Star Wars: Attack Squadrons - What’s to Come?
it will be a huge setback for Disney, and they will We’ve also been let-down with the still-a-bit-toostart on a long uphill struggle, having to battle fresh cancellation of Star Wars 1313 at the hands
heavy criticism around every corner.
of The Walt Disney company themselves. After
being announced and even revealed at E3 2012, it
Of course, what has happened with this new game felt like a real kick in the teeth to anyone who had
is that it appeals to the hardcore fans, particularly hopes of playing it. Even now there is a flicker of
those who played X-Wing Vs. TIE Fighter. We asked possibility that it might still make it to our PCs and
our community all about their most and least even consoles but that light seems to be fading fast,
favourite Star Wars games, and the amount that leaving behind a rather disappointed community.
X Vs.TIE came up was, well, a lot. So releasing a
game that looks more or less exactly the same, but Needless to say with the ups and downs that we,
with much improved graphics (or so we hope, as as Star Wars fans, and gamers have experienced,
it’s sixteen years later), is no doubt going to cause we really have our hopes pinned on this one, and it
a buzz.
could potentially be super-awesome, but there are
a few questions that need to be asked. Star Wars:
Attack Squadrons will be a free-to-play online game,
with customisable ships that you collect. Free...
customising... collecting... you know where this is
heading; microtransactions. Microtransactions are
the pet peeve of many a gamer, especially when
they are of the game changing variety. In this
case, when applied to a franchise that has such
dedicated fans, who will want, or even need to
collect everything in the game, they could end up
spending an absolute fortune.
Disney need to be really careful here, because
if they produce a microtransactions-orientated
game, with new content to buy every month,
We’ve had some great Star Wars games in the past, compelling you to collect more, they could piss
from space simulators, like the aforementioned off a lot of people. At the end of the day, we don’t
X-Wing Vs. TIE Fighter to RPGs like BAFTA award know until its release just how it is going to work,
winning Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. They but how long can our nerves can hold out? Not
had a new generation of fans playing cooperatively much longer.
with their friends on Jedi Power Battles and on
Emsey P. Walker
an even larger scale on Star Wars Galaxies (pre
disastrous overhaul of course). More recent titles
have let us enjoy a more personal journey with
Starkiller in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as well
as oodles of casual fun with the hugely popular
LEGO Star Wars Series.
‘We’ve had some great
Star Wars games in
the past, from space
simulators...We’ve
also been let-down
with the still-a-bittoo-fresh cancellation
of Star War 1313.’
Issue 51 • January 2014
7 • GameOn Magazine