Microsoft has been on a roll with the Xbox Live Arcade in 2007. Titles are showing up with big name credit such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Bomberman Live, and even Golden Axe. Things couldn’t be better for Xbox fanatics as they were served up with another bona fide release in the form of Wing Commander Arena. While the Wing Commander series isn’t as popular as it once was, there is still a small following that will rejoice with WCA’s appearance on the XBLA.

Wing Commander began as a series back in 1990 as a space combat simulator. It picked up a cult following in record time and before the turn of the century, there was a movie based on the franchise in 1999. But, surprisingly, there hasn’t been a game released under the franchise name since 1996. This is where Gaia Industries, developers of Sex in the City video game, have stepped in to fulfill the fan’s wishes for a new title.

Wing Commander Arena is exclusively on the Xbox Live Arcade and is an arcade flight combat game. Electronic Arts, the publisher of WCA, pushed for the best multiplayer game and the result is a fairly decent title. At the asking price of 800 Microsoft Points, players are rewarded with an interesting Xbox Live title focused on multiplayer. Hardcore fans of this cult series may be a little disappointed that the depth of the game is limited to an arcade setting.

It is aimed at the casual gamer with the ease of pick-up-and-play gameplay. The depth of the game is restricted to a few areas of expertise for each ship. Ships are rated in thrust power, weapon damage capability, the rate of fire, hull strength and a couple other areas. When battling, the fights are played out as if it is a rock, paper, and scissors battle. But, perhaps the biggest letdown for hardcore Wing Commander fans will be the simplicity of controlling the ships.

All the maps are on a 2D plane and the ships can only enter the third axis with special maneuvers. Looping around, doing flips, barrel rolling, and other tricks are at the disposal of the pilots to evade their attackers. Outside of those maneuvers though, players will never exit the 2D plane as they search the field for enemies. This will not please longtime fans that want to explore the maps. What this ultimately meant for me was that there wasn’t full control of my ship to dogfight in the air.

As I mentioned earlier, EA stressed for the multiplayer support to be great. With the opportunity to play up to 16 players on Live, WCA has a lot of replay value with being able to put together a huge all out war online. Who wouldn’t want to dogfight with 15 other participants?  Players can expect to participate in normal Deathmatch and Capture the Flag game modes. Regrettably, online is the only portion of the game that is enjoyable – the single player is full of dead space.

Single-player mode consists of bots to train with, asteroids to destroy, and missions protecting space carriers. But with the game limited to only a 2D plane, playing by one’s lonesome is not as pleasing as playing online. Playing through the single player modes, such as Asteroids, Training Modes and Melees, will unlock the 18 ships provided. Unlocking those ships was the only sense of entertainment I encountered with the single player experience.

The graphics are on par with current budget Xbox Live releases. Within the game, the action will liven up with all the missiles and shots being fired, ships exploding, etc., but when players are flying around solo, the game is boring to look at. Sound effects and soundtrack follow the lines of the graphics with a mediocre presence in the game.

Outside of the multiplayer, there’s no real reason to download Wing Commander Arena. I’d suggest only downloading this if players are desperate for 16 player action over Xbox Live.

Gameplay: 6.0
There are several camera angles to change up, but it doesn’t affect how the ship’s movement on the 2D plane. Also another thing that’s disappointing is there isn’t much offered in terms of depth.

Graphics: 5.5
Ships look decent, but the environments and explosions aren’t a pretty sight.

Sound: 4.0
Didn’t expect an exquisite soundtrack nor was I provided one.

Difficulty: Easy
Controls provide an easy to pick-up-and-play shooter.

Concept: 7.3
There aren’t too many games on the Xbox Live Arcade that offer new entries to an already established series, so I happily welcome the idea.

Multiplayer: 7.6
With 16 players in total for the multiplayer – and of course the best experiences coming from Xbox Live - Wing Commander’s best attribute is the online play.

Overall: 6.1
Wing Commander Arena should only be downloaded by spaceship nuts that need to play every sci-fi game. Otherwise, you may want to pass on it.