Dogfight
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'Star Wars: Battlefront' gets 20-player aerial combat
Yes, slicing your enemies with a lightsaber is one reason to buy Star Wars: Battlefront, but it shouldn't be the only reason. At Gamescom 2015, Electronic Arts has revealed that it's adding in an aerial combat sim to the game, entitled Star Wars: Fighter Squadron. The title is a 20-player aerial combat mode that pits Rebel forces against the Empire's TIE Fighter squadrons, much like the Lucasarts classics of yore. 20 human players will also be joined by 20 computer-controlled ships, meaning that each glorious battle will see 40 craft zooming around at once.
Heroes in the Sky brings out another WWII arcade battler
World War II fighter games, both in simulator and arcade format, have been on the scene since approximately 1946. Well look out below, because here comes another one: Heroes in the Sky. Heroes in the Sky looks to provide a streamlined combat experience, as players will jump into PvE and PvP aerial battles with a mouse-and-keyboard setup. Dogfights can happen in the various WWII theaters, including Europe and the Pacific. It's been around for several years now but is only now making itself available worldwide. If you're curious about giving it a try, you won't have to wait long: Heroes in the Sky will launch globally on February 5th with various in-game events. We've got a trailer for you after the break.
Elite: Dangerous video dev diary discusses roles, demonstrates dogfight
Last month, we learned that David Braben, founder of Frontier Developments, launched a Kickstarter campaign for the development of Elite: Dangerous, a successor to the deep sci-fi sandboxes Elite and Frontier: Elite II. Over the last five weeks, new concept art and videos have been released showing off various aspects of the multiplayer space sim. Now, Braben treats fans to a third video dev diary in which he discussed player roles while a dogfight with other devs plays out across the screen. In the video, Braben and the devs demonstrate the variety of roles in Elite: Dangerous. Players can earn their funds in-game from such activities as mining, shipping, pirating, and bounty hunting. Roles are also fluid: A player who normally protects convoys can be flagged as a pirate when attacking one, and the folks defending said convey can take on on the additional role of bounty hunter and collect the bounty on the pirate. To keep roles balanced in game, the team is dedicated to ensuring that no one particular role is the ultimate way to generate cash. Braben stated, "If you get very good at a particular role, it shouldn't be massively better than if you get very good at some other role." To hear more about the roles (and see the first live footage of the Anaconda), watch the video after the break.
Star Citizen makes final crowd-funding push, dogfight video released
There's less than a week to go in Star Citizen's crowd-funding push, and Chris Roberts has produced a new video short in which he challenges space sim fans to help his company over the $4 million hump. If the new stretch goal is met, it will allow for more mod tools, an expanded version of the Squadron 42 single-player component, and a larger free-roam universe for the multiplayer game, which is apparently still two years away. Roberts has also released an early gameplay video showing off a cockpit view, wingman AI, and a brief dogfight. He says the video is far from representative of the final product but useful for gauging the progress of Star Citizen's advanced AI system. "The Squadron 42/Star Citizen pilot AI will be the most sophisticated AI that I've attempted on any of my games. My goal is to take the ideas that I pioneered with Wing Commander and later games -- distinct personalities, dynamic learning, signature moves -- to the next level with the power of modern CPUs," Roberts explains. See both videos in their entirety after the cut.
WWDC Demo (and sneak peek): SciFly 2, a dogfight app for your iPhone or iPod touch
I was shocked to discover the young author of SciFly (iTunes link) hadn't even graduated high school when he first started coding, and wrote the original game while in high school. Based on his success with the first version, he dropped out of high school and has dedicated himself to iPhone development. From what I saw of SciFly 2, it may pay off. The sequel is a massive expansion on the original, with every bit of it written by a young man who seemed to have a versatile skill set and a passion for mobile development. We'll post on Twitter and Facebook when the sequel is available on the store. You can also try a a Lite version of the original here (iTunes link).
New Jumpgate Evolution video shows off dogfighting
It's safe to say that there are a lot of sci-fi MMO fans out there who would appreciate a game that incorporates dogfighting into a space-based title. Jumpgate Evolution is shaping up to be that game, from what we've seen thus far of its combat. We've been following Jumpgate Evolution for a while now, and Massively's Kyle Horner recently interviewed NetDevil producer Hermann Peterscheck about the upcoming title. New video footage of the game, captured at PAX 2008, is now found at GameTrailers.The video shows off combat taking place within a massive asteroid belt. Have a look at the video below the cut, and let us know if you think Jumpgate Evolution seems to be your type of game.
Jet Impulse looks really, really hot
A Nintendo-developed dogfighter, Jet Impulse, has recently opened their official website for perusal. The game formerly known as DS Air is, for the moment, Japanese-bound only; this will change, however, when we threaten Nintendo with deadly force.Two videos adorn the pages, highlighting both game mechanics and opening cinematic. We've been hankering for more air since Star Fox Command ended so very quickly; hopefully, this title can make the trip stateside before long.[Via NeoGAF; thanks Mutsu!]
Blazing Angels demo drops into XBLM
A demo for World War II dogfighter Blazing Angels is now available in the Xbox Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360. The marketing hype promises an environment "so real you'll feel like you're the pilot in a famous WWII movie." Wait a minute! Let's do some close reading on that bit o' marketing mummery. When did we suddenly become one more level removed from the actual experience? Today's game audiences can't know what it was like to be a pilot in an actual WWII dogfight and can only know what it's like to be an actor in a movie based on what some director imagined WWII to be. Sixty years from now, when few living gamers will have seen a WWII movie, marketers will be promising games that are "so real you'll feel like you're controlling a famous game based on a famous WWII movie based on a famous historical novel of a famous WWII battle." We tingle with excitement in anticipation of that glorious day. [Via Xbox360Fanboy.com]
