If tone is what you remember about classic LucasArts flight-sim games, be warned that this campaign lands in somewhat bubbly territory. in the form of them talking to your silent protagonist between missions with zero dialogue options on your part. The campaign begins with a kooky cast of throwaway good guys, and the game very much wants you to bond with these characters. (You were onboard with a super-laser destroying an entire planet and its culture for the sake of galactic 'order,' but a follow-up request to wipe out remaining civilians is too icky? Interesting flavor of fascism there.)įast forward after the prologue, and your both-sides campaign follows the events of Episode VI, with players joining squadrons on both sides of the conflict as each side transitions to its new identity of the rising New Republic and down-but-not-out Galactic Empire.

In Squadrons' 16-mission campaign, players alternate between piloting X-, Y-, A-, and U-Wings for the Resistance, and TIE Fighters, Bombers, Reapers, and Interceptors for the Empire. A prologue pair of missions sets into motion a mild tweak to Star Wars lore: Turns out, Alderaan wasn't entirely destroyed at the end of Episode IV, and a mandate to wipe out its remaining survivors sees a longtime Empire lieutenant defect and switch sides. Until we see significant patches to Squadrons' PC version, I must advise prospective players to not buy the game on PC (yet). Early Tuesday, I received retail versions for PS4 and PC, which wasn't much time ahead of today's embargo but perhaps enough to write a tidy 'impressions' post about what fans could expect from the game's launch tomorrow-particularly its enticing VR mode, which is arguably the biggest VR-specific Star Wars flight experience yet.įurther Reading A Star Destroyer on your table: Ars reviews all three Star Wars miniatures gamesSince Ars is a PC-focused site, however, I have to begin any impressions with a dire warning. That was enough to earn some reluctant hope that this week's Star Wars Squadrons would continue EA's positive streak-and do so at a lower price point ($40), with no microtransactions, while recalling the glory days of X-Wing Vs. After a disastrous launch, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 reversed MTX course and enjoyed years of free support and updates, while Respawn Entertainment managed to deliver 2019's solid-if-uninspiring adventure of Jedi: Fallen Order. For the past few years, we've seen EA try to claw back to solid footing with its Star Wars video games.

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