DESCRIPTION

The future was indeed bright for the Western Alliance. They terraformed Mars and established colonies on its moons and, at last, the human race was poised to reach beyond the solar system. But all good things never seem to last. A recently formed coalition of the eastern regions mount a surprise attack against the Western Alliance on Mars in order to usurp power. In the process, the orbiting French and Italian fleets are destroyed. Many planets and many moons are lost to the coalition and although their surprise attack and overwhelming forces seem destined for victory, all is not lost.

What's left of the French and Italian fleets rendezvous with American, British, German, Spanish and Japanese allies in orbit around Neptune's moon Triton. At the edge of the solar system, the rest of the Western Alliance regroups and forms a new command structure. A stand will be made, power returned and peace restored.

You are a member of a squadron of volunteer pilots called the 45th. Any and all citizens with piloting skills have been asked to come forward and help in the fight against the evil coalition. You'll have access to high tech weaponry and ships, not known to most people. The Western Alliance is grossly outnumbered and you must help in any way you can!

StarLancer is primarily a space flight, mission-oriented game in which you must help defeat the coalition and win the war by completing missions successfully. A multi-player combat mode that supports up to eight players on the Internet is also available. All players in multi-player mode begin with the same weapons and no missiles. Throughout the game, power-ups, when found, give you missiles or special abilities. The gaming world is a predefined map and flying to the limit will cause you to simply bounce off it.

In the main mode of StarLancer, you begin the game as a 2nd Lieutenant and work your way up through the ranks and ships as you complete missions successfully. When not on a mission, you can view the Alliance news via a display above your sleeping quarters. Also, you can practice skills in the simulator that provides tutorials on instruments, weaponry, flight or just fight-simulating enemies. Once you're ready, enter the briefing room and learn new mission objectives. Prior to launch, you choose which ship to fly and what missiles to carry, after which the mission and sub-missions begin.

Coalition ships are tracked by red dots on your display and the different color lasers they fire. As you progress in StarLancer, you gain access to better ships and weapons. In the beginning of the game, you choose between three ships with similar capabilities. The game utilizes full joystick and keyboard functions and gives information on your status as well as that of your wingman. You also have full control of your ship and how much power to direct toward each system.

If you think you're ready to take back the galaxy from the greedy, bloodthirsty coalition, prepare yourself for the worst and help the populace of the Western Alliance! ~ Nick Woods, All Game Guide