Starlancer

Moby ID: 1842
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

It's 2160, and the Eastern Alliance has launched a surprise attack on the Western Coalition's fleet and decimated it. The call has gone out for volunteers to become Alliance fighter pilots, and you have signed up with the 45th Volunteer Squadron.

Designed by Chris and Erin Roberts, the creative force behind the Wing Commander/Privateer megaseries, this space fighting simulation features the genre's standard mission types: escort, fighter sweep, interception, attacking space stations, fighting in asteroid fields, etc.

12 pilotable fighters (you can choose which you fly as well as missile loadout, but not all are available in the early missions), 9 enemy fighter types.

Spellings

  • 星际枪骑兵 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Credits (Windows version)

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 81% (based on 43 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 49 ratings with 5 reviews)

What a great Ride!!

The Good
This game is a total breath of fresh air! This is the first game since Fallout 2 that I have loved with all my heart. First the story line is one of the best in a game in years. Gameplay is easy to learn and enjoy. If you have played Privateer 2 then you should be able to get a handle quickly to how things work. Missions are full of great battles and challenges. Graphics and music are good but not top of the line like in other games. But overall this game is one of the best games I have seen in the last few years. THIS ONE IS A MUST FOKS!!! Why do I love it so much? Again storyline is the reason. One of the strongest storylines and best that I have seen in ages.

The Bad
Well I would have liked to have options on guns. When you choose a fighter you have to take the guns that are on the fighter. Understandably this is to keep to realism. (i think) Overall not much is wrong with this one

The Bottom Line
This one is a must! If you love Pc Gaming then please try this. If we are going to continue to get Jems like this one then we need to go out and support it. STOP READING GO AND BUY THIS ONE!

Windows · by William Shawn McDonie (1131) · 2001

Engaging gameplay, but the story is not.

The Good
The gameplay in Starlancer is remembered as fast paced and frenetic at times. There's a Wing Commander V school of design here, where gameplay was the focus. Attack and escort missions were strewn about as with any space shooter while the games background story was available to the player via broadcast transmissions in your quarters aboard ship.

The graphics didn't seem to be taxing to my computer at the time, so it should run like a dream on current Windows systems. Definitely a step above the Wing Commander games, but maybe not as intense as Descent: Freespace or its successors.

The Bad
Unfortunately, the story did not seem as involving as previous efforts by it's spiritual predecessor (obviously, the Wing Commander series). The reason I enjoyed "Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger" and "Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom" was for their engaging cinematics in between and during missions. Starlancer takes a lighter production approach and incorporates the story into very brief cutscenes - I did complete the game, but unfortunately I wasn't impressed.

The Bottom Line
Starlancer is a solid effort in the way of gameplay and missions, but falls short in keeping the player engaged or involved in the story. Those who crave less of the movies (a la the later games in the Wing Commander series) in their space shooters may find more meat in the gameplay here.

Windows · by James P. Wong (2402) · 2004

Fair game, at best...

The Good
I loved the fact that Digital Anvil tried to capture a lot of Wing Commander's magic on this game. The pre-briefing interface lends a lot to Origin's "Commander" series, and there's a lot of information to go through as well (constantly evolving news, squad information, pilot information, kill board). It seems the team spend some time trying to make this game complex.

The Bad
Complex does not mean deep. And depth is exactly what this game lacks. The storyline and the mission are so generic you cannot get involved in it. Your character is also a nameless guy, and your able to create a callsign and choose from male or female, but it's about as far as you can go. They went for pre-rendered sequences to display characters, which adds a lot to the generic feel of it all. Controls are not that good, and there is so much different functions that you get lost in them. Again, complex isn't a good thing every time. The same Digital Anvil came up with the relatively complex game Freelancer, with ridiculously simple controls that worked great. At least they learned their lesson. Graphics aren't so hot, and neither is the sound. Voice-acting is awful, by the way, with faked (terribly) foreign accents (german and russian are bad, but the japanese is offensive).

The Bottom Line
Unless you must possess everything that Chris Roberts designs, stay away from this game. Pick up an old copy of Wing Commander 3 and you'll be better off.

Windows · by tbuteler (3021) · 2003

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Trivia

The Starlancer demo includes two missions not in the main game, which function as a prequel to the game. You fly from the ANS Yamato and are witness to the sneak attack by the Coalition forces.

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  • MobyGames ID: 1842
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Bill Stepec.

Dreamcast added by haydn dalton.

Additional contributors: Raphael, Terok Nor, Unicorn Lynx, Independent.

Game added June 30, 2000. Last modified March 24, 2024.