To battle we go!
While the title might conjure up images of two-player deathmatch-style games such as Scorched Earth and Zee Artillery, what you actually have in Line Wars is a take on the classic space exploration sim as typified by Elite. It's not quite up the standards of this bona fide legend, or those of its sequel Line Wars 2 but for genre fans, it's worthy a brief investigation. The game is a lot simpler than Elite and is perhaps best likened to a stripped down (and much more basic) Wing Commander, with the player taking control of a nifty little spaceship and taking part in what is really just a series of combat missions. There's little in the way of trading, exploration or complexity and what it really boils down to is blowing the living daylights out of the other rogue flyers who are zipping around the universe. There's also next to nothing in terms of narrative, so if you enjoy that aspect of the Wing Commander games, then you might be disappointed with this one. What the game does have however, is action and plenty of it. Matches are typically played out between four players, and each ship is armed with a deadly combination of missiles, lasers and shields and with dogfights getting pretty intense and exciting if you can get four human players together. However, visuals are pretty ropey as are sound effects and the gameplay is noticeably slim, being little more than a very basic space shooter. It's undeniably fun while it lasts but if you're looking for something with a little more depth, you're probably better off with the sequel.
