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Reviews
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1995)
A True Masterpiece
There is no perfect game, but this one comes about as close as possible.
Intense, amazing, and -- most importantly -- NEW, the storyline for this game is the best I've seen for ANY game, regardless of genre. I knew that the video for this game would look much better than in WC3 when I got it, but I had no idea what the plot was, and the only assurance I had that it would be even mildly interesting is the traditional WC high quality that doesn't fail here.
Forget the senselessly stupid WC "movie" that came out in theaters a few months ago; this is what should have been put on the screen. This had a convincing, natural-sounding script, top-notch acting, and great EFX to boot. Unlike a lot of games, this one made you care about the characters. This is, to date, the only game I've played that kept me out of bed for more than two days straight just to play "one more mission".
There is, however, one failing that this game does have, one flaw: the gameplay. The flight engine is recycled from WC3, with enhanced AI. I would have preferred that this game be in development for another year if only that would give it the better flight engine, but I suppose you have to live with what you can get.
Still, this is a minor quibble, and not enough to pull the game away from a 10 rating in my book.
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994)
The first interactive movie, and still one of the best.
As a long-standing WC fan, I suppose I have a little bias here, but story has always been the largest draw in a game to me. The fact that Chris Roberts and company decided to use live actors IN 1993 shows that they care about story and wanted to make it interesting to watch as well as to play. The actors themselves are no slouches when it comes to acting, and have been in several top-of-the-line feature films.
Granted, the plot is a familiar one, but when coupled with the WC plot as a whole, it takes on a whole new meaning, and real actors are just what was needed to bring that out.
The spaceflight is top-notch... for 1994. Don't expect to see anything even close to today's 3D accelerated colorfests, but do expect to be entertained and challenged.
Entertainment is, after all, what we're after here, isn't it?