have X-wing vs Tie Fighter. What you described in this video is everything that I loved about that game. I really did feel like I was flying a ship with all of the different systems to manage and tactical decisions I had to make in the middle of a chaotic battle. Also using the flight stick was the best thing in the world I can't imagine what it would of been like with a mouse. Plus the dog fights were a constant struggle to get the enemy ship into your cross hairs. All I have to say is that I was thankful all the battles took place in space because I would of gotten really sick if they were on a planet due to the constant banking and rolling. I thought that I was the only one who felt that Rogue Squadron was a major step backwards. It was purely a shallow arcade game compare to this. When I bought it I thought it would be this complex but on planets. Needless to say that I was extremely disappointed when I found out that it wasn't. I don't believe that we will ever see a star wars fighting game at this caliber. Now that EA holds the license... Its all about casual games these days instead of games with substance to them. Battlefield is evidence enough for that. But thanks for the nostalgia trip anyway and I can't wait to see what other videos you are going to put up in the future. :)
Jeez 21 years ago damn I feel old!!! One of my favorite old school PC games!! I used to do a replay every few years for the longest time!! I will say some of the later missions are borderline insane!!
Great review because you talk about the game mechanics but also about why it's special to you. I like that it immerses you and that, sadly, is lost today in most games where KD is all players are after...
Nice video. The X-Wing series is my favorite..all time. I smile when I hook up my PC to my 4K tv and load up the special edition with graphics and sound .. I just think of how my teenage mind would have been blown to see how I play my favorite game today.
Although this doesn't concern the question of an 'authentic Star Wars experience' critics are acclaiming, the aerial 'dogfighter' genre of video games is a niche in modern times that I enjoy so dearly, and after seeing how well tie fighter has held up over the years I'm amazed at its depth and complexity. I would love to see a review of Strike Vector and your impressions on it's intricacies in movement and gameplay in a multiplayer facet. It's like $4 on steam atm.
I finished the game on an old notebook with a trackball instead of mouse (my brother was helping with keybord commands, because the trackball required both hands to operate fast enough. Those were the days.
My god this game (still) is good! Tie Fighter and X-Wing before it, took a sizeable chunk of my childhood with them. We played in turns with my friend, to complete missions that sometimes took about one trillion trial and error runs to beat them. Some of the escort/defend missions were just sadistic. If you weren't precise enough with your timing, the squadron of Y-Wings could get away from you and lay a barrage of photon torpedoes on the craft you were supposed to protect. Leading into you failing the mission. The most frustrating part was, that in many cases this was the aftermath of something like twenty minutes of floating around in space, waiting for the mission critical crafts to arrive on the scene. It would be over in seconds and you'd have to play it all over again. But the atmosphere is just so good and immersive! You can really feel like you're part of the universe. Mainly, because you're not some invincible hero, but just a regular pilot making your way up the ranks.
I recently replayed most of TIE Fighter, you're review is spot on. Also, if you want to do another flight sim in between casual and hardcore, do Red Baron. Please. PLEAAAASE VALIDATE MY VIEWS. Seriously, Red Baron is awesome.
I can’t explain how fluid and addictive this was for the time. I think my college roommate might have been addicted. It was the thrill of the hunt and the smooth motion.
This was the first game i got on PC, i had the collectors edition, i still miss those big boxed PC games, the artwork was amazing and the big manuals which had a ton of story about the games.
Sorry for double post. Still have whole dark forces jedi knight series too. I'd like to thank dosbox for letting me play my old star wars games once again.
If I recall correctly the developers of both X-Wing & Tie-Fighter developed WW2 flight sims beforehand which is why sim the aspects & missions were so good
X-wing gold edition was by far my favorite game as a child. I played it so much that I would have dreams in which I was an ace pilot for the rebel alliance but the inside of the cockpit was my joystick and keyboard. I've never again found a gaming experience that engaging, but star citizen is getting pretty damn close.
This really brings me back to the 90s for me The Only issue I had was a design flaw in the game. Where (spoilers for later game events)… When you have to fight the Seditious former Empire Admirals (Harkov and Zaarin), the targeting system still identifies their fighters in Red (only with a prefix distinguishing yourself and them) and therefore the game still identifies these as friendly instead of the seditious enemy, therefore you can’t order your wingmen to cover you against them or to waive off of attacking them so you can attack, or to order your wingmen to attack them (to for example get them off your tail). Otherwise, excellent game especially at the time
Thank you so much for this wonderful reminder of a game that dominated my waking hours as a teenager. It's amazing to see how that game expanded on the such a simple idea about being an Imperial pilot, and doing so with such confidence. Good luck trying to make a game like that now. So again, thank. I think I'm going to mosey over to GOG.com for now.
Tie fighter was the best space fly sim of its time. Today, there be a few youngsters capable of handling all those controls. I still remember how accomplished I felt when I beat a surveillance mission in tie fighter without firing a shot and constantly have a trial of a wing/xwing on my tail. I for one can’t wait for a game as deep with modernised graphics in VR. Hack, it be a sure system seller for VR.
I truly had goose bumps watching this video. I LOVED Tie Fighter and X-Wing. I bought all the expansion packs too! From the B-wing to A-Wing and the Tie Advanced! They definitely do not make "em like they used too! Thanks for the video!
THANK YOU "...that may have been a good thing, back from when you may have only had one or two new games to play all summer.." Thank you for being one of the only game reviewers on the entire internet to mention what should be obvious. I'm so sick of hearing, "an outdated relic of quarter munching arcade games." Hell no, it was exactly as you said, the average kid in the 80s and 90s only got a few new games per season. We wanted that challenge, it was hugely disappointing to get a new game and beat it in one or two tries. Why is this forgotten?
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
For my buddy and me, X-wings was a co-op game. He piloted, with the joystick, while I was his trusty astromech using the keyboard. Sounds geek and yes it was. It was another way to play.
I did that too once or twice :D
Are you me? This is exactly how I played the game
Nah, "X-wing" *not* "X-wings" should be played by a single player. You'll be stuck with braindead wingmen who like nothing more than getting shot up and blown up by enemies nearby. Even the so-called "veteran" wingmen were goners in a mission or two.
Finishing "X-wing" without any cheats was an honour thing for me. I finally did it, back in the day, after having wrecked one perfectly good joystick (before learning that doing the 'Wotan-weave' or simply spiraling with the button depressed was a much more efficient way of escaping enemy laser bolts.
But really, "Tie Figher" was a vast improvement over "X-wing." It had better design, different, customisable levels of difficulty, etc.
"X-wing" had only one level of difficulty: 'next to impossible.'
Example: in one mission, you have to board an Imperial Nebulon-B Frigate, "aided" by six Y-wings. In the movies, proton cannon had the advantage of not being hindered by any active shields on a target. But in the game, you had to first destroy the shields, then you could instantly disable the target.
However, the Y-wings were being controlled by drone pilots even worse than the regular 'AI'-wingmen. They would not use their torpedoes but they would uselessly fire their protoncannon which were stopped by the frigate's massive shields.
In the end I completed this mission by ordering the Y-wings to *stay the hell away* from the frigate. After destroying 9 or so Tie-fighters, I then started attacking the Nebulon-B Frigate in my A-wing figher. Alone. With two laser cannon and also having to disengage to recharge my shields, it took literally ages before the starship's shields were down. Then I ordered the useless (less than) Y-wings to stop napping and give the ship a few shots of protonfire.
After having completed the entire game I abandoned it and never looked back. "Tie-fighter," on the other hand, is an actual game with decent gameplay.
Steve Gravel a great way! Just saying
My best friend switched off from pilot to Astromech, too!
"Your will be flying the Tie Bomber designated Alpha 1, you will have no wingmen.
The main enemy force will consist of A-wings, X-wings and Corellian corvettes, entrenched in a heavily mined area. Scan all mines and enemy craft for information about the imperial traitor. Deliver your findings to Admiral Harkovs SSD, and await special instructions.
There are no reinforcements available for this mission."
0_o
"Good luck pilot!"
+MagicAccent "Your mission, should you choose/decide to accept it, ..."
+MagicAccent Don't forget that you also have to inspect and disable a fleeing ship that jumps to hyperspace five seconds after the mission begins, so that it can be boarded by a troop transport with a hull made of tissue paper.
Still love the game, though.
"Reinforcements will be available. Two assault gunboats from flight Mu will enter 13k away and engage the Y-wings. "
Some of the expansion pack missions were freaking insane
Yeah, that sounds about right.
I'm kind of amazed that the idea of 'playing the bad guys' hasn't been really present in more games. The conflict between the secret theocracy and the military grunts made for a compelling story. Also the notion of being completely disposable instead of 'the chosen one' is something sadly lacking in a lot of games.
In movies there's immediate outcry from "those" people if it doesn't please them. As with recent movie Joker, there's campaign against it because story is sympatethically viewed from bad guy's perspective. I suppose same goes with games too.
Disney consumers. I hate them all.
@@YoStu242 I think it depends on which story or which presentation. There are a handful of bad guys in cinema we totally root for: John Wick, for example, is an assassin and contract killer - not a good guy. True, in the movies he goes after other bad guys, but fans are rabid over him. Speaking of the Joker, Heath Ledger's presentation was so good I have no doubt that people would have gone nuts to see HIS Joker's origin story. GoT had a handful (Jaime Lannister definitely counted as a bad guy early on, as did Sandor Clegane, but audiences loved seeing more of them and rooted for them) and of course there's Loki from the MCU - who I heard is getting his own series(?).
So you may be onto something about needing to please people, but I don't think that's so much about the movie using a bad guy as a protagonist as much as it is about the presentation on the whole; there are too many movies to count that have a good guy in the starring role that people downright hated.
@@Spectreofwar Well as the saying goes, a hero is only as good as their villain.
X-Wing and TIE Fighter are the reasons that I can't extract fun from Elite: Dangerous.
They set the bar too high.
+TheNewFlesh
Elite is too arcadey to be compared to a full-blown flight sim like tie fighter. Hopefully SC will give us a good twitch-style flight sim, they are certainly adding a lot of depth/customization to the controls but whether they can get the flight model to work or not remains to be seen.
+TheNewFlesh that and elite isn't exactly compelling... the universe is literally 200,000 light years across,.. but only an inch deep.
+Daniel Eigler thats deep
+Taurion Martell Apparently not deep enough... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Daniel Eigler
AFAIK the elite 'universe' has depth and real world building, it's just not implemented into the game-play, atm factions and 'encounters' feel like diablo loot.
Getting a full medal case in X-Wing and Tie is just the god damn best feeling.
+Brackynews I was 6 or 7 when Tie came out and I still remember how great getting medals was. And also the photon torpedoes were awesome.
+zefyr0s dude come on photon torpedoes only exist in the lame realm of star trek.
Proton Torpedo
honestly are you even a fan
🤦
TIE FIGHTER: Still to date, one of the best games to have ever graced PC.
I just bought a joystick so i could replay this game
I always preferred X-Wings atmosphere, but Tie Fighter was the better (and less rage quitty) game. Those were the days.
For the Empire!
Atmosphere... Are you sure? Let the hate flow through you.
Just like that you could play the "bad guys" No way could you do that now. Especially after the Disney take over.
FOR THE EMPIRE!
A perfect example of where priorities were 20 years ago vs today. Back then it was about passion and truly trying to push the limit of technology. It was an age of technological discovery.
Today it's less about that and more about fulfilling quotas and profit. I have no doubt that there are many developers out there that have nothing short of a desire to make the game of their dreams but the massive companies and grand marketing schemes of today will never let creativity truly blossom. Not while there is money to be made and a consumer to provide it.
It's no longer about pushing the bar but rather delivering the generic norms that people have come to expect with the latest graphics and a new number slapped next to the title. Quantity over quality and simple function over one of a kind experience. Games are shallow and only their surface appeal gets any real polish rather than actually making something deep that requires time and passion to get into.
Tragic really...
Hmmm, maybe you should give Star Citizen a shot.
I'd be so down for a new TIE Fighter game. If they were worried about alienating potential players with a complex control scheme, they could have a "arcade" option, that's simplified but lacks the in-depth control.
+LP Hovercraft Never compromise
+kanalgrävare Except that's not a compromise, that's a game mode.
***** Sacrificing development time to please casuals
kanalgrävare Casuals are also allowed to enjoy games and give devs money.
+kanalgrävare They could patch it in later.
I still have my TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM edition disc, in its original jewel case. It's criminal that we haven't had a faithful remaster for modern systems.
X-wing is being overhauled. 'XWVM' and it should have VR.
gog.com is selling it ready for download and play on your Win10 for a good price. They include a fully configured portable Dos routine that launches the game. Very neat!
@@-Gumbo That is a fan-made overhall, which will most likely mean a cease and desist order soon. If it hasn't already.
@rigsby2222 that mod will never release at this damn rate. They started development in 2018, and it's now almost 2024 and there is no playable version of it. They've instead decided to apparently spend the next year or so ripping out all star wars references and such, so essentially killing the X Wing part of XWVM.
It simply doesn't look as exciting as it used to--personally I recommend the Tie Fighter Total Conversion for XWing Alliance. It is absolutely stunning and fully playable now, they don't do the stupidity of XWVM and keep everything completely closed and not even allow people to play any alphas or betas.
I have my severe issues with any programmers who act that way in regards to mods of other peolples games. There is an inherent hypocrisy in people being protective of their mod which is using other people's art and code anyway lol
TIE Fighter Total Conversion for X-Wing Alliance is nothing short of incredible. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I still have hope for another Jedi Knight or Republic Commando game...
+Prime A Jedi Knight III would have me giddy not gonna lie.. Maybe Imperial Commando's? lol
+John “Red” Guzzi I thought Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy WAS part III?
El Manimal Not that I know of?
+John “Red” Guzzi Technically Academy is Jedi Knight III, but the series is a bit confusing in naming, with Dark Forces being the first entry and an expansion pack for Dark Forces 2 being the first 'Jedi Knight'.
+Prime *Cant edit on mobile*
Dark Forces 2 was the first Jedi Knight, I mistakenly remembered only the expansion being called that.
Aaah, those good old days when you were pulling your stick to it's limits.
Those cloaked figure missions would be DLC nowadays...
That and "revealed bonus goals" for 8.99...
And till, people will ask for a Remake, full of microtransactions, paid DLCs and stuff.
I just got the game on Steam last night and in full screen mode. I agree about the fact that having every key on the keyboard do something makes it more immersive and interesting, because of the learning curve which makes you feel accomplishment the more you master it to become a true elite tie fighter pilot. So many good memories of playing this game as a kid.
X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and of course X-Wing vs TIE Fighter were god damn fun. I spent countless hours as a kid playing those games. Used to play against my neighbor friend back in the old days. Really wish they'd remake them with today's graphics. Hopefully, with the resurgence of space sims, we maybe lucky to see one.
Bump from the dead.
XvT was the goat for PvP on Dial-up.
'Battlefront is an authentic Star Wars experience'. Yeah, because as we all know, your average run of the mill rebel trooper had access to fucking jet packs and were drip fed bacta so their health regenerated ludicrously fast. Give me a break.
+atreides213 They say as Luke Skywalker runs around Hoth in his Return of the Jedi clothing.
+SugaryCoyote What? You want us to put Luke in a different costume depending on his environment? Do you think we're trying to make an EFFORT or something?
+atreides213 Muh immersion!
inoffensive coddler Good point.
+atreides213 Don't forget the the most disciplined and fanatical soldiers in the galaxy running around with their helmets off carrying Tuskan Raider rifles! Or how we just magically teleport away from the battlefield into a vehicle... Beam me up Scotty! Oh wait - wrong franchise >__>
Now that was an awesome nostalgia trip! For all the video I had a big smile in my face, and I could almost feel that long stick in my hand...
That... didn't sound right... at all...
+CaitSeith That is the internet :)
+CaitSeith Alpha one this is Delta one! Secondary mission objective complete. The emperor will be pleased.
*****
Sweet! But, can we use ink instead of an electric bolt for my tattoo? Last time I couldn't shake hands without giving electric shocks for two days...
I've been playing MechWarrior Online and Warthunder and on both the Joystick is next to useless. Forums upon forums say that it's because the Joystick is an inferior piece of hardware next to the mouse and it was abandoned for not being very good. I spent dozens (close to a hundred) of hours on War Thunder trying to get the Joystick to "feel" right. Even now it feels ...ok or more like slightly less than ok. I got bored one day and loaded up X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, no fucking around at all with the options I could not believe that all I had to do was plug in my joystick and it was perfect. The turning, fine controlling, easy acquisitions everything. It was just plug in play! This has restored my faith in the Joystick and casted a long shadow of doubt that companies just don't give a fuck anymore on even trying to get it right.
+Gungriffen A control instrument for a more, "Civilized" gaming age...
+Gungriffen depend what mode you play, it's useless in AB and RB, but you really can't play simulator battles without a joystick, it's quite fun to use it in those.
To me, this is the best video game ever created.
The 90s had a lot of great games. One of my favourites of all times (while it is a bit glitchy and a bit easy) is the first Dungeon Keeper. I fucking love that game.
Seconded!
Im replaying it today
Tie Fighter and X-Wing: Better designed games than anything out today.
Loved this game when I was 16-17. Star Wars in the 90s was some of my favorite stuff.
I've just had flashbacks to a very distant time, sitting in front of a primitive PC with a barely working joystick, confused and lost but immersed up to my ears right into the world of my childhood's favorite movies. I very nearly forgotten that at some point games could construct this good of a suspension of disbelief. It also just dawned on me how heavily another beloved classic game from a slightly more recent memory borrowed from Tie Fighter. I'm talking about Descent: Freespace of course. Damn, remembering these games makes me really miss the old days. :D
Star Wars: Tie Fighter reminds me of how far away we've come from immersive games. Not in a visual sense, but in an emotional way. There's very long between games that actually makes you feel like you're a part of the game, and not just someone watching the game.
and thats why the Empire will always be cooler then the Rebels with their shielded X-Wings...Imps have skills
+Howlrunner82 haha, right?
Imperials also have massive numbers of easily replacable Tie-fighter cannonfodder.
I loved this game. Ironically, the parallels to current events... scary.
Replaying this game now, and one of the things I love is the sheer amount of lore and story they're adding to the game. It's not just Rebel vs Empire, like Rogue Squadron, but you going from sector to sector, meeting and interacting with all sorts of named factions. Then when Star Wars plot elements or characters appear, it feels great.
One of the biggest mistake the Rogue Squadron series did in my eyes was focus entirely on the Rebel-Empire struggle and the famous movie battles, which often made the missions feel forced and shoehorned. TIE Fighter seems to be much more careful to only include characters and events when they can actually make them work.
A-wings: OP then, OP now
+stumpz OP? Nah. Weak weapons and fragile as fuck. They're just annoying.
+bduddy55555 Make for good suicide bombers, though.
bduddy55555 Yeah, and invincibility shield sure does make them fragile.
+stumpz Yeah, flying an A-Wing almost made me feel bad for the poor schmucks flying around in TIE Fighters. That is, until they introduced the Assault Gunboat and the invisible TIE.
+stumpz and Now :(
Quite possible the most underrated best star wars game. The fact that this game solely focuses on the empire is enough to be awesome.
This game was not underrated back in 1994.
I was there when Tie Fighter came out. Best game of my life.
Recently, I purchased the MAC version on GoG to put it on my videoprojector screen.
A dream, finally, came true.
20 years ago movie like screen didn't exist (cheap ones anyway).
Oh man, TIE Fighter was my first ever flight sim. One of the first games I ever played. It was also one of the few games tiny tyke me actually "learned" the difficulty curve of. I invested hours into becoming an ace Empire pilot. I need to grab this again.
This is one of my top 5 games of all time. I played through that campaign dozens of times, i can remember almost every mission in the first 7 battles. And i can't agree on one thing with you: The story of the campaigns was just right. There was a very small amount of filler missions because almost all of them played a role in immersing you into the current campaign. Battle 5 Mission 1, and Battle 7 Mission 1 are among my all time favourite levels in gaming, period.
I played the entire game through, and was addicted to it in 1995-96, absolutely absorbed into it. Just a fabulous game. Such a fabulous game. Unbelievable.
Also worth noting is that Grand Admiral Thrawn is in the game, and that the story is canon to the good old EU, so if you're into the EU, you can't go wrong with this game.
SUPERB WORK ALPHA 1! PRIMARY MISSION OBJECTIVES COMPLETE! THE EMPEROR WILL BE PLEASED!!!
Thank you for this amazing review, and once again shows that Tie Fighter is still the greatest Star Wars game of all time.
I have X-Wing Alliance from gog. One of my favorite Star Wars games of all time.
TIE Fighter is in my opinion a textbook case of how to make an accessible game appear complex. It is actually pretty simple once you sit down and try to learn it. Another example of an accessible game that appears complex in my opinion is Dark Souls
Great video! Love what you do :-) Really enjoyed the retro game, bit of a flash back to playing the x-wing equivalent for MS-DOS, i loved it, but it always crashed a few levels in :-)
+xisumavoid you are everywhere :)
Yo xisuma
I was the Emperor's Right Hand. Put so many hours into that game. Great Video.
Most of the things George says in this video also apply to the fantastic Freespace 2, if anyone has a hankering for a great old space game.
Those mundane missions were mundane. And I liked it. Feels like "working" for the Empire. A nice break from the exciting short action scenes
Mention the music! Unlike modern Star Wars games it has an original score which still incorporates some Star Wars themes while inventing new ones.
Agreed, I would love an updated graphic, like the 1998 version, but it has to be the midi sounds (atleast an updated one that sounds similar and changed dependent on the battle situation. The ultimate version would be a VR ported one!
My favorite Star Wars game critiqued by my favorite TH-cam channel! This was certainly a pleasant surprise in my subscription feed!
As weird as this may sound, Tie Fighter played a major role in shaping my growth as a person. I was eight years old when my parents got it for me as a Christmas present. While the solid technical and gameplay elements played major roles, it was the game's portrayal of the Empire in a positive light that really hooked me.
I had never really considered alternate points of view and shades of gray morality up until then, and Tie Fighter pulled it off so convincingly that I was thoroughly entranced. I knew that the Empire was an oppressive and tyrannical regime from the films, yet I couldn't help myself from wholeheartedly adopting the Imperial mindset during my play sessions. It helped me to better grasp concepts of morality and conflict, how your average soldier is fighting for what they believe is right, regardless of the side they're on. After all, you weren't a bad guy in Tie Fighter; you were simply maintaining peace and stability by fending off terrorist insurgents and other agents of chaos (an interpretation that took on a whole new thought-provoking degree in the post 9-11 world).
Even my viewing of the Star Wars films took on a whole different perspective; I found myself wondering during certain scenes if all those dead Stormtroopers and Tie pilots would be missed by their squadmates, or if they left behind grieving families back home. In this sense, Tie Fighter immersed me in the universe in a way no other Star Wars product has; it dared to challenge the strict light vs. dark duality and give a face to the faceless.
As someone who only recently got around to watching the original trilogy, I feel like I have so much to catch up on with all these games and books and things!
I totally agree. TIE Fighter was a phenomenal experience.
I have that exact cheap stick! It works okay, for the most part, even if I wish it could be more precise at times.
Tie Fighter was hands down one of my favorite Star Wars PC games ever. I spent so many hours in that game.
110% agree with this review and video. I got TIE Fighter many many years after it came out for a few bucks from some misc store as a kid, and it was just such an excellent immersive gameplay experience, especially due to all the minor and almost irrelevant things you had influence over as a player. It's a shame in many ways flight sims died off as a genre, because TIE Fighter really showed how you could take the facets and complexity of a flight sim, and put it in an environment with plenty of action and worldbuilding.
I'm not sure how well a graphically updated version would do, because I'm not sure any developers (or the money behind said developers) would make a game with the sheer breadth of commands and features in TIE Fighter. It feels like too many companies are too focused on an ease of access and marketability to just let someone create such a needlessly complex but also highly rewarding experience, as TIE Fighter was.
TIE FIGHTER - Game of All Times ! Thanks for video !
One of my most favourite SW games of all time, it actually introduced me to the movie series.
"X-Wing vs.TIE fighter" was great too, but nothing beats the experience of being a cannon fodder for huge Imperium and survive no matter what, versus sitting in an heavily armored and shielded fightercraft, fulfilling some "destiny" or something.
I'll never forget TIE Fighter with my childhood
Once again you cement your titular position as best game's journalist on TH-cam.
All the best to you and your family for 2016.
I would love for a hi-fidelty sim to come out for star wars again. X-wing and Tie-fighter were great to play and really immersive in my favorite part of the star wars universe.
Back when i was playing this, i broke my hand and with the cast i could not handle a joystick. But i had two free finger so i bought a trackball and continued playing.
It worked surpringly well. No End-Of-Mouse-Pad dilemma, and fast turns where just violently spinning the ball. And when it came to aiming you had the benefit of mouse-like precission.
This video showered me with good memories from my gaming childhood. I might go back and play this game again.
This is propably my favourite Star Wars game.
Just wanted to say that this review is a really good example of why I like your reviews in general. You don't waste time going over the plot and the basic control schematics...I can look all that stuff up on my own. Rather, you spend a lot of time articulating exactly why the game was enjoyable and how the specific design features factor towards that. I played X-Wing back in the day, but my PC's lacking performance prevented me from fully enjoying the game. Watching this review really makes me want to nab this game on GOG and shell for a flight sim joystick. Kudos.
5:13 I know I'm commenting on an 8 year old video here, but I would say this is something that Star Wars Squadrons absolutely FAILS at doing. When you play the Imperial pilot in that game, it is STRESSED repeatedly that you ARE THE BAD GUY doing BAD THINGS.
been waiting 20 years for a remake of this and xwing alliance
The only game i keep playing after 25 years along Masters of Magic
X-Wing vs Tie Fighter/Balance of Power was the pinnacle of the series in my opinion. The graphics still look great and the controls are superb. Easily my favorite flight sim/combat game of all time.
Wore out 2 of my mom's computer mouses playing x-wing, b-wing, and tie-fighter. Then I got a joystick for Christmas. I love those games. Wish we'd get some more soon.
Props for the "gouraud shaded polygons" comment!
One small thing you forgot to add: the overwhelming, amazing, orgasm inducing music during the battles? Like when a Calamary Cruiser arrives, or Darth Vader arrives on his Star Destroyer and you hear him say "To all loyal imperial forces..." man this game was awesome
Bang on. TIE Fighter is what got me to buy a PC and I have never regretted it (except that I bought a Cyrix instead of K6 or pentium... yes, I know now...).
This is where I learned about most of the ships and lore. I got this sweet collectors pack with Rebel Assault 1, 2, Dark Forces, and Tie Fighters.
I only recently played Tie Fighter this year for the first time and I absolutely love it! I even managed to get it setup with my TWCS throttle and sidewinder force feedback 2. I had to use joytokey to sort of emulate, but it works surprisingly well and actually makes the game significantly easier from what I've seen.
God i loved this game, to this day one of my all time favs. Very few games create the feeling of being just one small (but decisive) part of a huge battle as well as Tie Fighter did.
These were my games back in the day, played X-wing, Tie Fighter and X-wing Aliance over and over and over!!
Recently a lot of references and videos have been made to this game, yet this is is the only review that has actually explained and presented why it seems so beloved. thanks for this video!
Utterly love this game, have since I was 14! Got it on GOG as soon as it was available and got myself a flight stick, 20 quid total spend, 60 hours plus killing rebel scum, pirates, dissidents etc. Heaven
I’m sad that you’re gameplay video is gone. Your Wasteland run and Tie Fighter gameplay was so fun to watch.
TIE craft dual lasers fire too slowly in TIE Fighter, X-Wing, XvT, and X-Wing Alliance, devs need to watch the space battles in A New Hope again, and then they will realize how much faster they shoot in the movies.
LOVE this game. Still have my boxed DOS version with the 1.44 floppies. Glad to see it finally getting the internet love it deserves!
It was the first game I stayed up all night playing
Not only are these a masterpiece, the posters were awesome!
Some Star Wars context of the time. In the 90s Star Wars had grown with it's fan base. Star Wars was seen as adult content with thick deep novels and flight Sims. It wasn't till Episode 1 Star Wars (Jar Jar) was brought back to being more of a youthful property once more.
"An 'authentic Star Wars experience' is redundant."
"What's a Jakku?"
Alright.
I have X-wing vs Tie Fighter. What you described in this video is everything that I loved about that game. I really did feel like I was flying a ship with all of the different systems to manage and tactical decisions I had to make in the middle of a chaotic battle. Also using the flight stick was the best thing in the world I can't imagine what it would of been like with a mouse. Plus the dog fights were a constant struggle to get the enemy ship into your cross hairs. All I have to say is that I was thankful all the battles took place in space because I would of gotten really sick if they were on a planet due to the constant banking and rolling.
I thought that I was the only one who felt that Rogue Squadron was a major step backwards. It was purely a shallow arcade game compare to this. When I bought it I thought it would be this complex but on planets. Needless to say that I was extremely disappointed when I found out that it wasn't.
I don't believe that we will ever see a star wars fighting game at this caliber. Now that EA holds the license... Its all about casual games these days instead of games with substance to them. Battlefield is evidence enough for that.
But thanks for the nostalgia trip anyway and I can't wait to see what other videos you are going to put up in the future. :)
Jeez 21 years ago damn I feel old!!! One of my favorite old school PC games!! I used to do a replay every few years for the longest time!! I will say some of the later missions are borderline insane!!
Great review because you talk about the game mechanics but also about why it's special to you. I like that it immerses you and that, sadly, is lost today in most games where KD is all players are after...
Nice video. The X-Wing series is my favorite..all time.
I smile when I hook up my PC to my 4K tv and load up the special edition with graphics and sound .. I just think of how my teenage mind would have been blown to see how I play my favorite game today.
Although this doesn't concern the question of an 'authentic Star Wars experience' critics are acclaiming, the aerial 'dogfighter' genre of video games is a niche in modern times that I enjoy so dearly, and after seeing how well tie fighter has held up over the years I'm amazed at its depth and complexity. I would love to see a review of Strike Vector and your impressions on it's intricacies in movement and gameplay in a multiplayer facet. It's like $4 on steam atm.
I finished the game on an old notebook with a trackball instead of mouse (my brother was helping with keybord commands, because the trackball required both hands to operate fast enough. Those were the days.
Pissed away so much of my youth on this game. And loved every minute, hour, day....
My god this game (still) is good! Tie Fighter and X-Wing before it, took a sizeable chunk of my childhood with them. We played in turns with my friend, to complete missions that sometimes took about one trillion trial and error runs to beat them. Some of the escort/defend missions were just sadistic. If you weren't precise enough with your timing, the squadron of Y-Wings could get away from you and lay a barrage of photon torpedoes on the craft you were supposed to protect. Leading into you failing the mission.
The most frustrating part was, that in many cases this was the aftermath of something like twenty minutes of floating around in space, waiting for the mission critical crafts to arrive on the scene. It would be over in seconds and you'd have to play it all over again. But the atmosphere is just so good and immersive! You can really feel like you're part of the universe. Mainly, because you're not some invincible hero, but just a regular pilot making your way up the ranks.
I recently replayed most of TIE Fighter, you're review is spot on.
Also, if you want to do another flight sim in between casual and hardcore, do Red Baron. Please. PLEAAAASE VALIDATE MY VIEWS. Seriously, Red Baron is awesome.
+Friederich Huepfenstolz Apparently, you are review is spot on and I am comment might contain an embarrassing mistake.
BTLFRNT 2 was great, wasnt it?
Now it would be cool if they tried to rework things and make a new battlefront 3 that is as good as battlefront 2
I can’t explain how fluid and addictive this was for the time. I think my college roommate might have been addicted. It was the thrill of the hunt and the smooth motion.
Me after 1 hour of star wars squadrons: oh nice, it remains me of tie fighter...
...
...
*plays tie fighter instead*
This was the first game i got on PC, i had the collectors edition, i still miss those big boxed PC games, the artwork was amazing and the big manuals which had a ton of story about the games.
Sorry for double post.
Still have whole dark forces jedi knight series too.
I'd like to thank dosbox for letting me play my old star wars games once again.
If I recall correctly the developers of both X-Wing & Tie-Fighter developed WW2 flight sims beforehand which is why sim the aspects & missions were so good
"Good is a point of view, Anakin." - Palpatine.
Truer words have never been spoken. What's good for one, may be bad for others.
X-wing gold edition was by far my favorite game as a child. I played it so much that I would have dreams in which I was an ace pilot for the rebel alliance but the inside of the cockpit was my joystick and keyboard. I've never again found a gaming experience that engaging, but star citizen is getting pretty damn close.
This really brings me back to the 90s for me
The Only issue I had was a design flaw in the game. Where (spoilers for later game events)…
When you have to fight the Seditious former Empire Admirals (Harkov and Zaarin), the targeting system still identifies their fighters in Red (only with a prefix distinguishing yourself and them) and therefore the game still identifies these as friendly instead of the seditious enemy, therefore you can’t order your wingmen to cover you against them or to waive off of attacking them so you can attack, or to order your wingmen to attack them (to for example get them off your tail).
Otherwise, excellent game especially at the time
Thank you so much for this wonderful reminder of a game that dominated my waking hours as a teenager. It's amazing to see how that game expanded on the such a simple idea about being an Imperial pilot, and doing so with such confidence. Good luck trying to make a game like that now.
So again, thank. I think I'm going to mosey over to GOG.com for now.
Tie fighter was the best space fly sim of its time. Today, there be a few youngsters capable of handling all those controls. I still remember how accomplished I felt when I beat a surveillance mission in tie fighter without firing a shot and constantly have a trial of a wing/xwing on my tail. I for one can’t wait for a game as deep with modernised graphics in VR. Hack, it be a sure system seller for VR.
I truly had goose bumps watching this video. I LOVED Tie Fighter and X-Wing. I bought all the expansion packs too! From the B-wing to A-Wing and the Tie Advanced! They definitely do not make "em like they used too! Thanks for the video!
it's amazing to see how much influence this game had on flight games of the future
THANK YOU
"...that may have been a good thing, back from when you may have only had one or two new games to play all summer.."
Thank you for being one of the only game reviewers on the entire internet to mention what should be obvious. I'm so sick of hearing, "an outdated relic of quarter munching arcade games." Hell no, it was exactly as you said, the average kid in the 80s and 90s only got a few new games per season. We wanted that challenge, it was hugely disappointing to get a new game and beat it in one or two tries. Why is this forgotten?