GOG.com has released X-WING and TIE FIGHTER!

Today shall be a day long remembered...

Courtesy of the amazing folks at GOG.com (the GOG stands for Good Old Games), what are by far two of the greatest computer/video games ever wrought by mortal hands have gone on sale today, ready to be enjoyed by a new generation or by those who have longed to reminisce about those heady days of the early Nineties.

Stick it to the Empire in
X-Wing...

And I would be saying that even if they weren't Star Wars titles!

X-Wing was an astounding and revolutionary game in its own right and when it came out early in 1993 it took the industry by storm.  With a brilliant combination of 3D graphics, rich user interface, an immersive storyline and balanced yet incredibly challenging gameplay, X-Wing was the Star Wars experience that everyone wanted but few thought we would ever get.  This was the combat simulator of its time and even by today's standards it holds up incredibly well.  At last, players could join the ranks of the Rebel Alliance in the fight against tyranny, with a variety of fighters: the X-wing, Y-wing, the ever-slippery A-wing and the powerhouse B-wing.

...or blow Rebels to smithereens in
TIE Fighter!

But not to rest on its laurels, the following year LucasArts released TIE Fighter: still considered by some to be THE best computer game of all time.  TIE Fighter turned the tables and let gamers take to the skies against the scum and outlaws that the Rebels really are (the intro sequence alone are enough to make one giddy about blowing Rebel fighters out of the stars).  TIE Fighter improved on everything that made X-Wing work, and then some.  An even more interactive story/campaign and array of craft (including the TIE  Defender and my personal favorite the TIE Bomber) gave you all the tools you'd ever need to show them pesky Rebels what's what.

And as of today GOG has made X-Wing and TIE Fighter available and 100% compatible with modern systems!  If you're still playing these classics with old CD-ROMs (or even the original floppies), you'll never again have to juggle disks.  For $9.99 each you can download a DRM-free single-file installer and set up either game (or both) on any moderately-equipped system from Windows XP on up.

Incidentally, for the ten bucks you're actually getting two flavors of each game: the original DOS version and the "Collector's Edition" that ran on Windows and required a joystick (the DOS games could be played with a mouse).  The Windows-based Collector's versions have prettier graphics.  But the DOS ones have the iMuse MIDI score that changes dynamically as events in the game are triggered (i.e. the Imperial theme starting up as a Star Destroyer suddenly arrives on the scene).  The Windows editions have Redbook WAV audio instead (meaning it doesn't change per combat conditions).  Personally, I'm going with the DOS versions at least at first.  Having an iMuse score with the game itself more than justifies the price tag.

So what are we waiting for?  Mash down here for X-Wing and aim here for TIE Fighter!

These two games have been the most hotly-demanded on any modern game-delivery platform and now after years of yearning GOG has given both Star Wars fans and general gamers alike what they've wanted more than most.  And along with these two GOG is as of today also offering other classic games from the LucasArts vault: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (which some will argue is really the greatest PC game ever and not without reason), Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, The Secret of Monkey Island, and the very twisted Sam & Max Hit the Road.  More LucasArts games are promised for the near future (maybe I'll finally get to play Full Throttle...)

So there it is: X-Wing and TIE Fighter for modern computers at long last.  Go get one.  Or the other.  Or get both.  Now.  You know you wanna.

(I'm holding off until after I finish writing my book.  Getting to play X-Wing again is going to be a present to myself :-)

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End of an era: Disney closes LucasArts

LucasArts is no more.

Disney laid off the entire staff and shuttered the studio this morning.  There had been speculation that LucasArts might be liquidated after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and the other companies beneath its umbrella five months ago.  The video game studio had been flailing in recent years despite moderate successes like LEGO Star Wars.  On the other hand there were turkeys like Kinect Star Wars.  It had been hoped that games like the upcoming Star Wars: 1313 would have increased its fortunes.

But now it's official: LucasArts has been closed down.  Disney has stated that future games will be licensed to other studios for development.  Some like Star Wars: 1313 may never get released at all.  The "LucasArts" name will continue to exist but the firm itself and its development staff has been disbanded.

I can see that as an appropriate measure.  The Star Wars: The Old Republic massive-multiplayer online game was practically developed entirely by BioWare anyway.  This is the way the wind had been blowing for some time...

Even so, a little bit of my youth died today.  Star Wars: X-Wing was the very first computer game that I bought, way back in winter of 1994.  The sequel TIE Fighter consumed most of my summer a few months later.  When I played Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (still one of THE BEST computer role-playing games ever) I obsessively went through all three of the "paths" that Indy could take.  To say nothing of the creatively offbeat games like Full Throttle and Sam and Max Hit the Road.

(I would be remiss if I didn't mention also Rescue on Fractalus: a game that some swear remains one of the most terrifying and fright-inducing more than a quarter century after its release.)

Well, the studio may be gone.  But the memories it evoked will ever burn bright.

Farewell, LucasArts.  And thank you for all the good times you gave us...

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Is LucasArts out of touch with its fanbase?

That's what Scott Kelly is wondering on his blog. What precipitates the question is the "big reveal" that happened of the next Star Wars game during this past weekend's Spike TV Video Game Awards 2009 show: a sequel to last year's Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

As Scott puts it...

If we needed any confirmation that LucasArts was undoubtedly out of touch with their fanbase, the announcement of the newest LucasArts game, creatively titled “The Force Unleashed II”, has unfortunately given us the signal.

I could talk about how making a sequel to “The Force Unleashed” doesn’t make sense, in a narrative sense, since (SPOILER AHEAD) Galen Marek dies at the end. I could discuss how this violates the whole “no body/no death” trope. I could bring up the fact that most fans complimented the game not on the gameplay, but on the actual story told.

But I won’t. Looking across the internet, you can find people discussing just that.

Now is the time to come to terms with LucasArts’ cowardice in making new, creative Star Wars games. Yes, you read it right: cowardice. With this cowardice, you’ll only see fans getting tired of the same old games that you’ll come to expect from LucasArts.

I have to agree with Scott. Star Wars should be one of the most dynamic and exciting franchises in history, but LucasArts has been loathe to take risks with it and as a result Star Wars video gaming has become... dare I say it?... exceedingly stagnant. That's what happens when you keep "playing it safe" with your most prized vehicle. George Lucas and his companies should be letting it tear up the highway, not making it sit in a garage out of fear of a few dings and scratches. Because in the end it's the little quirks like that which add character to a franchise. Paramount finally understood that when it let J.J. Abrams direct Star Trek and there's no reason why it can't work for LucasArts too.

Scott suggests new installments of the X-Wing and TIE Fighter series. I would love to see that. But I think LucasArts should stop being afraid to plow some new ground too. We've just had Death Troopers, the first Star Wars horror novel: something like that would make for a hella game in the mold of BioShock or Alien vs. Predator. There may not be any more Star Wars movies forthcoming, but video gaming can certainly keep Star Wars fresh and vibrant by going into sub-genres that have never been considered.

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Classic LucasArts games now on Steam

Earlier this week LucasArts unloaded the very awesome news that it has commenced to re-releasing many of its classic games via Steam!

I had never used Steam before, but the prospect of once again playing Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (right) was too good to pass up, so I went to the Steam site and purchased the game. For $4.99 you get the CD-ROM "talkie" version from 1992, guaranteed to run on a Windows Vista system! LucasArts is also publishing anew The Dig (LOTS of people no doubt happy about that one), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure, Armed and Dangerous, LOOM, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure, Star Wars Battlefront II, Star Wars Republic Commando, Star Wars Starfighter, and Thrillville: Off the Rails.

And LucasArts has promised that many more classic games will be coming over the next few months.

Personally, there are three games that I want to see more than anything else from LucasArts getting Steam distribution: Maniac Mansion, Star Wars: TIE Fighter (still considered by many to be the greatest Star Wars video game ever and it had better have the original SCUMM-driven soundtrack)...

...and, it goes without saying, Full Throttle:

"One minute you're on the road, riding. Not a care in the world. Then some guy in a suit comes along, says he's got a deal for you and your gang. But when you come to, you've got a lump on your head, the law on you back, and a feeling in your gut that the road you're on is about to get a lot rougher..."

If just Star Wars: TIE Fighter and Full Throttle can see the light of day again, I will be a happy man. And so will a hella lotta other people :-)

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