Star Wars: Squadrons | Cheerful Ghost

Star Wars Squadrons: Today’s X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter

Azurephile gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

Azurephile gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

I remember seeing the box I had of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter long ago around ‘95-’96. That’s what I remember most. What I don’t remember is actually playing it. I think I did, but not for long. In those days I was more into Star Trek and Star Wars wasn’t something I had gotten into yet. However, it’s my understanding that the game is very popular, which is great news for those fans who want to play something just like it with modern graphics.

If you’re unfamiliar, both of these games are star ship shooters. Basically, you fly around in a ship and shoot down others. There are missions, of course, in which you take out certain targets, some easier than others.

Squadrons is... Read All I remember seeing the box I had of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter long ago around ‘95-’96. That’s what I remember most. What I don’t remember is actually playing it. I think I did, but not for long. In those days I was more into Star Trek and Star Wars wasn’t something I had gotten into yet. However, it’s my understanding that the game is very popular, which is great news for those fans who want to play something just like it with modern graphics.

If you’re unfamiliar, both of these games are star ship shooters. Basically, you fly around in a ship and shoot down others. There are missions, of course, in which you take out certain targets, some easier than others.

Squadrons is interesting in that you get to play both sides of the war. Once you start the story, you start out as an Imperial pilot, but after some time, you (not your character) are a pilot for the New Republic. It goes back and forth like this after a few missions, until the end.

The game isn’t very long. I think the embedded YouTube video I watched said that the story missions take about 10 hours to complete. However, that’s there’s more to this game. Multiplayer is another component of the game. I don’t have much to say about this since there are very few games that I play multiplayer. Apparently you can earn in-game currency and get things for your ship such as paint jobs.

The game does feature HDR and turning it off requires an edit in it’s config file. I just got a new monitor and I’ve tested color/gradient banding and it passed. However, this game is slightly disappointing, because parts of it look terrible, particularly the loading screen. I noticed other players found this issue as well, even an EA ticket is unresolved. I noticed this banding and I tried to resolve the issue, but was unable to. I think the issues I saw were in pre-rendered videos and graphics, thus the banding could be due to compression and possibly the resolution I was playing with (2K I think). The rest of the game looked fine, but a 4K video I saw made it look very beautiful.

I don’t have much to say about this game, perhaps because I played through the relatively short story mode. I did enjoy it although even though it was frustrating at times. I did finally complete it, so I’m done with it (I’m planning to move on to another game in the next day or two).

If you like Star Wars, this is definitely something you’ll probably be interested in. Fans get to finally experience what it’s like to fly an X-Wing or TIE Fighter, but there are other ships, too. You can also fly an A-Wing and TIE Bomber among others. Each ship has it’s purpose. For example, U-Wings serve as support ships, which can fire a projectile at a friendly target to give it a temporary shield. There’s more to them than that, though. Personally, I like the X-Wing and TIE Fighter best, probably because they seem to have the best hull and defense is a priority to me.

One more thing to point out is energy allocation. You can specifically choose to prioritize energy to engine, weapons, and shields. The engine helps improve maneuverability, which is important in not only getting through tight spaces, but also helps give a speed boost. Focusing energy on one of these parts also allows it to recharge faster. However, you can also select a balance, which is the default setting. You can also direct shields to cover a certain side of the ship. So, if you’re running straight into enemy fire, you can focus shields on the front where you need them most.

There are a variety of weapons and weapon types and each ship has two or three components. Lasers are the main one and there are variations to choose from. This also applies to auxiliary weapons like a lock-on missile and also defense against missiles locked on to your ship. However, sharp turns are also effective at dodging missiles.

I'd also like to note there are a couple cameos and a name drop, so I hope you notice them. They aren't main Star Wars characters though.

I managed to get the game for free, I think it was a freebie for Origin at one time. Normally, the game costs $40, which is a bit of a relief since these days games normally cost $60. I’m glad I got it for free, but it might be worth the $40 price tag.

Well, let me know if you’ve played this or if it’s something you’re interested in. Feel free to add me as a friend on Origin. My user name is GregoPeck (big surprise, right? LOL). I’m embedding a good “Before You Buy” video, which gives it a good review. You can play this game in VR as well. The game is available on Origin, Steam, and consoles.