Let me start by saying this is an Xbox Live Arcade game. As such it should not be compared to anything other than other ARCADE shooters. This isn't a full blown wing commander game. EA has done a great job of making a great multi-player space shooter. Online modes range from Team based death match, FFA, Capture points, to my favorite Capital ship battles. I won't go in to the other modes as the names are fairly self explanatory. In Capital ship battles, each side has 1 huge capital ship that is AI controlled. Players are tasked with destroying the enemies capital ship while defending their own. Anyone that played the old wing commander games will appreciate this mode as doing a torpedo run on the enemies capital ship is just as fun as it used to be, except this time it's multi-player!!!! The game is played on a 2D plane which is a departure from the rest of the series, but fits right in with the XBLA line up. The third dimension is used for barrel rolls, loops, etc. It's fun looping around to get behind an opponent right up behind you, or hoping over an incoming missile. This is strictly an arcade shooter which means there is no story whatsoever in the game itself. That being said though the developers have published a very detailed manual containing a huge amount of Wing Commander Lore that sets the stage for this game. The manual can be found at both EA's site as well as at the Xbox.com site for the game. Definitely worth a read for the Die-hard fan! The music and sound effects are OK, but nothing spectacular. The graphics are good, but not outstanding but it captures the old-school wing commander feel perfectly. Look at the space station on the main title screen and tell me that doesn't remind you of Wing Commander Privateer!! The single player modes are entertaining for a little while but get boring fast, the real fun in this game is playing online. There aren't a ton of ranked matches at any given time (4-5), but there are usually quite a few player matches. All in all this is a great XBLA game and I will definitely be playing this one in between other games for a long time to come. Just make sure you don't blindly purchase this expecting Wing Commander 5 like so many other people seem to have done. It costs $10 was released for Xbox Live ARCADE. Read about a product before you buy it.
A part of me was hoping for something at least resembling a Wing Commander game. I knew there was going to be a problem when within ten seconds of playing the demo I realized that my sense of nostalgia hadn't been this b... Read Full Review
When I originally saw that this game was coming to XBLA, I was incredibly excited to duke it out online with other players in what I thought would be a touched-up version of the original WC games. How incredibly wrong I ... Read Full Review
