Squadrons is the first dedicated Star Wars space combat game to appear outside of arcades since Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, which came out on the GameCube in 2003. But by releasing Squadrons as a budget title with a somewhat stripped-down scope and no planned post-launch support, publisher Electronic Arts missed a chance to provide the definitive, lasting take on the standalone space sim that Star Wars gamers have been craving for years. The core experience of Squadrons is so faithful to the fantasy of flying a starfighter that it makes me feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t play video games. Squadrons revitalizes a storied but stagnant genre of Star Wars games, putting a modern, multiplayer-oriented spin on space combat in the galaxy far, far away. This was one of many immersive, exhilarating sequences in Star Wars: Squadrons, a game released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One this month that stimulates all of my Star Wars fan pleasure centers. I just assaulted a Star Destroyer and survived. Then I streak toward open space, the sounds of TIE fighters, turbolasers, and a John Williams soundalike score swelling in my ears. I continue my attack run, emerging from the underside of the Star Destroyer to skim along its topside and buzz the bridge, strafing the surface as I go.

Behind me, the grey bulb balloons into a satisfying fireball. As the Destroyer looms large in front of me, I shift power to my laser cannons and stitch its exterior with red blaster bolts, unloading two torpedoes as I fly by. I target the ventral bulb of the Star Destroyer’s power generator, instruct the rest of my squadron to join the attack, and request a resupply of heavy weaponry from my wingmate. A missile locks on, and I wait until the instant before impact to release countermeasures, confuse its tracking system, and elude destruction.Īlmost unscathed, I order my astromech droid to repair the residual damage, then boost away from the Star Destroyer, execute a tight, 180-degree drift turn toward the capital ship, and instinctively flip my shields to the front.

While weaving and rolling to present a tougher target, I throttle up, thumb a switch on my flight stick to reroute power to the shields, and toggle the transparent, protective canopy to cover the rear of my fighter. The space between the wedge-shaped, mile-long monster and my comparatively tiny starfighter is crisscrossed with beams of bright energy.

As my ship hurtles toward the ruined remnants of a moon, I glance over my shoulder and see the ominous silhouette of a Star Destroyer blotting out a bluish nebula.

Old combat flight simulator 2 squadrons