Wing Commander™ 1+2

The Wing Commander series used to be the benchmark for upgrading my PC. Computers fell in 2 categories, the ones that could run the latest WC title and the ones that couldn't. If you have never played these games, be aware, this is not Freespace. Graphics, while phenomenal at the time, are pre-3D revolution. Still you should play it no matter what, because these titles are undeniably big part of gaming history and more importantly a lot of fun. Thank you GOG for releasing this title. Now, if you can also release WC3 and Strike Commander. Fingers crossed!

Was Wing Commander the best game of its time? No, it wasn't. Did it invent anything new? No, it didn't. Has it aged well? No, not at all. Do i still love it? Hell yeah, break and attack! Wing Commander was never meant to be a deep game. All it ever set out to offer was a rock-solid game play formula with easy controls, and a strong emphasis on dramatic presentation. I resonated with me right away back then, and it has influenced my perception of games ever since: While game play will always be the single most important element, an intense in game-narrative can greatly enhance the overall experience. Wing Commander may not have attempted it first, but Chris Roberts gave it a very distinct personality with its memorable characters, talking heads, branching mission structure, and its gritty atmosphere. The mission disks also introduced coherent story lines to the game - a concept refined in Wing Commander II (although i was never particularly fond of "Whodunit"-story lines). The sheer immersion always out-shined the limitations of the game play for me - i just wanted to push forward and see how the story unfolds. In its best moments, Wing Commander would make you feel like the greatest hero of the galaxy; truly a boy's dream coming true. There's always that one special game for everyone, and Wing Commander was mine. I just wonder if the game is to blame for my dislike of cats...

Back when games were action interspersed with cutscenes instead of cutscenes interspersed with action.

Well this is honestly a pretty good deal, both games for 6 $. I got this recently, and found WC1 to be pretty fun for the most part. It has a pretty solid story, a branching campaign, 2 endings... the gameplay is the ancestor of more recent space shooter and it handles pretty well with the joystick. My main criticism against WC1 is the somewhat uneven difficulty setting. Some missions are just cakewalk and some other are frustrating, there is apparently a mission that is almost unbeatable in the winning branch of the campaign, and failing this mission means you fail the set of the campaign, then you have to win the next set or its fubar. Also, wingmen usefulness isn't always what you'd expect. According to logic, the higher ranked ones should be better, but it doesn't seem to be always the case. Spirit seems better than Paladin, Bossman seemed way better than iceman etc. Also, expect quite some lag if engagements get bigger then 4 fighters at once. WC2 is pretty similar, but i thought it became more frustrating. There is apparently a dynamic AI system, which basically gives you harder odds if you fight well. But this system is forced on you, and the fights aren't really easy to begin with imo. So I get a bit mad when my reward for blasting some killrathi effectively is to have more tougher killrathi to beat, especially considering they have new fighters that are sometimes infuriating... like those heavy fighters with BFG on front and on the rear turret. If i do good in fights, let me have my victory. Also, your teammates won't hesitate to shoot through you...frustrating.

(Wing Commander is famously "cinematic", but I'm going to just talk gameplay) WC1 is a game that works that really shouldn't. It is insanely frustruating. You will die. A lot. And for the longest time you won't know what you're doing wrong. That should make for an awful game, and I was within minutes of demanding my money back. But if you perserve you start to realise - your craft can't take much damage, and the game world has strict rules that it will applly even if it's unfair. So unless you know what to avoid, every now and again enough opponents shoot you from outside your field of vision at the same time, and you'll suddenly die. Once you unpick the way the game works, it's a blast. You learn to work with the game's rules and you can destroy hordes of enemy craft. But still, WC1 can be very frustating. Your wingman might die through no fault of yours, or you'll dodge into another starcraft you couldn't reasonably have seen; and if you die it takes ages to get back into the action. Also considering how easy it is to die, they really should've had checkpoints. But the tension - wow. At the end of a few missions my hands were shaking - because while you can fail through no fault of your own, you will earn every success. It's a rush that explains why this game has such a cult following. WC2 fixes some of the issues in WC1. Two big improvements - your wingmen can't die in-game, and there's a "try again" button when you fail. They also mix up the formula enough with the addition of tailguns that you have to update your strategies, it's not just more of the same. So if you're thinking of buying this, my advice is this: - it will be frustrating, but that's part of it. You'll get better, and there's a reason this is a cult classic. Check forums for tips. - get a non-fancy joystick. They're quite cheap now, and it's basically impossible without it. - if WC1 is driving you spare, skip to WC2. But the story is better if you play them in order.