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(Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom was reviewed in May 1996)
Summary: With quality acting, top-notch video and special effects, and wonderfully compelling game play, Wing Commander IV has it all--and then some.
The cremated Kilrathi homeworld has barely had time to cool, and the afterburners of your Excalibur space fighter are still warm from having vanquished the eons-old enemy. You've pooh-poohed your promotion to Colonel and the mighty Heart Of The Tiger has opted to spend his days in the reserves kicking cow patties as Farmer Christopher Blair. Yes, Wing Commander III is truly over, and everything should be peaceful.
And yet, someone claiming to be from the Border Worlds, a longtime ally in the Kilrathi Wars, has been making terrorist attacks against defenseless Confederation ships and outposts. You now have the pleasure of having your old "friend" Maniac call you back to active duty, where Admiral Tolwyn wants you to scout out the Border Worlds and find out if we're on the brink of civil war.
Everything's changed, you see. Without a common foe in the Kilrathi, mankind has turned its hate inward. Old friends are not who they seem to be, and you find yourself questioning your allegiance to the very government you've fought so hard for, discovering that in this new Kilrathi-free era of peace, our greatest adversaries are not some far-away felines, but ourselves.
Thus Wing Commander IV begins. The Price Of Freedom is without question the most ambitious computer game since, well, Wing Commander III. And, while in the Wing Commander universe, the Confed mantra may be "The Price Of Freedom Is Eternal Vigilance," Origin paid $10 million--a budget bigger than that of some Hollywood films (for more information, see Game News).
If you ever had the opportunity to play Wing Commander III, which blew the doors off the computer gaming world just last year, you'll be glad Origin has gone to such extremes. Because, while it's not as revolutionary as its cinematic sibling, Wing IV is even more entertaining.
Load it up and you'll witness a mind-blowing introduction rivaling any thing by Industrial Light and Magic. If only every big-budget sci-fi flick were as well done. The theatrical video segues seamlessly into actual game play, where you'll find yourself making decisions with far-reaching ramifications.
The video is actually better-looking this time around, but don't think that $10 million buys only better video compression. All that green also allowed Origin to substitute actual sets for those obvious 3-D-rendered backgrounds that gave Wing III a B-movie look and feel.
These real props and sets seem to have improved the actors' performances. For example, I wasn't too impressed with Mark Hamill in Wing III, but here he turns in one of the best CD-acting jobs I've seen, second only to Tom "Back to the Future" Wilson's incredibly entertaining return as Maniac. (Where's this guy been hiding?) Of course, if you're familiar with Wing III, you'll know the other big names: Malcolm McDowell (Star Trek: Generations), John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark), and Jason Bernard (Herman's Head). Alas, Ginger Lynn-Allen isn't here to offer romantic tangents, but with a game this rich, you'll hardly miss her.
More importantly, the video isn't limited to just passive plot revelations. Between missions you'll get to wander the space station to interact with the other characters and piece together the game's ever-unraveling conspiracy.
But, as we all know by now, awesome cinematics do not a great game make. Thankfully, the action-oriented space combat at the heart of this tiger makes the game aces in both departments. As in Wing III and games like X-Wing and Tie Fighter, you fly your assigned spacecraft through various sectors of space--usually taking out any enemy ships from your first-person perspective. Through the course of the 30-odd missions, which typically pair you with one or more wingmen, the game's plot unfolds. In addition to the staple seek-and-destroy flights, you'll get to fly more reconnaissance and rescue missions over planet terrain. You'll also get more than one wingman on several occasions, which lessens the you-against-the-universe feel of previous Wing Commander games.
The first thing Wing III veterans will notice is that the new game replaces the rendered cockpits with a heads-up display. Though some may miss seeing their hand move as they work the throttle, I found the new look appropriate for a space-based flyer. After all, you don't stare at your hands and knees when you drive your car.
You'll also find that enemy ships are a lot faster this time around, lending an air of realism to the game. Plus the artificial intelligence of both the enemy and your wingmen has been improved. In Wing IV, Maniac really flies like a maniac, and the enemy's flying skills are vastly superior.
Naturally, a big budget buys some pretty impressive graphics, ranging from black-and-white VGA for lower-end computers (anything less than a Pentium 75) to breathtaking 16-bit Super VGA. Unfortunately, game play is choppy, even on a 120 MHz Pentium with 16MB of RAM and a six-speed CD-ROM drive. In fact, it got so bad that I found myself calling the local computer reseller to price a 166MHz Pentium chip and a new video card with 4MB of RAM.
Despite Wing IV's insatiable hunger for horsepower, the game's logical and interesting mix of missions managed to keep me hooked. Many space-combat sims tend to get dry pretty quick. You find that most missions merely consist of going out and killing whatever enemy forces you encounter, coming back to the base, and then going out and doing the same thing all over again. Pretty soon you lose your zeal to continue the game. But with Wing IV, each mission adds to the story, and is vital to your success.
Wing Commander IV isn't perfect. If you've never played a game like this, it's going to take a little while to get the hang of things. There are many keyboard commands to learn, and a whole universe to try to understand. And though there are six levels of difficulty, from Rookie to Nightmare, I found myself a little annoyed at the exponential leaps of difficulty from level to level.
But these minor irritations should in no way stop you from owning this game. Not only is it likely to be the biggest game of the year, but Wing IV will undoubtedly become a benchmark for future games of this sort. Old Website Recovery