Tag / x-wing

by DayandKnightly

More Fun Than You Can Possibly Imagine

Playing board/card/any tabletop game with the girls is fun, but now that they’re getting older they’re beginning to move up on the complexity.

Enter Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game – I went a round with each of them, and we had a blast.

Having the ships, cards, dice, dials, firing sticks and everything else out in front of them was a lot to take in but I tried to keep it light and they really seemed to enjoy it.

star-wars-x-wing-miniatures-game-18

The might of the Empire

This past year has been a big year for Star Wars in our family, and I was glad to add something else to our list that lets them explore that galaxy far, far away.

We played X-Wing Miniatures Game for the first time together on March 21, 2015

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by DayandKnightly

Set your weapons for Hype: Stormtrooper Edition

It’s great to have a new Star Wars movie to look forward to, and the teaser for Episode VII The Force Awakens had some cool moments.

The Millennium Falcon dodging tie fighters across Tatooine, X-wings speeding over water, miniature droids on soccer balls – all something fun to look at.

But let’s cut to the coolest part – stormtroopers! In a sweet-looking updated Continue reading →

by DayandKnightly

Stay on Target! Stay on Target!

 

A friend at work got me onto the Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures game and it’s been a fantastic ride.

My wife even hooked me up with the base set for this past Valentine’s Day; is that true love or what? đŸ™‚

I’ve played through some games with friends, a few family members, and I hope to get more expansions in the future.

by DayandKnightly

Star Wars gaming past and present

Originally posted at GameSpot on June 27, 2008

I recently wrote about some of my Metal Gear thoughts after watching an expertly done retrospective series on Gametrailers.com, and now I’m going to do the same with Star Wars.

Up to five already in the series, the trip down memory lane has been fun. Each retrospective usually centers on a certain group of games in the Star Wars lore, be it the Super Star Wars series or the X-wing/Tie Fighter games.

Stars Wars is a franchise that has me hooked – and when something like that happens, I can get sucked into buying/playing a bad game (no matter how bad), just because it has a lightsaber in it. This has definitely been the case with a few games, including (but not limited to) Force Commander,Rebel Assault, and Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

Still, I’m glad I’ve taken those hits – because for every lackluster game Lucasarts has put out, another infinity better game has stepped up to the plate. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight saga, X-Wing/Tie Fighter games, and the Battlefront series.

And things continue to look up – with The Force Unleashed and Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels both set to break new ground, it’s a good time to be in a galaxy far, far away.

Summing up – with the help of the retrospectives it’s been a fun look back at my Star Wars gaming past, and I’m looking forward to its future. True – I don’t have the necessary hardware to enjoy the coming games right this second. . .but when I do it will be a good time.

Post tenebras lux

by DayandKnightly

Now witness the power of this fully-armed and operation battle station!

Originally posted at GameSpot on January 10, 2008

This past Christmas, my wife bought me the Original Trilogy on DVD. Why am I writing about that here? Because it serves the purpose of illustrating something I enjoy about games – the ability to enjoy your favorite worlds even more. I enjoy the inter-connectivity between the different mediums, from music to movies to games. I like being able to watch the DVDs, which moves me onto Battlefront, which leads me to listen to the soundtrack the next day.

I do recognize the dark side, however; sometimes you can get overwhelmed with a brand so much that it becomes ad nauseam. That hasn’t happened to me personally yet with Star Wars, although it is everywhere you look sometimes. If do get sick of seeing a brand everywhere, it’s usually because I don’t enjoy the product in the first place.

For example, I don’t mind seeing Darth Vadar’s face plastered everywhere, but seeing High School Musical cake decorations makes me a little sick. Still – I can’t get too bent; it’s only because I like one brand and not the other.

Back to the gaming side of things, being able to jump in the game world of a movie I’ve just seen is very gratifying – especially when it comes to Star Wars. Each time I re-watch the movies, I think of the environments I’ve been to – I’ve been on Hoth countless of times in everything from a Imperial uniform to a rebel speeder to Jedi fatigues (thanks to Battlefront, Shadows of the Empire, and Jedi Academy for those). I’ve been in the carbonite freezing chamber on Bespin (Battlefront), a cargo hold on board the Executor (Dark Forces), and flown down the Death Star trench (X-wing).

Playing those games means I identify more with each of those scenes when they’re up on the small screen – which enhances the overall experience. Yet another reason I’m glad video games are around.

Post tenebras lux

by DayandKnightly

A Tale of Two Space-Sims

Originally posted at GameSpot on December 13, 2007

So here I am, back in the saddle again. That saddle is placed squarely in the cockpit of X-Wing: Alliance and Freespace 2. I’ve put many hours into both of these games before, and I’ve got the itch again to try and see them through yet one more time.

In Freespace 2, I’ve started the game completely over for at least the second time. Each time a took a break from the game, it turned out to be a long break – long enough that I didn’t remember anything in the game. When I found the time to get back into it, I felt like I’m wasn’t getting the full experience if I just picked up where I had left off. There is so much going on each mission – Intel from wingmen chatter, mission briefing updates, etc. If I’m going to play the game again I want the best time I can get – which means starting over and getting the whole story from the first mission.

I’m currently on Mission 9: “A Lion at the Door.” Having just left the 53rd Hammerheads, I’m now a proud member of the 107th Ravens. In this mission I have to destroy a lot of pesky Shivans; so far, I’m 0/1 on attempts. I know I’ve previously been much farther in the game, but like I said – I want the most I can get.

All the things I love about the game are coming back to me, from the engaging story to the brooding music. And the game still looks incredible, even being almost nine years old. Did I mention the explosions and huge capital ships with beam weapons? Everything looks great and sounds better.

For X-Wing: Alliance, I’ve been able to pick up right where I left off- for two reasons: 1.) Thanks to my trusty Corellian YT-2000 transport Ortana, all my heirlooms from previous missions are safe and sound. By looking over those, I can remember what the story is about. 2.) Since it’s Star Wars, I was already grounded in the story and characters before I even started the game. It’s a simple formula – Rebels: good, Empire: bad. When I came to Alliance, I already knew half the story -which is not a bad thing in this case.

I’m stuck on Battle 4, Mission 1. For the life of me, I cannot keep my transports alive! I want my X-wing back. The family freighter is great and all, but after literally years of being stuck on this mission I’m ready to move on.

I think Ace Azzameen would agree with me.

Post tenebras lux