Wing Commander™ 1+2

I've used to play WC back in the days when it was new. It might be 30 y ago, but I still have the feel for it imho- and was very disappointed. Game speed makes it simply unplayable. I#m aware I could adjust constantly the DOS box cycles, but that's not the way it should be. Please fix.

Let me start off by saying that I don't believe the first Wing Commander game is unplayable. I'd say you get used to the slowdown and can even use it to your advantage at times. For the most part, it's actually really easy to stay on the winning side of the mission tree. The only system that gave me fits on my first playthrough was Brimstone. When I went back to replay some of the other systems I hadn't seen, I found out it was actually pretty easy to avoid that system. The story itself is ok. Nothing really to write home about, but it's serviceable. Now let's talk about the Secret Missions expansion packs for the first game. They're bad. Just pull the band aid off and admit it. The performance of SM1 is actually noticeably worse than the main game. Performance was greatly improved in SM2, but both of these games have a far worse problem; their mission design is absolutely horrid. I was forced to use the Origin -k cheat code multiple times for these packs. They just aren't fun. Wing Commander II works MUCH better in DOSBox. There are times when it is a bit too fast, but that's another thing you can get used to. The last mission of the game was tough, but I never had to resort to cheats to beat this game. You do have to suspend your disbelief towards the end there for the story, unfortunately. The Special Operations expansion packs are also well designed. SO1 did drop the ball at the end with a couple of impossible missions though. Up to that point, it wasn't too bad. SO2 was playable from beginning to end without any problems. One thing I'd like to point out. I played this with a Roland MT-32 for sound and it's a HUGE improvement over the Adlib sound. These devices are hard to come by, so you may want to look into the MUNT emulator for sound. You won't regret it. Overall, I'd give WC I a score of 3 stars and WC II a score of 4 stars. Great games worth playing to see where the space sim genre got its start.

little disapointed you left out the expansions for both games

The games look good, but they are very slow. DOSbox do not emulate it well. I've tested in two PCs, both the games are lagging. If you want a outstanding space sim buy DESCENT 1+2, WC 1+2 do not work well

In short, I really liked the first and I consider the second hot garbage. Since I have to score both in one, I give it a 4/5 to be fair to the first game. Otherwise I would give WC1 a score of 4-5 stars (based on when it was released) and WC2 a 2 stars. WC1. The game is of course the known semi branching campaign of you playing as a pilot of the confederation against the Kilrathi cat like aliens. Most of the game is the actual flying and battles, while a small part is talking to your colleagues and attending the mission briefings. The actual fighting part is well done. One thing to remember, afterburner is your friend. It's totally worth playing for both the story and the actual gameplay. If you have a soft spot for the era's graphics and sound, even better. I used a joystick to play (Logitech Extreme 3D Pro), but you can play it completely with keyboard or keyboard and mouse too. The game is obviously not perfect, but it is really good for what it is and when it was released. The framerate can drop at times during intense actions, but that was always the case even back in the day. Completed it recently for my Twitch stream and I am glad I did. I played, and lost, the first expansion pack of WC1. Good fun, but fake branching. WC2. Different vibes from the first game. Slightly different setting at first, but soon you change to more familiar ground. The framerate is much improved with the game being much smoother, but also feeling like much faster. You can, as I did, reduce the dosbox cycles to say 6000, which will improve things. Main issues which made me rage quit around the 9th or so mission. Both friendly and enemy crafts keep ramming you. Friendly also keep getting in front of you when you are shooting the enemy. RUIN the game. Enemy crafts obey different laws of physic as they can fly away and shoot at you and zip around at impossible speeds. Horrible. HORRIBLE. I tolerated for ~9 missions, but no more.