The first video game that Bill Stealey, president of Interactive Magic, ever played was Atari's Star Raiders. This was obviously an important event in Stealey's video gaming psyche because his company's latest game, Star Rangers, is done in the same tradition as that grand old game - an homage more than a rip-off. Using SVGA graphics and a strong strategic element, Star Rangers is looking to be a space-shooter for the thinking man.
The Star Rangers are basically a border patrol team in space defending the good guys from the ever-threatening alien presence, which is just looking for a chance to get a foothold on any territory they can. Basing play in part on the legendary Texas Rangers, who protected their territory from the Mexican Banditos, the Star Rangers have to protect their galactic territory from alien invasion. Play begins with a map showing the current status of things. Since the game takes place on the frontier of deep space, the player has to use sonar buoys which are placed in unknown areas of space to monitor the action. Using the information of where the enemy is at and where they're going, the player must use strategic attacks to stop them and drive them back. The ultimate goal of the player is to get the other side to give up and stop fighting.
In a departure from concrete mission assignments we've seen in games like the Wing Commander series and Tie Fighter, the decisions of where to go and which enemies to fight are totally left up to the player. The reason that the player would need to go to certain sectors before others is that there are civilians and star bases that the player must protect. The starbases are where the player refuels, and the civilians sometimes provide certain bonuses like weapons. When the enemy starts to close in, the player has to make strategic attacks and not just warp to the nearest sector with bad guys in it. Choices have to be made like whether to protect a civilian outpost that's being attacked but is far away, or hang around the star base which is being threatened and is closer. Factors like time and fuel must be considered in deciding which enemies to take on first. You can't attack the enemy head on in Star Rangers, you must finesse your way to victory.
There is a very small bit of role-playing in Star Rangers. Successfully warping between sectors of space and fighting the invading forces will mean promotion throughout the game. Also helping in the fight is the player's wingman, of which there are five to choose from, each with their own abilities. Some wingmen may be better shooters while others may be better fliers. As in other fighter sims the player can give the computer-controlled wingman orders, like "attack this target" or "watch my back." But in Star Rangers, the player can also assign the wingman orders in other sectors and doesn't have to follow you around everywhere you go. So the wingman participates like an actual pilot, instead of just a shadow.
There are several different modes available to play. If you just want to fly around and shoot some baddies, there's an arcade mode available which provides lots of target practice. When you get good enough, the campaign mode is where the real action and strategy is. Three difficulty levels and 17 missions are included in the campaign, which will require the player to protect their area as well as completing search and destroy as well as other types of missions.
The ship will be upgradable with around eight different weapons, mostly lasers and missiles, that the player can obtain in different ways throughout the game. Some weapons might be on a freighter which the player has to protect as it arrives, some weapons can be acquired through civilian means, while some weapons are just given to the player.
The presentation should be impressive, featuring animated cut scenes and a ton of detailed explosions which compliment the high action content of the game. SVGA graphics, a variety of external views, digital sound effects and an original soundtrack highlight realistic flight models of both the Star Ranger ship and those of the seven different enemy types. And although it won't be available upon release, the designers of Star Rangers are planning on releasing expansion mission disks as well as possibly putting Star Rangers on-line.
Star Rangers is attempting to be more than a simple arcade shooter but less than a full-blown action/role playing game. Billed as a type of intergalactic chess, Star Rangers is taking a straight action game and incorporating a nice measure of strategy into it. It should appeal to both experienced and novice gamers alike, whereas the gaming veterans will appreciate the depth of gameplay with the strategic element, and the novice players will be able to get into the thick of the action with the arcade mode and get as deep as they want with the three levels of difficulty in the campaign mode. Based on tried and true game designs, but adding advanced graphics, sound and flight engines, Star Rangers is set to be released in October of 95.
