''Wing Commander Arena'' is a space combat

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

developed by independent software developer Gaia Industries for the Xbox 360's

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service. It is a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of the popular ''

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historic ...

'' series of games. The game was released on July 25, 2007.

Gameplay

Players engage in

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every maj ...

s that take place in one of nine environments, and they are able to choose from 18 ships, half being

Terran Terran or Terrans may also refer to: Fictional entities Literature * Terran Federation (''Starship Troopers'') * Terran Trade Authority universe of Stewart Cowley * Terran Empire in the books of Poul Anderson Television * Terran Federa ...

, and the other half

Kilrathi ''Wing Commander'' is a media franchise consisting of space combat simulation video games from Origin Systems, Inc., an animated television series, a feature film, a collectible card game, a series of novels, and action figures. The franchise ...

. There can be up to 16 players in a single match. The game is separated into

single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. A single-player game is usually a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" is usuall ...

and

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

modes. Multiplayer modes include eight-on-eight teamplay or 16 player

free-for-all Free for All may refer to: * ''Free for All'' (film), a 1949 American comedy film * "Free for All" (The Prisoner), a 1967 episode of the British television series ''The Prisoner'' * ''Free-for-All'' (Ted Nugent album), a 1976 album by Ted Nuge ...

, capship battles allowing two teams to launch an organized assault on each other's ship while defending their own, "Satellite", which is a variation of

capture the flag Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...

, and one-on-one duels. There is also a "Bearpit" where one-on-one duels can be watched from the sidelines by other players who can take potshots at the duelers. Single player modes include Asteroids, Training Modes and Melees. Playing through the single player modes will unlock the various ship types.

Relation to previous ''Wing Commander'' games

''Arenas gameplay differs from previous ''Wing Commander'' installments. Rather than using a

first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller, ...

cockpit used throughout the series, ''Arena'' is played from a

top-down perspective A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...

on a 2D plane with the third axis reserved for special maneuvers, using a control scheme that resembles a

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...

. The producer, Sean Penney, is a longtime fan of the franchise. Early in development, Electronic Arts sought input from members of the original ''Wing Commander'' development team, such as Chris Roberts, and from the Wing Commander online community.

Reception

References

External links

Official website

Gaia Industries
{{Wing Commander series 2007 video games Science fiction video games Space combat simulators Video games developed in the United States Wing Commander (franchise) Xbox 360 games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Xbox 360-only games