This is probably the best game I've played all year. If you loved LucasArts adventures such as Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle then buy this now, you will not be disappointed! It feels very much like an old LucasArts adventure game brought into the modern age; The graphical style works very well and doesn't detract at all from the game. The puzzles are fun but challenging, with only a few really obscure moon logic leaps in there, but the difficulty is definitely of the pre-Schafer era, esp later in the game. That said if you're a veteran of the Monkey Island series you will be adequately trained for this! The game is very well written and puts a lot of newer games and remakes to shame - It's not even a gig and runs perfectly smoothly with no hitches - This is how it should be done; Many other companies should be taking notes. (I'm looking at you Double Fine with your 5GB jerky as heck cutscene-transition-cutoff-desync-bug FT remake!!) The audio is good - the music is pleasant but unintrusive and sets the mood and feel accordingly. The voice acting is great too, although some lines are read a bit weirdly (May be intentional!). It all just feels perfectly spot on! It's hard to quantify, but the feel of the game is just perfect and gives me that brain buzz I have had from precious few games lately; It's not nostalgia so much as genuine joy to play this. A solid recommendation from me!
GoG dropped the ball initially as they only had the DOS Floppy version and the terrible Windows version, but they did good by getting hold of the Collectors CD which is *the* best version by far. The game takes you on a journey starting off as a lowly TIE Fighter pilot stuck in a backwater station doing routine patrols, slowly climbing the ranks and helping to bring peace and order to Imperial systems, then being plunged into a twist of betrayal, vengeance and redemption. The storyline of this game is more immersive and deep than it has any right to be; It's a space shooter FFS! Yet it has a level of plot and story immersion that puts some adventure games and RPGs to shame! Of the three versions, the Collectors CD is the one to go for; The 1993 Floppy version is okay, but superseded in every way by the Collectors CD. The 1998 Windows version is based on the XvT engine and has the highest res graphics and better controls, but is otherwise horrible; The game balance is based on the DOS versions but the XvT engine has different physics, which breaks the game's mission timing. Worst of all, it loses one of the most critical features of the game - The iMUSE dynamic music system. The VGA res graphics of the Collectors CD still look good now, and it has full voice acting. The controls are sharp and precise and the ships all feel and handle just right and are a joy to fly. You will need a good joystick to do this game justice (Hint: Configure all the extra buttons and switches to keyboard commands in DOS Box BEFORE you play!). The most standout thing for me has always been the iMUSE music system - It reacts dynamically to what's going on and is a masterpiece of musical engineering by the Big 3 - Bajakian, McConnell and Land. Calm idle music while you are out on patrol, then something appears and the music changes, adding a note of tension; You turn and as you move closer the music picks up - Suddenly an enemy frigate jumps in, accompanied by a dread-filled fanfare, and the music smoothly segues into full-on battle mode! The fight is on!
