Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1994)

So, earlier this year - around the second week or so of January - I reviewed Star Wars: X-Wing. That was my very first flight simulator, and to say I had a hard time with it would be...an understatement. As I said in my review, there was a lot of mucking about to get the thing to run, and even when I'd gotten it running, there were some significant problems.

Still, despite my issues with it, I think the game is worth at least checking out.

Can we say the same for the sequel? Well, that's what we're looking at today as we examine Star Wars: TIE Fighter.

Pretty Much the Same Setup as Last Time

I was pretty thrilled to discover that the script I used for X-Wing worked for TIE Fighter; it meant there was far less mucking about with the setup. So, as with the previous game, you need a virtual joystick and an emulator program - I used:

• VJoy
• FreePIE

I mentioned in the previous game's review that you'll need a programming script as well. I just used ChatGPT to write a basic script for me, and that script works just as well for this one.

TIE Fighter is built on the same engine as X-Wing and is structurally very similar. The game was well-received and has continued to grow in popularity ever since.

The War from the Other Side

This is an interesting game because it takes a different approach to the Star Wars story. Usually, we see things from the rebels' side. This time, we're seeing it from the Empire's side. That's right, this time we're working as a pilot for the Galactic Empire! Your job is, as you can imagine, to put a stop to the rebels and their antics.

Like last time, there are a couple of different modes of gameplay:

• Obstacle course
• Combat simulator
• Battles (Tour of Duty)

You get to fly a couple of different ships too, including TIE Fighters, bombers, and interceptors. That's very cool.

What Works in Star Wars: TIE Fighter?

Right, let's go over what works here?

• The music and visuals are really nice.
• The controls for TIE Fighter are far more responsive than X-Wing. This makes it much easier to pilot the various Imperial ships.
• The obstacle course was very nicely done, and I loved the combat simulator as well. The maze is great, and the targets are stationary, which means you don't have to worry about being shot by a cannon of sorts. Likewise, the twists and turns make things interesting by forcing rapid reactions.
• As far as the Tour of Duty section goes, it's pretty good; there are two campaign options. One with an imperial flight officer who gives you standard missions, and another with a hooded figure who gives you special missions. This makes it interesting because these special missions have much higher stakes.

Is There Anything that Doesn't Work?

Is there anything that doesn't work in this game? Well...yeah, there are a few things here and there. Most of my issues are carry-overs from the previous game, namely:

• The combat, while somewhat more manageable, is still really, really awkward.
• Weapons don't feel satisfying to use. They sound okay, but they don't have any real weight to them. On a similar note, the weapons don't seem to do a lot of damage when you use them. Likewise, most of the imperial fighters don't have shield generators. This means that it's easy - really easy - to be shot down.
• There's still a very steep learning curve here. If you've played the previous game, then it's certainly easier to play, but if you didn't...well, you might struggle a bit.

An Interesting POV on the Story

The fact that you work for the Empire this time around gives you an interesting look at things. Looking at the story from the Imperials' side of things, the rebels are certainly criminals. It doesn't absolve them of any of the cruelty they inflicted on the galaxy, but the classification of the rebels as 'terrorists' makes sense because they are attacking the government. They killed many, many people, stole government secrets, and destroyed government property.

Don't get me wrong, the Empire isn't nice, but, legally speaking, the rebels are technically criminals. Of course, I'm not a lawyer, so I could be wrong.