Retro Review: Tie Fighter Collector's CD ROM

By: Kirk Hiner

Genre: Space Flight Simulation

Platform: MacOS

Format: CD ROM

Developer: LucasArts

Publisher: LucasArts

Minimum requirements: PowerPC processor, System 7.5, 16MB RAM, 2X CD ROM, 256 color 13" inch display, 7MB hard disck space, joystick.

Network feature: No

3Dfx Acceleration: No

Year Released: 1997

Availability: http://www.lucasarts.com

Price: $19.95

I haven't yet seen "Star Wars: Episode I." I hopefully will have by the time this review is posted, but for the moment I'm content to get my "Star Wars" fix at Taco Bell. I mean, what's better than a beef meximelt and the chance to win an iMac? I can also scratch the "Star Wars" itch with the four related LucasArts games I've got mixed in with all the stuff I still have to review. To cash in off the new movie, I'll do a Retro Review the game that I believe is the best of the bunch; "TIE Figther."

But first, some history. I was seven years old when I first saw "Star Wars" at the Ashland Cinema. Like all seven-year-olds, it was all I talked about--and even thought about--until the superior "Empire Strikes Back" was released. I bought the toys (and broke them all), collected the cards (and lost them all)...my brothers, sister and I even wrote our own sequels and acted them out for our parents. I still think that our plays were better than "Return of the Jedi," but that's not the point here. The point is that in these home productions, I always played Darth Vader.

You see, even at seven, I was siding with the Empire. Aside from the fact that Darth Vader was far and away the coolest Star Wars character (until Boba Fett, of course), I was also more partial to the Emperor's cause. All he wanted was to "restore peace and order to the galaxy." Is that so wrong? With "TIE Fighter" for the Macintosh, I finally get the chance to serve him.

But I'll end all talk of "Star Wars" now, because "TIE Fighter" is a game that deserves to be reviewed simply as it is: an excellent flight sim.

Your pilot has been recruited by the Emperor to help his Imperial Fleet destroy the remaining Rebel forces after their defeat on the ice planet Hoth. There are seven ships you'll learn to fly, and the training simulator and combat chambers allow you to familiarize yourself with each ship's strengths and weaknesses before you go into battle. You'll want to spend a lot of time in these areas, as they not only greatly improve your skills, but also provide more missions to fly.

Once you think you're ready (and you won't be...trust me), you can enter the battle room--the place where the fun begins. Before each mission, a flight officer sets up the scenario and provides you with the primary and secondary objectives. You can also check the tactical map to get a better feel for the arena. Every now and again, a hooded figure appears off to the side. You can talk to him to get a secret objective from the Emperor himself. And hey, it never hurts to kiss the Emperor's glowing, blue butt.

Those who have played LucasArts' "X-Wing" (and everyone should have) will be pleased to know that the controls for "TIE Fighter" are virtually the same, so the learning curve is not that steep. The lack of shields on some ships (no more head-on collisions to blow up the enemy) and of a targeting display in the combat multiview display took some getting used to. Aside from that, I was destroying those god-awful Y-Wings in no time.

If you have never played "X-Wing," go buy it now. Don't even finish reading this review; just go buy it. I'll wait.

Okay, now that you're back and have both "X-Wing" and "TIE Fighter" installed, you'll find that there is a lot you have to learn to be effective in either game. To master control of your shields, lasers, engines, displays, wingmen, etc., you have to use nearly the entire keyboard. This takes some practice, but the training simulators and simple, early missions provide the needed assistance. "TIE Fighter" excels at this, as the voice of your commander offers tips and barks out orders while you fly, making sure you get the job done correctly. Also, unlike in "X-Wing," your wingmen actually seem to know what they're doing. No more missions where you have to kill 85% of the enemy yourself in order to be successful. In "TIE Fighter," you do your job and your wingmen do theirs.

In their press release, LucasArts spoke a great deal about the improvements the Mac version has over the PC version; twenty-two new missions, four new 3-D rendered cinematic cut scenes, improved grahics, and digitally mastered studio-recorded voices and sound effects. The animation in "TIE Fighter" is incredibly smooth, and the graphics are gorgeous. By sticking with rendered graphics instead of live video, LucasArts not only made "TIE Fighter" cooler to look at, but also much smaller. The entire game--104 missions with all the cut scenes and dialogue--fits on one CD. Rest assured, I'll be enjoying this one CD for much longer than I would any seven CDs from...oh, say, Sierra?

If I had to make one complaint about "TIE Fighter" (and this may sound hypocritical considering what I just said about keeping the hard disk requirements down), it'd be about the music. Hearing that magnificent John Williams score performed by what sounds like a $30.00 Casio keyboard just doesn't seem right. However, this is really only noticable in the opening credits; it's very easy to lose the music in the heat of battle. But a cheer within a jeer to LucasArts for their iMUSE™ sound system. As they explained in the press release, "iMUSE (Interactive Music and Sound Effects) composes music 'on the fly' in response to choices made by players throughout the game." It adds more to the game than you'd think; hearing the music pick up when the enemy arrives prepares you for battle by getting you in the mood to kill.

So it's with great enthusiasm that I give "TIE Fighter" Applelinks' higest rating. As a flight sim, it reaches well beyond its "Star Wars" fan base to impress gamers of all types and ages. As another and completely different take on the "Star Wars" saga, "TIE Fighter" is faithful to its predecessors while being original enough to generate the same enthusiasm. It should quite easily keep you busy until we get the Mac version of "Pod Racer."

And come on, you all know you wanted to smack Luke Skywalker around at least five times per movie. You may not get to meet him in battle here, but you do get to kill a lot of his friends, and that's pretty cool.

Serve the Emperor.

Applelinks Rating

Raised on Intellivision and "Tron," Kirk Hiner has been an avid gamer ever since he was tall enough to look through the viewfinder on the Battlezone upright. Although he makes a living using a PC (not by choice) to design websites for Dynamics Online, Inc., Kirk never strays from his 9600/200 or 3400c for computer gaming. When he's not playing the latest Logicware release, he can either be found working on his next "never to be published" novel, rereading anything by Kurt Vonnegut or watching RAW is WAR.

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October 07, 2008