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Abe Sargent · 07-25-2006, 10:58 PM

Rounding out our little mini trio of scifi games all in a row is the only simulator to make the countdown. It was truly one of the great games of its day, and its impact on games since has been astounding. I'm sure you need no introduction to number 23 on my list:

23. Wing Commander
Origin
PC
1990
GameSpot Review - 9.2 (Note this is also before GameSpot gave out reviews and is the average user review)
Simulation - Flight

Wing Commander is one of the great, all time PC games in any genre, period. I don't normally go for simulators, but Wing Commander was amazing at it. The game was truly revolutionary in many ways.

First of all, Wing Commander had a matrix path through the game. At the end of each series of missions that made up an element in the war against the Kilrathi, if you won, you would advance to one new campaign and if you lost, you would go to another. If you won all of your campaigns, you could make it through the game with relative ease and speed. If you lost, then you had to go through more campaigns that get harder and harder until you finally get to either the Humans Won campaign or the Humans Lost campaign. This sort of reactionary game not only increased its playabilty as you moved through new campaigns but also added an organic factor to the simulator.

The flight and combat simulator were top notch for the time. The graphics were great, the play style was great, and the concepts were great too.

As you took damage, systems on board the ship would start to get damaged, and the game realistically simulated that. The game also was constructed in such a way that the best combat strategy was to wait, aim and fire instead of spraying the sky with bullets and hoping for luck.

The AI for the Kilrathi and your wingmate were both really good, with various wingmates having different personalties with different styles of combat. Who can forget Maniac flying in front of your guns to attack a Kilrath? That was really annoying.

You had different ships, different missiles, different guns, and different wingmates throughout the game. The enemy also had different ships, different missiles, different guns, etc. They also had a few unique and nasty pilots in the game that you had a chance to shoot down.

Even the graphics looked good. I mean, take a look at this screenshot of the station lounge. Doesn't this look great for the time?

Not only would Wing Commander spawn a whole mess of sequels, but it also featured one of the first expansion packs for a video game (some believe it is, actually, the first expansion pack. Much like figuring out who invented the remix when numerous artists came up with the idea simultaneously, figuring out the first game to have an expansion pack is difficult at best. However, Wing Commander is in the conversation.)

I can still remember fighting against Kilrathi. I can remember how hard an escort mission was with these dumb transport vessels that were slow and easy to hit. I can remember a mission I simpy couldn't succeed despite ten or twelve tries where I had to go out and save one of our capital ships from being blown up by Kilrathi that were already attacking it. I remember Paladin as a crusty old rules lawyering bastard.

I also remember that in some missions there would be Kilrathi off the trail you are supposed to follow and if you journey outwards, you could get some major kills. You could be promoted or awarded medals based on your perforamnce on missions. It was great.

Wing Commander would get away from some of this open endedness in later sequals, instead using voice acting and cut scenes to tell the story instead of letting you choose the story (in fact, WCII was one at the forefront of using voice acting and WCIII was at the forefront of full motion video).

Still, the game was near perfect in every way, and the only thing keeping me from giving it a higher evaluation is the fact that the game was a bit too joystick jockey for my own perference. It came down a bit too much to reflexes and such. Nevertheless, the game is good enough to warrant a spot here with the greatest games of all time, to my mind.

-Anxiety

07-25-2006, 10:58 PM	#29
Abe Sargent Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Catonsville, MD	Rounding out our little mini trio of scifi games all in a row is the only simulator to make the countdown. It was truly one of the great games of its day, and its impact on games since has been astounding. I'm sure you need no introduction to number 23 on my list: 23. Wing Commander Origin PC 1990 GameSpot Review - 9.2 (Note this is also before GameSpot gave out reviews and is the average user review) Simulation - Flight Wing Commander is one of the great, all time PC games in any genre, period. I don't normally go for simulators, but Wing Commander was amazing at it. The game was truly revolutionary in many ways. First of all, Wing Commander had a matrix path through the game. At the end of each series of missions that made up an element in the war against the Kilrathi, if you won, you would advance to one new campaign and if you lost, you would go to another. If you won all of your campaigns, you could make it through the game with relative ease and speed. If you lost, then you had to go through more campaigns that get harder and harder until you finally get to either the Humans Won campaign or the Humans Lost campaign. This sort of reactionary game not only increased its playabilty as you moved through new campaigns but also added an organic factor to the simulator. The flight and combat simulator were top notch for the time. The graphics were great, the play style was great, and the concepts were great too. As you took damage, systems on board the ship would start to get damaged, and the game realistically simulated that. The game also was constructed in such a way that the best combat strategy was to wait, aim and fire instead of spraying the sky with bullets and hoping for luck. The AI for the Kilrathi and your wingmate were both really good, with various wingmates having different personalties with different styles of combat. Who can forget Maniac flying in front of your guns to attack a Kilrath? That was really annoying. You had different ships, different missiles, different guns, and different wingmates throughout the game. The enemy also had different ships, different missiles, different guns, etc. They also had a few unique and nasty pilots in the game that you had a chance to shoot down. Even the graphics looked good. I mean, take a look at this screenshot of the station lounge. Doesn't this look great for the time? Not only would Wing Commander spawn a whole mess of sequels, but it also featured one of the first expansion packs for a video game (some believe it is, actually, the first expansion pack. Much like figuring out who invented the remix when numerous artists came up with the idea simultaneously, figuring out the first game to have an expansion pack is difficult at best. However, Wing Commander is in the conversation.) I can still remember fighting against Kilrathi. I can remember how hard an escort mission was with these dumb transport vessels that were slow and easy to hit. I can remember a mission I simpy couldn't succeed despite ten or twelve tries where I had to go out and save one of our capital ships from being blown up by Kilrathi that were already attacking it. I remember Paladin as a crusty old rules lawyering bastard. I also remember that in some missions there would be Kilrathi off the trail you are supposed to follow and if you journey outwards, you could get some major kills. You could be promoted or awarded medals based on your perforamnce on missions. It was great. Wing Commander would get away from some of this open endedness in later sequals, instead using voice acting and cut scenes to tell the story instead of letting you choose the story (in fact, WCII was one at the forefront of using voice acting and WCIII was at the forefront of full motion video). Still, the game was near perfect in every way, and the only thing keeping me from giving it a higher evaluation is the fact that the game was a bit too joystick jockey for my own perference. It came down a bit too much to reflexes and such. Nevertheless, the game is good enough to warrant a spot here with the greatest games of all time, to my mind. -Anxiety __________________ Check out my two current weekly Magic columns! https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/?action=search&page=1&author[]=Abe%20Sargent Last edited by Abe Sargent : 05-01-2022 at 10:42 AM.