The music in X-Wing Alliance is perfect! Everything is based on the music from the films. When the pitch of a battle changes, say as a fleet of Star Destroyers cruise in the make burger meat out of you, the music changes to an imperial tune. When you shove two proton torpedoes up a frigate's nose, completing the last mission objective, the music becomes triumphant. The music is beautifully done and serves the game well.

Look, going good against remotes is one thing. Going good against the living? That's something else. Mmmm...Porkins (the chubby chap that gets toasted first in his X-wing during the end-scene in Star Wars) sandwiches. We always wanted to make lunchmeat out of our friends when we played X-Wing and TIE Fighter, but the multi-player mode of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter was a load of Bologna. Lucas Arts did some work and the multi-player mode in X-Wing Alliance is much improved. Even with a ping of 500ms, the game was perfectly playable over the net. Unfortunately, you cannot fly the entire game with others over the net. To make up for this, you can choose from a huge variety of ships to do damage with in many possible combinations. Skirmish play is straightforward killing of everyone on the other teams. Computer AI's can join in to spice it up a bit. You and a few of your friends in TIE Interceptors versus twenty TIE Fighters makes for an interesting match up!

The level design of X-Wing Alliance is a mixed bag. Some missions are straightforward and go just as planned. Others end up with objectives completely different from the planned ones. The fact that you do not know what is coming next adds an element of spice to the game. You become aware of plan changes through radio messages from other ships. Every level is thoroughly scripted, so you're just along for the ride. There are over fifty missions in the game providing a long and varied gaming experience.

One great aspect of the levels is how they are tied into the plot of the films. You get to deal with Bothans, many of which die. The best missions are those in which you join the crew of the Millennium Falcon during the Battle of Endor. In a drastic change from every previous Star Wars flight simulator game, you actually get to go into the Death Star!

There are some problems with level design. The biggest problem being that there are some difficult missions early on, which prove frustrating for even experienced pilots. That kind of level should have been saved for later on in the game. Also, if you fail one small objective of a mission, you have to do the entire mission over. On long difficult scenarios, having to repeat can be irritating. We would love to see a save feature that would operate in the middle of a mission.