Introduction

StarLancer is the first offering from Digital Anvil, a studio founded by Wing Commander creators Chris and Erin Roberts. For literally millions of gamers, the Wing Commander series of games provided a mesmerizing experience, meshing epic storylines and breath-taking combat virtually flawlessly. Those gamers familiar with Wing Commander will recognize StarLancer's format instantly. With StarLancer, Digital Anvil and developer Warthog hope to take space combat to a new level. Do they succeed? To a certain extent, yes, but they also fall short. The space combat found in StarLancer is exhilarating to say the least, but the immersion found in the grand storylines of Chris Roberts' previous offerings is sorely missed.


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Background (A Sample Engagement)

The year is 2160. Somewhere near the border of Ganymede space in the Sol System, six Alliance fighters (Alpha wing) maintain a close formation as they patrol the sector. Their home carrier is the ANS Reliant, a sturdy old workhorse affectionately named "What-the-hell?!" by newcomers seeing the ship for the first time. The wing is part of the 45th Volunteers Squadron, a rag-tag group of fresh recruits with limited flight experience. Syd Taba, call sign "S.T.," is currently flying the Alpha Two position. A few weeks ago, Syd was a reviewer for The Wargamer, an on-line wargaming site. Then the draft was initiated as the evil Coalition (consisting of Russia, and other Eastern countries) brutally launched an unprovoked attack against the Alliance (consisting of the US, the British, the Germans, the Japanese, and others). Syd was assigned to the Alliance's 45th Volunteers under Captain Robert Foster and Squadron Leader Maria Enriquez. Right now, sitting in the cockpit of his Shroud fighter, Syd felt the chill of sweat trickling down his brow. He wasn't supposed to be here, he wasn't a "real" pilot, this was all a bad dream. Hopefully they'd make it through this patrol without encountering anything dangerous. Suddenly his comm link crackled to life and Syd's heart sank as he heard the dreaded words from the lookout ship, Alpha Five:

"Alpha Five to Alpha Leader. Long-range scanners indicate a hunting pack of Coalition fighters inbound at vector two-oh-one, mark four."

"Copy that Alpha Five. All right people, lock and load; I've got the leader. Remember, make this quick, we can't afford any distress signals getting out. Alpha Five, initiate jamming."

Syd squinted at his scanner, adjusting the range. Sure enough, one blip appeared, then two, then four, and then eight. He swallowed, feeling his pulse race while holding the flight stick in a white-knuckled grip. The comm link crackled to life again as Moose, Syd's co-pilot, gave him some last-minute advice. "Alright ST, let's show these Coalition flyboys where all the talent's at. Full guns, blind fire initiated." As the targeting computer beeped to life, Syd waited, hurtling head-on towards the enemy near his top speed. His fear was gradually being replaced by a dull anger. Time to make them bleed.

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