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Platform: IBM PC Compatible * Release Date: April 28, 2000 * Genre: Simulation * Style: Space Combat Simulation * Similar Games: Star Trek: Armada (IBM PC Compatible), Wing Commander Series Game Description The future was indeed bright for the Western Alliance. They terraformed Mars and established colonies on its moons and, at last, the human race was poised to reach beyond the solar system. But all good things never seem to last.

A recently formed coalition of the eastern regions mount a surprise attack against the Western Alliance on Mars in order to usurp power. In the process, the orbiting French and Italian fleets are destroyed. Many planets and many moons are lost to the coalition and although their surprise attack and overwhelming forces seem destined for victory, all is not lost.

What's left of the French and Italian fleets rendezvous with American, British, German, Spanish and Japanese allies in orbit around Neptune's moon Triton. At the edge of the solar system, the rest of the Western Alliance regroups and forms a new command structure. A stand will be made, power returned and peace restored.

You are a member of a squadron of volunteer pilots called the 45th. Any and all citizens with piloting skills have been asked to come forward and help in the fight against the evil coalition. You'll have access to high tech weaponry and ships, not known to most people.

The Western Alliance is grossly outnumbered and you must help in any way you can! StarLancer is primarily a space flight, mission-oriented game in which you must help defeat the coalition and win the war by completing missions successfully. A multi-player combat mode that supports up to eight players on the Internet is also available.

All players in multi-player mode begin with the same weapons and no missiles. Throughout the game, power-ups, when found, give you missiles or special abilities. The gaming world is a predefined map and flying to the limit will cause you to simply bounce off it.In the main mode of StarLancer, you begin the game as a 2nd Lieutenant and work your way up through the ranks and ships as you complete missions successfully.

When not on a mission, you can view the Alliance news via a display above your sleeping quarters. Also, you can practice skills in the simulator that provides tutorials on instruments, weaponry, flight or just fight-simulating enemies. Once you're ready, enter the briefing room and learn new mission objectives.

Prior to launch, you choose which ship to fly and what missiles to carry, after which the mission and sub-missions begin. Coalition ships are tracked by red dots on your display and the different color lasers they fire.As you progress in StarLancer, you gain access to better ships and weapons. In the beginning of the game, you choose between three ships with similar capabilities.

The game utilizes full joystick and keyboard functions and gives information on your status as well as that of your wingman. You also have full control of your ship and how much power to direct toward each system. If you think you're ready to take back the galaxy from the greedy, bloodthirsty coalition, prepare yourself for the worst and help the populace of the Western Alliance!

~ Nick Woods, All Game Guide Roots & Influences The creators of the game, Chris Roberts and Erin Roberts are responsible for the Wing Commander series and Privateer, both of which serve as prior experience for this space epic. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide Review: Overall If ever there were a perfect combination of the action of Star Wars and Star Trek, Starlancer would fit the bill.

The game, in addition to being a non-stop thrill ride through the universe of the future, is fiercely competitive! Not only can you fight in space like in Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, you can also fly missions around planets and through stunning environments. If you have a 3D graphics accelerator card, Starlancer is a sight to behold.

If you don't, the graphics aren't bad but you miss many of the effects during combat. With or without the card, however, the game is immensely enjoyable. With the 3D card, you see beautiful planets in the background as you attack.

This is visually stunning but at times it makes the game harder to play because your enemies can blend in with the planets, whereas, in software-rendering mode, this doesn't occur. But, even so, without a 3D card Starlancer's gameplay is still fun and the graphics great. You begin the game with an introduction to your surroundings (not in the starship).

The best feature of the non-mission action is the simulator as it helps you get your bearings when first starting.It shows you step-by-step how to use the instruments, weapons and flight options. You definitely need the training, too, because in Starlancer you utilize the entire keyboard as well as a joystick. Luckily, the game comes with a quick reference card showing all the functions of the keys.

Starlancer uses many of the same concepts seen in Star Wars and Star Trek games, while adding components of such games as Wing Commander. In fact, much like Wing Commander, Starlancer utilizes a briefing room where you learn about missions. Other similarities include talking with your wingmen during combat and winning medals in the latter missions.In fact, Starlancer is very similar to Wing Commander in all aspects with the exceptions of fighting other humans and not having conversations with your crew after missions.

One can't help but discern that Starlancer seems to be a nearly perfect combination of these three games, with originality being one of the few aspects noticeably lacking. All of this has been done before in Star Wars fighting games and the Wing Commander series. The lasers your ship fires look like the famous Star Wars brand.

Even though not particularly original, Starlancer does take the best from all three series. The result is a winner: the action and dynamics of Star Wars, the graphics and beautiful scenery of Star Trek and the great space combat of Wing Commander. Regardless of any niggling aspects Starlancer may have, gamers who love space combat games should enjoy this one immensely.

Environments and scenery are top-notch and the dogfighting very fast paced. The multi-player mode allows battling up to eight friends (or strangers) over the Internet with the ability to choose any ship and weapons you desire! With the many different controls you have in your ship, Starlancer levies a demand on flexibility and coordination.

Additionally, with all the different ships from which to choose, you need to master all the flight skills and weapons in the grueling space war of Starlancer! The Western Alliance will prevail with your help, so prepare to engage the Coalition fleet! ~ Nick Woods, All Game Guide Review: Enjoyment The dogfighting and space flight parts of the game are very enjoyable.

You can talk to your wingmen and your enemies as well as control everything from which missile to use to how much power to divert to each system in the ship. ~ Nick Woods, All Game Guide Review: Graphics If you have a 3D accelerator card, you get some amazing graphics out of Starlancer (bright stars, huge planets, asteroids). But, even if you use normal software rendering, the game still looks good.

~ Nick Woods, All Game Guide Review: Sound From firing lasers and missiles to the exploding vessels you destroy, Starlancer gives you the feeling of a 3D space environment through its sound effects. The music is also well done and adds rather than detracts. ~ Nick Woods, All Game Guide Review: Replay Value Starfighter games are always fun to replay, especially when you have the options that {*Starlancer} provides.

If you beat the game using a specific ship, you can always try out new ones. Also, each mission's outcome affects the next so, if you fail, you'll go in a different direction then if you succeed. ~ Nick Woods, All Game Guide Review: Documentation Not only does {*Starlancer} come with a manual describing the game in detail, it also comes with a quick reference card showing all the keyboard hotkeys along with explanations.

This is very helpful due to the variety of items to control and things to do. ~ Nick Woods, All Game Guide Production Credits None listed in manual, on CD documentation or in the game. Created by: Erin Roberts, Chris Roberts ~ Michael L.

House, All Game Guide Overview It is the year 2160. Mankind has colonized the solar system and two political entities have emerged: the Alliance consisting of American, Australian, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, British and German forces, and The Coalition of Russian, Chinese and Middle-Eastern interests. The game begins with a surprise attack on Fort Kennedy, where a peace treaty turns into a bloodbath: all of the inner four planets are overrun, including Terra herself, and the Italian and French fleets are utterly lost.

The Alliance fleet regroups at Triton, Neptune's moon, and attempts to regain lost territory. The player takes the role of a rookie pilot in the international 45th Volunteers squadron, under the command of Captain Robert Foster and Wing Commander Maria Enriquez, aboard the re-commissioned British carrier ANS Reliant.As with Wing Commander Prophecy, the pilot's flying ability is the only metric by which success and failure is measured, though Starlancer does not feature branching mission paths. As in Wing Commander I the pilot may be promoted throughout the course of the campaign; unlike WCI, their rank determines which fighters and missiles they may choose to employ during each mission.

The game provides a "virtual carrier" through which to navigate, including nearby crewmembers whose reaction to you depends on your current rank and standing. However, the true gem of the game lies in its textual and video news broadcasts, which keep the player informed as to the status of the rest of the war, which seems to be progressing just over the horizon. Players frequently find themselves flying alongside squadrons and pilots they have heard about on the news just recently, providing a dose of 'celebrity exposure' and also increasing the sensation that they are just one part of a much larger war effort.

Gameplay is standard flight-simulator fare, with afterburners, a gun-energy pool and power system allotments; but several features stand out. For one, the player can choose between a 1st-person, in-the-cockpit view or a 3rd-person chase-plane view. Secondly, all fighters are designed to provide daunting barrages of rapid-fire weapons, returning to a WW2 paradigm but resulting in one-sided dogfights as the enemy prefers to evade than shoot back.

Finally, the game plays far more similarly to, for instance, the Star Fox franchise, in that it includes the so-called "Superman Syndrome": the player is held responsible for accomplishing any and all mission objectives by themselves, often several at once, and without assistance from wingmen. With a lack of experience, certain missions can be nearly impossible to complete, a problem exacerbated by the inability to change difficulty settings in-game, a lack of a mid-mission save feature, and a truly insufficient targeting/navigation system. (This particularly applies to missions where the player must protect friendlies from torpedo bombers.

) Finally, it features an entertaining but hard-to-access multiplayer mode through Microsoft's networking systems, supporting both head-to-head deathmatches and cooperative campaign-mission modes (this latter being the obvious answer to some of the game's more intensive missions). Starlancer's story is continued in Chris Roberts' Freelancer project, though the two belong to different sub-genres (the first is purely focused on action, the latter also features trading and the player can freely move through the game's universe when they are not on a mission. ) Ships The game allows the player to take control of 12 fighter-class ships, advancing in different areas, such as top speed, agility, armor, and shield power.

Each have a number of hard points which can be used mount things like guided missiles and dumb rockets. Ships are issued to the player as his or her achievements increase. Other Systems Starlancer was also available on the Dreamcast console.

GameSpy hosted its online play with up to six players at once.It is still online, one of the few games for Dreamcast which still has functional online play. Although most of the graphics and frame rate were intact, the game did not include the intricate menu system and options that the PC had.

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