Origins final entry into the Wing Commander Series was the most polished version of a by-then familiar product. A game that recaptures some of the spirit of the original Wing Commander by copying part of that games setup - a single carrier, fighting against the odds with the player a rookie thrown in at the deep end. FMV as well done as ever even if the roster of Hollywood names is down to Mark Hamill (as an NPC version of the character we played in earlier titles) & Tom Wilson as the comic relief that is Maniac. Controls & gameplay remain fundamentally unchanged from the rest of the series but if you liked those this is no bad thing. It's by no means a simulator - and was never intended to be - but the dogfighting remains as addictive as ever & the plot remains engaging enough to see you through to the end. All in all, this game is the best way for those who missed the series the 1st time around to see what the fuss was about without having to ask their parents what "sprites" are! Well worth $6.00 of anybodys money & the community support remains fantastic - fully expect the free addon "Secret Ops" to make an appearance here at some point given GOGS great track record with earlier titles. Now, have to excuse me, there's bugs to squash...
I have mixed feelings about this release - on the one hand any Wing Commander to legally own again is great, on the other, this release could have been so much better. These are the DOS versions and the games do show their age after all this time. Saddest thing is that the epic soundtrack - revolutionary in its day - still sounded better on my Amiga than the version available here.The frustrating thing is that both games (and the music/sound effects) were significantly tweaked to run on newer machines for the later Window compilation release, The Kilrathi Saga. Hopefully GOG & EA can do a deal & upgrade to that version at a later date to really do this classic game the justice it deserves? I'm holding back a star until then despite my huge affection for this game & the memories it brings back.
