Starlancer
Windows cover art
Developer(s)Warthog Games
Digital Anvil
Publisher(s)
Dreamcast
Producer(s)Erin D. Roberts
Designer(s)Nick Elms
Philip Meller
Erin D. Roberts
Rob Taylor-Hendry
Programmer(s)Paul Hughes
Derek Senior
Artist(s)Nick Elms
Philip Meller
Composer(s)David Blinston
Ian Livingstone
Platform(s)Windows, Dreamcast
Release
April 26, 2000
  • Windows
    Dreamcast
Genre(s)Space simulator
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Starlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin and Chris Roberts, and developed by Warthog Games under the auspices of Digital Anvil.

Plot

It is the year 2160. Mankind has colonized the solar system and two political entities have emerged: the Alliance consisting of American, Australian, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, British and German forces, and The Coalition of Russian, Chinese and Middle-Eastern interests. The game begins with a surprise attack on Fort Kennedy, where a peace treaty turns into a bloodbath: all of the inner four planets are overrun, including Terra herself, and the Italian and French fleets are utterly lost. The Alliance fleet regroups at Triton, Neptune's moon, and attempts to regain lost territory. The player takes the role of a rookie pilot in the international 45th Volunteers squadron, under the command of Captain Robert Foster and Wing Commander Maria Enriquez, aboard the re-commissioned British carrier ANS Reliant.

Gameplay

As with Wing Commander: Prophecy, the pilot's flying ability is the only measure by which success and failure are defined, though Starlancer does not feature as many branching mission paths. As in Wing Commander I the pilot may be promoted throughout the course of the campaign; unlike WCI, their rank determines which fighters and missiles they may choose to employ during each mission. The game provides a "virtual carrier" through which to navigate, including nearby crewmembers whose reaction to you depends on your current rank and standing. The game uses textual and video news broadcasts to keep the player informed as to the status of the rest of the war. Players frequently find themselves flying alongside squadrons and pilots they have heard about on the news just recently, providing a dose of "celebrity exposure" and this gives the sense that the player is just one part of a much larger war effort.

Starlancer's story is continued in Chris Roberts' Freelancer project, though the two belong to different subgenres (the first is purely focused on action, the latter also features trading and the player can freely move through the game's universe when they are not on a mission).

The game allows the player to take control of 12 fighter-class ships, advancing in different areas, such as top speed, agility, armor, and shield power. Each have a number of hard points which can be used to mount weapons like guided missiles and dumb rockets. Ships are issued to the player as his or her achievements increase.

Starlancer was also available on the Dreamcast console. GameSpy hosted its online play with up to six players at once. Although most of the graphics and frame rate were intact, the game did not include the intricate menu system and options that the PC had. The Dreamcast supported eight players online and can still be played online today via private servers.[5][6]

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[7][8] Chris Kramer of NextGen said of the PC version in its July 2000 issue, "You'll definitely love StarLancer on its own, and as an appetite for next year's FreeLancer [sic], we're already salivating."[29] (Ironically, Freelancer was not released until 2003.) Seven issues later, however, Kevin Rice said that the Dreamcast version "doesn't give the same intense experience as its big brother on PC, but it's still OK. Just be prepared to wrestle with controls beyond movement and weapons."[28]

Kevin "BIFF" Giacobbi of GameZone gave the PC version nine out of ten, calling it "a beautiful game in which one will find hours of entertainment."[31] Brian Wright of GamePro said called the same PC version "a solid game that action fans are sure to enjoy."[32][lower-alpha 2] Later, Air Hendrix said, "If you've played the PC version of StarLancer, the Dreamcast version offers nothing new—the missions are identical. But StarLancer's thrilling space combat gives Dreamcast pilots a lot to get pumped about."[33][lower-alpha 3]

The PC version was commercially unsuccessful.[34][35] PC Data reported its sales at 28,685 units and revenues at $1.21 million in the U.S. by July 2000, which Mark Asher of CNET Gamecenter described as a "major disappointment". He cited this performance as part of a trend of falling sales for space flight simulators and the wider flight simulator genre.[35] According to designer Eric Peterson, the game ultimately sold around 400,000 units by late 2001—below expectations at Digital Anvil.[34]

The PC version was a runner-up for "Best Game No One Played" at IGN's Best of 2000 Awards.[36] It was also a finalist for the "Sci-fi Simulation of the Year" award at GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2000 Awards, which went to MechWarrior 4: Vengeance.[37]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's review of the Dreamcast version, two critics gave it each a score of 7/10, and the other 8/10.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the PC version two 4.5/5 scores for graphics and sound, and two 4/5 scores for control and fun factor.
  3. ↑ GamePro gave the Dreamcast version all 4.5/5 scores for graphics, sound, control, and fun factor.

References

  1. ↑ "New Releases". EB Games. Archived from the original on May 11, 2000. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  2. ↑ Bye, John "Gestalt" (April 28, 2000). "UK releases". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Starlancer Ships". GameSpot. December 6, 2000. Archived from the original on November 9, 2001. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  4. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (March 23, 2001). "PS2 welcomes software boost". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  5. ↑ pcwzrd13 (May 2, 2017). Game Night Highlights: Starlancer | 4/26/2017 | Dreamcast Online Multiplayer. YouTube. Google. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "Games". Dreamcast Live. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "StarLancer critic reviews (DC)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "StarLancer critic reviews (PC)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Jon. "StarLancer (DC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  10. ↑ Woods, Nick. "StarLancer (PC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  11. ↑ Chick, Tom (April 27, 2000). "StarLancer (PC)". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  12. ↑ Sones, Benjamin E. (June 5, 2000). "Starlancer". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 3, 2003. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  13. ↑ McDonald, Thomas L. (August 2000). "StarLost (StarLancer Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 193. Ziff Davis. pp. 100–1. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  14. ↑ Sewart, Greg; Kujawa, Kraig; Boyer, Crispin (January 2001). "StarLancer". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 138. Ziff Davis. p. 195. Archived from the original on January 28, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  15. ↑ Grant, Jules (March 8, 2001). "Starlancer (DC)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on July 2, 2004. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  16. ↑ Harris, Neil (June 12, 2000). "Starlancer (PC)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on May 18, 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  17. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (February 28, 2001). "Starlancer (Dreamcast)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  18. ↑ Bye, John "Gestalt" (May 30, 2000). "Starlancer (PC)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on January 7, 2001. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  19. ↑ Brogger, Kristian (December 2000). "Starlancer (DC)". Game Informer. No. 92. FuncoLand. p. 117.
  20. ↑ Archer, Erik (January 2001). "Starlancer Review (DC)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  21. ↑ Johnny B. (May 2000). "StarLancer - PC Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 4, 2004. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  22. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (December 6, 2000). "StarLancer Review (DC) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on February 19, 2001. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  23. ↑ Janicki, P. Stefan "Desslock" (May 19, 2000). "StarLancer Review (PC) [date mislabeled as "May 8, 2000"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on January 9, 2001. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  24. ↑ Mr. Domino (February 12, 2001). "Starlancer". PlanetDreamcast. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  25. ↑ McConnaughy, Tim (May 4, 2000). "Starlancer". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 15, 2002. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  26. ↑ Butts, Steve (November 27, 2000). "Starlancer (DC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  27. ↑ Butts, Steve (April 28, 2000). "Starlancer (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  28. 1 2 Rice, Kevin (February 2001). "StarLancer (DC)". NextGen. No. 74. Imagine Media. p. 76. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  29. 1 2 Kramer, Chris (July 2000). "StarLancer (PC)". NextGen. No. 67. Imagine Media. p. 95. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  30. ↑ Kuo, Li C. (July 2000). "StarLancer". PC Gamer. Vol. 7, no. 7. Imagine Media. p. 84. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  31. ↑ Giacobbi, Kevin "BIFF" (May 1, 2000). "StarLancer (PC)". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 15, 2004. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  32. ↑ Wright, Brian (June 6, 2000). "StarLancer Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  33. ↑ Air Hendrix (January 2001). "StarLancer Review for Dreamcast on GamePro.com" (PDF). GamePro. No. 148. IDG. p. 98. Archived from the original on January 13, 2005. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  34. 1 2 Korda, Martin (December 2001). "Talking Heads". PC Zone. No. 109. Dennis Publishing. pp. 132–34. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  35. 1 2 Asher, Mark (July 14, 2000). "Game Spin: Crunching Diablo II Numbers". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000.
  36. ↑ IGN staff (January 26, 2001). "Best of 2000 Awards (PC: Best Game No One Played)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 18, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  37. ↑ GameSpot staff (2001). "Best and Worst of 2000 (Sci-fi Simulation of the Year, Nominees)". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 14, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
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