Gaming Target - Xbox: Yager

Written by Leigh Culpin on May 27, 2003

First Impressions: Better damn well fly over here to North AmericaЕ

Yager has been in development for some time now, and it's finally nearing its European release date. Currently there are no public plans to release the game here in North America, but hopefully if enough people make enough noise then we'll be graced with the extraordinary looking game's presence.

Anyone familiar with the recent release Battle Engine Aquilla has an idea of what to expect (to a degree) from this game Ц you'll be flying most of the time, but will stick fairly close to the ground, and your vehicle (The Sagittarius) even has two flight modes (a hover mode for slower movements but easier maneuvering and a jet mode for dog fighting and covering large distances quickly). The similarities between the two games start to thin out a bit beyond that though, and it looks like Yager might have managed to one up BEA in almost every comparable aspect.

As far as gameplay is concerned, the transformation of your ship is significantly more subtle than in BEA, which almost makes things a bit more realistic, somewhat Harrier-esque. However, comparing the Sagittarius to a Harrier as far as capabilities go would be somewhat of an insult to your fictional craft Ц you'll be able to pick up a large variety of weapons as you progress throughout the game, many with secondary functions, and each has it's own well balanced pros and cons. Somewhat reminiscent of earlier MechWarrior games, you'll have your default laser that doesn't run out of ammo but will overheat, and other weapons such as napalm guns, missiles and of course machine guns will round out your arsenal.

Graphically, Yager scores big Ц if you have seen BEA, and call that an 8.0 for graphics, call Yager a 9.5 at the very least. The water is incredible, the terrain is sharp and crisp, and the weapons effects are absolutely phenomenal. The ship models are all detailed with excruciating care and I have yet to see a single visual that hasn't left me impressed. Normally screenshots and movies really don't do a game justice, and if that goes for this game, then prepare to be amazed if you ever actually have the pleasure of playing it.

The audio is also extremely well done, with convincing voiceovers presented constantly, good sound effects and fast-paced bassy music. Yager is going to be an aesthetic masterpiece, period. This is another one of those games where you really need a hardcore home audio system to fully enjoy what's been put at your disposal.

Interestingly enough, the game would be somewhat miss-classified if it were to be called only a flight sim, since it's more of an FPS (though external views are available) that just happens to take place in the air. It may sound like a minute differentiation and perhaps somewhat silly, but there's less emphasis on flying around and more on dog fighting. While the story does promise to be engrossing (as it stands you are fighting an enemy force who wishes to take over the trade routes and airspace of the game world's locales) the actual gameplay should be the biggest draw here Ц unlike BEA or MechAssualt where you basically just spend your time destroying everything that moves, you'll find a decent compliment of mission variety: assault, search and/or destroy, escort missions, rescue missions, etc. Missions are broken up into smaller levels, as they are in BEA, and the occasional cut-scene between levels will advance the story.

The game's AI looks to be the Half-Life of the flying world Ц that is, your enemies are going to work extremely well in teams and give you a serious run for your money. This will add greatly to the realism and will make for some incredible dogfights, which are looking to be somewhat movie-like in feel and appearance. While not the only aspect of the game, the mid-air battles are a very integral component and have been treated accordingly.