When this game came out, it seemed to fill in the gaps that other space simulators left behind. Before X-Wing came out, the first-person space combat game of choice was Origin's Wing Commander I and II. Yeah, it was cool shooting up those bitmapped Kilrathi, and the storyline was gripping, but I felt the flight sim was lacking something. Aside from the somewhat jerky motion of the ship (and the fact that if you let go of the joystick, you just stopped in your tracks), I didn't really feel that I could really relate to my surroundings.
Then came X-Wing.
X-Wing had it all. Familiar ships, shieldless Tie Fighters, Darth Vader, and a kick-ass trench run mission on the Death Star (among several others over the evil weapon). R2D2 beeped. Ties roared past. You returned to base with damage. Even the music was good!
Okay, but the purpose of this is to be critical, so here goes.
Great fun, Star Wars Universe, realistic flight engine (you drift to a stop), polygon graphics for smooth flight, Over 50 fun missions. Introduced the Tie Advanced and Assault Gunboat.
Lack of accelerated time = long waits during missions, polygon graphics didn't
look too realistic, not as gripping storyline as in Wing Commander, sound
quality could be improved. Repetitive nature of wing commands (Roger, using
designated target... Roger, using designated target...)
LACK OF NETWORK OPTION. (Though you can't yell at them at the time)
For its time, it was a ground-breaker that paved the way for later great flight sims. Later came out with two add on modules, Imperial Pursuit and B-Wing... worth 30$ each? Hmm...