The Return of the Flight Sim?

Sometimes I think the best games came out too early. What would have happened if Diablo, X-Com, Baldur's Gate, Wing Commander, and any countless number of classics had come out today? With modern computing power and graphical quality, those beloved classics would be that much more compelling. Or, maybe it was the technical limitation of the time that made the games so great. It seems nowadays many games have gone the way of a hollywood movie, high on visual and audio effects, but woefully short on gameplay. I feel this trend is changing somewhat, but I still long for the titles of times past.

The older titles didn't have the luxury of 21st century graphics. Games back then had to be good, had to take chances, and had to have a maximum of quality control. The notion of releasing a patch on the day of launch had never entered the minds of developers yet. Ironically, with all the progress we've made, it seems as if some the greatest games, and greatest game genres have been long forgotten.

Wing Commander, a series that deserves a comeback.

That's why I was thrilled to learn that there could be a sequel to X-Wing VS TIE Fighter. I remember this game growing up, but for some reason had never gotten to play it. Devoted players formed Squadrons (the game's version of guilds) and from what I heard, the game was great. Not only would I think this would be an incredible Star Wars game, but there's always the chance that it will spark something greater. Perhaps a return to the flight sim. I love a good flight sim, but the only one in recent memory that was worth playing was IL-Sturmovik 2.

It seems these games are a lost art, a dinosaur in the PC gaming realm, gone the way of great genres like the single player RPG (in the vein of Baldur's Gate and the Gold Box D&D Games by SSI). It's a shame that the only way left to hardcore gamers to explore these forgotten classics is to play them as abandonware. Fortunately, some of these games are seeing the light of day again through digital download sites. But it's not enough to breathe life into these old relics, they must be reborn for a new generation.

TIE Fighter - considered one of the greatest PC sims of all time.

Here's hoping X-Wing VS TIE Fighter 2 becomes a reality. And to the return of the classics. And why not? Have you noticed how many old ideas Hollywood as brought back? Old TV series, films even toys (Transformers, GI Joe), have been dredged up from the annals of history and brought back into the spotlight, so why not do the same with games? It may have already started to happen, but it's not enough. Bionic Commando was a good start (at least for the idea of bringing back classics, the game itself did not seem to do too well.)

I miss the glory days of the flight simulator, a sadly neglected category in our time. Although there is a spark of hope in Jumpgate Evolution. While there are flight simulators out there, which ones have had the impact on our gaming culture that Wing Commander, X-Wing, Freespace or even Red Baron had? This gamer can't think of one.

Time will tell if we see a return to the PC sim again, but it looks like for now we're stuck with Starwars Starfighter. At least it's only 5 bucks on Steam.