


It seemed to work well, but I found myself dying more than I'd hoped. I took a "run in and run away" approach, darting into skirmishes to antagonize any X-wings I came across with laser fire, and then taking advantage of the ship's maneuverability to escape. It delivered on that front, allowing me to help teammates take on much larger ships, such as Y-wings. I started out with the standard ship, expecting a fragile but deadly ship. First up was a run-of-the-mill TIE fighter, followed by its interceptor and bomber variants. When I spawned into the game, I had my initial pick of three different ships. controlled ships to add to the delightful confusion and visual impact of this 24-player battle. Fortunately, I was part of a team of 12, bolstered by a variety of A.I. A recuperating imperial star destroyer was in dry dock, and as an imperial pilot, my job was to ensure that the rebels didn't take out the incapacitated titan. Our battle took place over the planet of Fondor, around one of its orbital shipyards. After spending some hands-on time with Star Wars Battlefront II's new Starfighter Assault mode, however, I have a greater appreciation for TIE fighters – not for the sacrifices that their pilots make, but for how these much-maligned ships are actually quite great. Go ahead and gloat over those kills, rebels. What they lack in sentimentality, the Empire makes up for in the raw numbers.

You're a disposable hunk of sentient meat piloting an equally disposable spacecraft. As any veteran of Star Wars: TIE Fighter knows, flying for the bad guys is a thankless job.
