I recently borrowed a joystick from a mate in order to play FreeSpace 2 again. It was a bit annoying with a mouse. After much muckcing about with mods and movie files I got the FreeSpace 1 port to FS2 working and got to plying. I haven't played those games in ages. And damn, they are as amazing today as back in the '90s. And the modding community are simply amazing.
It reminded me of why I almost never use my PS3.
So, I dug out Independence War 2 as well and started playing it as well. Another great game rediscovered. Though I had considerably more problems with that one, as the graphics tend to screw up after a mission. But it's just a matter of restarting the game and all is well.
And then came my final piece of archaeology, to which the above was merely an introduction: TIE Fighter. I haven't played that game in years and years, but I remembered it as one of the best games I've ever played. So after a bit of editing dosbox.conf I got it running.
It's still amazing. In all its 640x480 Gouraud Shaded glory it is hands down one of the best crafted games I've played. The pacing is spot on, moving through the ranks and getting to fly better crafts than the puny (and highly destructible) eponymous TIE Fighter. Though nothing will ever beat the thrill of avoiding death by mere inches in a dog fight, dodging lasers left and right, knowing that one hit is all you can take. It's simply an accomplishment that few other games have managed to get right.
The game is hard. But not hard in the way that other games are or hard from bad mission design. Save for a few exceptions all missions are winnable with all goals completed if you know what you are doing. Compare that to X-Wing Alliance where some missions simply feel like the game is cheating. It's a hard line to walk but TIE Fighter does it really well. That said, you will hear this often and get furious:
"Alpha 1, mission critical craft under attack. Alpha 1, mission critical craft shields down. Alpha 1 mission critical craft hull critical. Alpha 1, mission critical craft destroyed. Abort mission."
That's the escort missions. The controls are complex but not overly so and they do their job very well.
The music, and here I'm specifically talking about the old DOS versions is excellent. The iMuse system do a great job of fitting the music to the action and creating crescendos. That feature is sadly lacking in the newer Windows 95 releases. I guess it's a matter of taste if you prefer the iMuse or the new texture mapped graphics. Personally I'll that the music to the flashy graphics. That said, the new versions are excellent as well and will perhaps be better suited for late comers to the game. If you can live with 684x480 that is.
But possibly the most interesting part of the game is the fact that you play as a pilot in the Imperial Navy. It's an interesting twist to hear the Rebels called terrorists who are trying to upset the peace that the Empire is trying to impose and uphold. After a few missions I find myself cursing the "Rebel scum" and genuinely rooting for the Empire. From that place I ask my self: "Why can't they see what we are trying to do here? We are trying to construct an ordered society based on common laws. They are forcing our hand in being this oppressive.".
It's something that gives a new light to the movies. And it actually raises the quesion of whether the Empire really is evil. I've often wondered, when I saw the movies, if not the Rebels brought it on themselves. The Emperor may indeed be a bastard and a heartless tyrant but he doesn't seem to be hell-bent on killing everybody. The Empire demands obedience and adherence to the laws, but other than that it seems people are free to do as they please.
Compare that to the mess that was the Republic and I'm not sure if I actually would prefer to live under the Empire.
And that's perhaps the crowning achievement of TIE Fighter: reflexions on the nature of tyranny and freedom. That, or I'm taking the game way to serious.
It reminded me of why I almost never use my PS3.
So, I dug out Independence War 2 as well and started playing it as well. Another great game rediscovered. Though I had considerably more problems with that one, as the graphics tend to screw up after a mission. But it's just a matter of restarting the game and all is well.
And then came my final piece of archaeology, to which the above was merely an introduction: TIE Fighter. I haven't played that game in years and years, but I remembered it as one of the best games I've ever played. So after a bit of editing dosbox.conf I got it running.
It's still amazing. In all its 640x480 Gouraud Shaded glory it is hands down one of the best crafted games I've played. The pacing is spot on, moving through the ranks and getting to fly better crafts than the puny (and highly destructible) eponymous TIE Fighter. Though nothing will ever beat the thrill of avoiding death by mere inches in a dog fight, dodging lasers left and right, knowing that one hit is all you can take. It's simply an accomplishment that few other games have managed to get right.
The game is hard. But not hard in the way that other games are or hard from bad mission design. Save for a few exceptions all missions are winnable with all goals completed if you know what you are doing. Compare that to X-Wing Alliance where some missions simply feel like the game is cheating. It's a hard line to walk but TIE Fighter does it really well. That said, you will hear this often and get furious:
"Alpha 1, mission critical craft under attack. Alpha 1, mission critical craft shields down. Alpha 1 mission critical craft hull critical. Alpha 1, mission critical craft destroyed. Abort mission."
That's the escort missions. The controls are complex but not overly so and they do their job very well.
The music, and here I'm specifically talking about the old DOS versions is excellent. The iMuse system do a great job of fitting the music to the action and creating crescendos. That feature is sadly lacking in the newer Windows 95 releases. I guess it's a matter of taste if you prefer the iMuse or the new texture mapped graphics. Personally I'll that the music to the flashy graphics. That said, the new versions are excellent as well and will perhaps be better suited for late comers to the game. If you can live with 684x480 that is.
But possibly the most interesting part of the game is the fact that you play as a pilot in the Imperial Navy. It's an interesting twist to hear the Rebels called terrorists who are trying to upset the peace that the Empire is trying to impose and uphold. After a few missions I find myself cursing the "Rebel scum" and genuinely rooting for the Empire. From that place I ask my self: "Why can't they see what we are trying to do here? We are trying to construct an ordered society based on common laws. They are forcing our hand in being this oppressive.".
It's something that gives a new light to the movies. And it actually raises the quesion of whether the Empire really is evil. I've often wondered, when I saw the movies, if not the Rebels brought it on themselves. The Emperor may indeed be a bastard and a heartless tyrant but he doesn't seem to be hell-bent on killing everybody. The Empire demands obedience and adherence to the laws, but other than that it seems people are free to do as they please.
Compare that to the mess that was the Republic and I'm not sure if I actually would prefer to live under the Empire.
And that's perhaps the crowning achievement of TIE Fighter: reflexions on the nature of tyranny and freedom. That, or I'm taking the game way to serious.
