X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter Published 1998 X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of Power Published: 1998 X-Wing v. TIE Fighter filled a void that thousands of X-Wing and TIE Fighter fans had lamented for years: multiplay. Neither X-Wing nor TIE Fighter supported multiplayer dogfights. Although both were good single-player games (TIE Fighter was even exceptional), gamers wanted the opportunity to engage their friends in multiplayer battles in the black void of the Star Wars universe. click to enlarge Never mind that Wing Commander, the other premier space sim at the time of these two games' debuts, didn't have multiplayer support. The fact that this Star Wars game lacked it, in light of all the epic space battles depicted in the movies, was a true shame. So, when LucasArts and Totally Games, the developers of both X-Wing and TIE Fighter, announced they were creating a multiplayer X-Wing game, fans were ecstatic. click to enlarge Unfortunately, the vast majority of them were more than disappointed when this multiplayer X-Wing game released. It turned out that X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter provided multiplayer support at the expense of the single-player experience. It ended up being more like a multiplayer add-on rather than a real game and lacked the missions or immersion that made TIE Fighter a classic. While you could fly your pick of Star Wars ships, from A-wings to X-wings to TIE interceptors to armed shuttles, it just didn't have enough gameplay to attract the kind of audience that TIE Fighter or X-Wing commanded. Almost all critics expressed some measure of disappointment with the game. Even more important, the fans felt cheated by this game. However, it was noteworthy for adding multiplayer support to the X-Wing lineup, which would also appear in the next X-Wing game: X-Wing Alliance. click to enlarge Larry Holland, president of Totally Games, took the criticisms to heart and started work on an expansion pack that would bring back a high caliber single-player experience to the franchise. Half a year later, he and LucasArts released Balance of Power. Set amidst a great struggle between a super star destroyer and a covert rebel armada, it gave players the opportunity to lead an elite squad of fighters for either the imperials or rebels. It offered interesting missions and even cutscenes between missions. Critically, it fared much better than X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and won back its share of X-Wing fans. Although it wasn't a spectacular space sim on par with TIE Fighter (after all, it was only an expansion), it did bring back to the series some of that feeling of being a real pilot in the Star Wars universe. Read GameSpot's review of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. Read GameSpot's review of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of Power. Next: Jedi Knight