Wing Commander Arena Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 1 August, 2007

Now with 100%perc% less Hamill.

Version tested: Xbox 360

It should, in theory, be fantastic. Or at least very good. Xbox Live Arcade is surprisingly short of no-frills spaceship blast-em-ups, and the dormant Wing Commander franchise would seem to be fairly solid source material for just such a fragfest. After all, the thrill of a decent dogfight against a multitude of human opponents is hard to mess up.

Yet mess it up they have. Wing Commander Arena boasts a veritable feast of gameplay options, but can only offer anaemic gameplay with which to fill them. Basic gameplay can be a blessing where this sort of game is concerned, but here it's not so much the simplicity of the fly-and-shoot action that's at fault but some of the frankly awful design decisions that have gone into it.

From the front end, it all looks very impressive. There's a host of different play modes, both solo and multiplayer, and 18 ships to choose from. Four are available at the start - two Terran, two Kilrathi - and new ones are unlocked depending on how many kills you rack up, and what sort of ship you're flying when you do so. From free-for-all deathmatches to team-based capture the flag challenges, from a single player survival mode to mammoth 16 player Capital Ship assaults, it seems that there's absolutely no excuse for getting bored. Sadly, the inherent flaws in the way the game has been implemented ensure that Stuart Boredom is coming for a visit whether you like it or not - and he's bringing his friend, Brian Frustration.

'Wing Commander Arena' Screenshot 1

There are a handful of viewpoints, but this one just showcases how dull the ship designs are.

Most obvious among the gripes is the flat 2D playing field. You can move forwards, backwards, left and right - but not up or down. The logic of setting a game in space and then denying players the chance to actually move in 3D escapes me, but right from the start it leaves the game feeling limited and claustrophobic. Combat is automatically reduced to pointing in the right direction and firing. There's no real dogfighting, no piloting skill required, just a faster trigger finger than your opponent and a stronger hull. The closest you get to movement in the vertical plane is a feeble dodge move, either a fancy loop or a little wiggle depending on the size of your vessel. It's an idea that's been done before - and done a lot better - way back in 1942. That's the Capcom arcade game, obviously, not the year.

For such a simplistic shooter the controls are foolishly complex, with multiple weapons systems mapped to the triggers and shoulder buttons, additional devices selected with X and deployed with A, and a bunch of gauges and markers showing shield strength, gun temperature and afterburner thrust. A series of waggles on the right stick invokes barrel rolls and other tricks, while clicking both sticks activates the boost - essential when you start out in the initial treacle-slow craft, but utterly counter-intuitive when you attempt to fly, steer and boost at the same time. There's no inertia, no sense of scale or speed, and as a result these dreary little vehicles feel more like hockey pucks than spaceships,.

'Wing Commander Arena' Screenshot 2

Capital Ship games require teamwork as you defend your own cruiser and take down the enemy's.

The game is also awkwardly balanced. You can only ever choose from the ships you've unlocked, so early multiplayer bouts can be painfully unfair as it only takes one opponent to have access to the stronger, faster ships and you're automatically outclassed. The Ranked Matches don't eliminate this problem, so frequent annoying death is a guaranteed fixture of your early games. Grinding through the solo modes to open up the full armada is your best bet, but none of the single player offerings are gripping enough to make this an appealing proposition. By the time you get to use the decent ships, you'll only fly them out of sheer stubbornness.

The maps are all rather bland - ranging from dreary open spaces to fiddly dense mazes - but, with such limited movement, your tactical options always boil down to "spot enemy, fly towards them, keep shooting". Once again, you can only be reminded of games that have done something similar with far more grace, such as Twisted Metal. Here, there are no environmental advantages, no secret traps to be sprung, only warp gates which transport you elsewhere in the level and dead ends. The only incentive to memorise the maps is to work out where the best power-ups are, since they always respawn in the same place. As you can imagine, this means that each map has some game-killing camping spots, dominated by tediously devoted players in the best ships, loitering around the same areas, constantly repairing their ships and hogging the best weapons over and over.

'Wing Commander Arena' Screenshot 3

Believe it or not, this is an official Microsoft screenshot. Really sells the excitement, don't you think?

The crude multiplayer system itself doesn't help. Several times I tried to join matches that only showed a few players, only to be told they were full. After each match, or each failed attempt to join a match, the game simply boots you back to the front menu. There's absolutely no way of keeping tabs on friends from one match to another - a ludicrous oversight in a game supposedly designed for online play. There's not even a lobby to speak of, as each game starts even if there aren't enough players. This means you'll fly around an empty level, unable to take or receive damage, hoping you'll eventually attract the required number for the action to start. Drop outs are, predictably, a common feature since players soon tire of hanging around in dead space, shooting each other with no effect. Even playing in the middle of the night, when those cheeky Americans are all over the place, finding well populated games proved something of a chore.

There are other gripes - the bland visuals, the way defeated players just wink out of existence, and the way the rubbish music doesn't even loop properly - but it seems rather pointless to list them all. Wing Commander Arena is a rudimentary shooter, the sort of thing that might have passed muster as a homebrew PC title ten years ago, but an unimpressive trudge for console gamers today. While there's obviously a limit to what you can do with an HD game in 50Mb, a few less game modes and a lot more polish on the actual gameplay could have made this one of the most attractive multiplayer titles around. As it is, you'll be better off sticking with Bomberman and Worms.

3 / 10

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Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (57) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • fluff_the_tiger #1 5 years ago

    oops.

  • BBIAJ #2 5 years ago

    Much?

  • Razz #3 5 years ago

    LMFAO!

    Funny review!

  • Dizzy #4 5 years ago

    Played it for 30 secs and deleted it.

    Pity.. could have been awesome multiplayer like XPilot.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #5 5 years ago

    Bizarre. I thought this was a remake of one of the first couple of Wing Comamnder games, instead it's some kind of pseudo-3d shoot-em-up.

    Thinking about proper space flight sims, though, makes me think that a fine choice to resurrect for XBLA would be one of the old Holland and Kilham X-wing titles. Especially the first one with its lovely oldschool untextured polygon feel. Though maybe X-wing versus Tie Fighter would be a better fit, since it had networked multiplayer, didn't it?

  • Aretak #6 5 years ago

    I'd say this is the worst XBLA title I've played to date actually. At least the crusty old retro shite has an excuse.

  • Drpwnage #7 5 years ago

    Amusing review, 3/10 seems generous though!

  • Tiel #8 5 years ago

    Not just me then.

  • menage #9 5 years ago

    I didn't keep it long enough to actually see if this score could be correct. Boring and bland beyond belief.

  • septimus #10 5 years ago

    3/10 is a little too high for this piece of crap.

  • Monkey_Puncher #11 5 years ago

    Yup, demo was utter poop.

    You're aloud more than 50mb for Arcade games these days by the way...

  • EmiliasHorse #12 5 years ago

    Hated the demo, really wanted to like it. This and Super Contra in the same week...MS you are really spoiling us.

  • paketep #13 5 years ago

    It's a shame that Microsoft and EA decided to pee on our memories like this.

  • DanWhitehead #14 5 years ago

    You're aloud more than 50mb for Arcade games these days by the way...

    I know, but Wing Commander is under the 50Mb limit.

  • Aretak #15 5 years ago

    You wonder how the developers didn't just stand back, look at this and realise what an utter dog egg they'd created -- and then start again. I guess the EA paylords wouldn't have appreciated a do-over though.

  • EmiliasHorse #16 5 years ago

    I'll bet EA would dearly love to remove the demo download option for this steaming pile.

  • mkreku #17 5 years ago

    See what happens when you remove Hamill?!

  • octo #18 5 years ago

    Such tainted memories. I remember getting into wing commander when it was only running at around four frames per second on my old Amiga 500. That game, at that frame rate, was precisely one thousand times better than this festering turd.

  • ne0star #19 5 years ago

    How do people who create this junk still have jobs!

  • Xerx3s #20 5 years ago

    Score = spoton. They should be punished for raping the wing commander franchise with this completely unrelated pos. Trying to get money by giving it a classic franchise name while it isn't in any way related is typically EA. Fucking bastards.

  • Darren #21 5 years ago

    I tried this game last week and thought it was complete dog poo! What's the point in taking a semi-decent 3D space combat game and turning it into a boring 2D one with abysmal graphics that bears as much resemblance to the original game as a brick does to a car?

  • miiiguel #22 5 years ago

    "Played it for 30 secs and deleted it. "

    Maybe more than the reviewer ?

  • Darren #23 5 years ago

    P.S. Is the limit for XBLA games still only 50 MB? I thought Microsoft had increased it to 150 MB or something? :?

  • Darkedge #24 5 years ago

    original wasn't much cop either.. no loss

  • sport #25 5 years ago

    so better than the movie then?

  • SBfistfun #26 5 years ago

    Sounds terrible lol

  • Paolo_ray #27 5 years ago

    WHY, WHY, WHY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

    It's just not Wing Commander!!!!!

  • BBIAJ #28 5 years ago

    Darren, the current limit is 150 MB I believe.

  • hokuto_no_rob #29 5 years ago

    Dross (drŏs, drôs)
    noun.

    1. Waste or impure matter: discarded the dross after recycling the wood pulp.
    2. The scum that forms on the surface of molten metal as a result of oxidation.
    3. The average XBLA game.

  • krudster #30 5 years ago

    I notice Marathon is way over the limit...

  • lambtron #31 5 years ago

    Rejig XWing vs Tie Fighter for xbla. That is all.

  • DanWhitehead #32 5 years ago

    As I understand it, the standard XBLA file size is still 50Mb but certain games can go up to 150Mb if needed.

  • BBIAJ #33 5 years ago

    It'll be interesting to see what you guys make of Marathon.

    From the demo, I felt it didn't come anywhere close to Doom.

  • MaxiSleep #34 5 years ago

    Absolutely shameful crap.

    Msoft really need to boost the quality control on live with the rehash stuff. It is getting embarasing.

  • Azazel #35 5 years ago

    Rejig XWing vs Tie Fighter for xbla. That is all.

    +1

  • Agent_Orange #36 5 years ago

    Anyone remember a game called Subspace? Bring that back!

  • glaeken #37 5 years ago

    Didn’t Marathon precede Doom? I remember playing it but not being impressed back in the day. I have a feeling its success was due to it being available for Mac's when Doom was not so this boosted its rep.

    Mind you its all a long time ago so all of the above could be bollocks.

  • mcmonkeyplc #38 5 years ago

    Marathon review please!

  • deepmenace #39 5 years ago

    wing commander on a 2d plane ?
    surely you jest ?!?!?

    so are games being developed then the powers that be say:

    "hang on, this is rubbish! it'll cost more to market, box and burn this than we'll make selling it! pass it over to the online people!"

    dumping ground for any half-baked idea?

    shame the xbox store isnt on the *real* internet then maybe someone could do one of those trendy "mash-ups" with metacritic and only show the best games or summat...

  • aldo_14 #40 5 years ago

    With ref. to the size limit; [link url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23239
    ]    http://ww w.gamesindustry.biz/content_pag...[/link]

    Raised to 150 apparently.

  • flippet #41 5 years ago

    Bring back Descent Freespace! That would be a killer app for live.

  • Xerx3s #42 5 years ago

    I notice Marathon is way over the limit...

    138 I believe. Well under the ancient 150 mb limit I would say.

    Didn’t Marathon precede Doom?

    No.

    I have a feeling its success was due to it being available for Mac's when Doom was not so this boosted its rep.

    Doom was available on the mac as well. Just about any system ever made to be more accurate (most ported game ever?).

    Anyone remember a game called Subspace? Bring that back!

    +1.

    Bring back Descent Freespace! That would be a killer app for live.

    +2 as long as EA doesn't get near it by a light year

  • krudster #43 5 years ago

    I meant "well over the 50mb limit".

  • krudster #44 5 years ago

    I meant "well over the 50mb limit".

  • glaeken #45 5 years ago

    Yeah there was a Doom for the Mac of course I just had this vague feeling it did not turn up for quite a while and Mac owners consoled themselves with Marathon while they were waiting. For some reason I just think Mac's when Marathon comes up.

  • krudster #46 5 years ago

    I've just been playing it...it's nothing special. It's no Doom, but certainly looks like it.

  • Darren #47 5 years ago

    Why do Microsoft have only a 150 MB limit in place on XBLA games? I know the 50 MB limit was so Core 360 owners with the 64 MB memory unit could play them (albeit only one at a time!) but Microsoft have now released a 512 MB memory unit so why isn't the size set at 400-500 MB?

    I'm not sure whether there's a limit in place on the PS3 but with decent downloadable games like Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection, Lemmings and Super Stardust HD out and stuff like Warhawk and Wipeout HD on the way, they make even the better XBLA games look embarassingly basic and underdeveloped (not to mention overpriced).

  • glaeken #48 5 years ago

    Well I don't think the size limit is really the issue with Live. I think they need to re-examine they commitment to releasing a game a week and concentrate on quality.

    Live is such a great concept that just seems to constantly fail to live up to what it could be.

    When I think of all the great little shareware games I have played over the years it seems to me the quality is out there for small games it's just whoever is driving Live they have their priorities all wrong and are putting quantity ahead of quality.

  • TonyCocaCola #49 5 years ago

    Duke Nukem for XBLA please!

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #50 5 years ago

    I don't think 'quality over quantity' is the issue here. More disc-based titles are released every week than XBLA ones, even for 360. The Live Arcade library still seems a little thin to me.

  • glaeken #51 5 years ago

    I dunno the total number of Live titles is impressive. The total number of Live titles I would play for more than 30 seconds less so.
    Edited by 1 at 01/08/07 @ 17:30

  • corzair #52 5 years ago

    Huge missed opportunity

    massively dissapointed even a 2d game area could have been done much better
    Like the lego starwars empire strikes back bit

    Oh dear EA getting really sloppy its shocking

  • WJF #53 5 years ago

    Subspace +1

    That game was ace!

    X-wing or Tie Fighter +100

    Too good..

    Hell if they brought out any of those I'd prob buy a 360 just to play them again.

  • Scimarad #54 5 years ago

    I don't think dire goes quite far enough!

  • 3william56 #55 5 years ago

    Strange how the space shooter died out in the last (PS2/XB1) generation on consoles and dissapeared over to PCs. Colony Wars was the last great PS1 attempt I guess, though Battlestar Galactica wasn't bad supposedly. I hope Sony resurects CW, with online multiplayer, though if WCA fails (as it should) it will probably poison the space shooter for another few years.

    I don't think there is any limit on PSN downloads - Heavenly Sword is nearly a gig (i.e. 100 Mb per second of demo gameplay :p), and The Darkness was over a gig IIRC. Suspect they're effectively limiting it to around a gig to keep the downloads managable, but no theoretical limit with a broadband connection and HDD. Warhawk probably going to be a monster file.

    Is this another example of MS's self imposed file size limits causing grief (after the PGR DVD argument)? For all the griping about the BR in the PS3, not having a HDD as standard on the 360 sounds like it's going to unfairly limit Live in future, which is a shame. Wonder how long MS will continue to artificially limit XBL to keep the core owners happy. Not long, if it hurts business, I suspect.

  • smelly #56 5 years ago

    just played the demo.

    I take it chris roberts had nothing to do with this pile of shite?

  • MuppetThumper #57 5 years ago

    HAHA EA