Review by: Chris Harding
Published: May 25, 2000

The last time Erin Roberts and the development crew at Warthog got together to make a space combat simulation it was 1996, and their title The Darkening, later renamed Privateer 2 by the folks at EA, was receiving mixed reviews from gamers and critics alike. Soon after the release of that game, brother Chris of Wing Commander fame left the hallowed halls of Origin and formed his own company. Nearly four years, a new development company along with a new publisher later, the Roberts boys along with a host of big named industry gurus are back at it. Though unlike their days at Origin, this time they’re calling all the shots and making all the key decisions. Deciding which title would bear the honor and risk of being Digital Anvil’s debut wasn’t a tough call for Digital Anvil to make. Primarily programmed in the UK and designed and produced in the States, StarLancer follows in the well established footsteps of the creators’ origins. It’s a space combat game equipped with gorgeous visuals, spectacular effects, and big production stylistic overtones. From the introductory cinematic the point is clearly made that StarLancer’s production quality and presentation style are top-of-the-line.

Artistic flair and design, well-balanced ships, intense melee dogfighting and sweeping storylines all coalesced by a beautiful 3D engine are what constitute StarLancer’s main attributes and biggest selling points. However, it’s vital to understand that at StarLancer’s core lies the lineage of Wing Commander. A sense of nostalgia will no doubt be present for veteran flyers of Confed, as StarLancer’s single player experience harkens back to the days of Wing Commander IV: The Price for Freedom. This isn’t to say that StarLancer is a carbon copy however, because that wouldn’t be fair or accurate. While the similarities to the Wing Commander series are significant and many, StarLancer does introduce new features to the genre and departs in some regards from its forefathers’ ways. Still, there’s no getting around the fact that this product was intended to be more about refinement than innovation.

If you’re at all familiar with the Wing Commander and/or Freespace formula of gameplay, StarLancer will feel like a favorite pair of sneakers. The first component of any space opera is a rousing storyline, and StarLancer starts off with a bang. Anyone that’s not seen this introduction needs to do so, it’s riveting. About the only opening cinematic that tops it is found in Activision’s recently released Star Trek: Armada. One of the largest deviations StarLancer makes from the Wing Commander formula is in its setting. Events transpiring around a 22nd century cold war between the Eastern block Slavic countries and the Allied forces of World War II dominate system-wide news. The game begins with the two sides coming together to sign a peace treaty. Peace however is the last thing the cold hearted Eastern Coalition wants to discuss. In a maneuverer not too dissimilar to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Western Allies are caught completely off-guard by a massive surprise attack and nearly wiped out completely. The prevailing hatred between the Western Alliance and the Eastern Block forces will easily be recognized by anyone who lived through the Eighties. The instant familiarity though, presents both positive and negative elements to the storyline.

While I’m happy to report that StarLancer chooses not to introduce itself with the over-used “humanity against the unknown evil alien force” storyline that has watered-down this genre, the colonial conflicts of Earth’s past isn’t exactly an original idea either. Though it is a change from the most recent titles, and for that I’m grateful. StarLancer places the player in the role of a rookie pilot, part of Alpha Wing. Comprised primarily of civilian volunteers, the 45th Squadron has been formed out of necessity, due to the large pilot death toll suffered during the Coalition’s initial attack; a theme very similar to the call to arms made in the film “Independence Day.” It is within the rank and file of the squadron where StarLancer paves its own road and makes its largest diversion from the Wing Commander formula. Rather than focus the entire experience around a single individual, ala Colonel Christopher Blair, StarLancer’s focus is on the squad as a whole, and because a good portion of the storyline is told in-mission rather than with separate cutscenes, the manner in which the player becomes involved with the game is somewhat different than with previous, similar titles. Most missions also contain a number of scripted events that progress the storyline. These are presented utilizing one of the best in-game cinematic engines seen to date. Staying within the mission to present new events is a good move, as it keeps the action flowing and at the same time introduces new elements to the plot.

Still, there is a ton of additional storyline material available back at the player’s base ship that is provided to enhance the immersion factor. You receive tons of emails and news updates that detail the course of the war and provide information on other squadrons and such via the locker room. This interface will also seem familiar to space combat flyers. It uses a 3D-walkabout shipboard layout which uses pre-determined rendered sequences to show movement from one area to another. Digital Anvil brought out their artistic pens when designing these aspects of the game, as there is lot of activity taking place in the transitional scenes. For example, walking into the briefing room you can hear multiple conversations going on simultaneously and there will be people working on communications panels as you make your way through hallways. The main area players will visit though is the locker room, which allows players to utilize a training simulator, watch and view updates to news items, sample the game’s musical tracks, examine medals earned and last but not least use the ITAC, or Alliance Intelligence and Tactical database. Here’s where you can examine kill boards, become familiar with Alliance and Coalition ships, read emails, read about different personnel and gain histories on other squadron and fighter units. There’s a ton of information provided within the ITAC, and while reading all of it isn’t necessary for completion of the game, it certainly won’t hurt. Although I must admit, there is so much text to read that I often skimmed over it, especially later on. There’s so much reading in fact, that those folks primarily interested in the action phases will want to brush up on their skim reading abilities prior to playing StarLancer. It would have been nice had they used speech along with the text; and while the main news reports include visuals as well as speech, the bulk of the ITAC information is text only.