This is the first time where I find other reviews on Gog to be not accurate. The main problems about this game are: 1) it's really very short, a few hours at most, although the replay value is pretty high if you are interested in reliving the story trying different approaches (mostly different dialogues). 2) It's buggy AS HELL. There's one very major gamebreaking bug near the end, supposedly about to be patched. Even so, during the games I experienced a lot of annoying bugs such as subtitles not disappearing and filling up the screen, character stuck etc. 3) The general atmosphere is very lighthearted but the story is pretty serious, creating a somewhat confusing mix. Serious and dramatic events take place aboard the vessel you serve on, but the characters always seem to kinda care very little about them, always finding the mood to make a joke, to treat everything very nonchalantly, almost as if they were not really taking the situation seriously. Like, one of your team members is assassinated: who cares, we gotta organize the welcoming party for the new officer LOOOL! 8) XD :-))) I would have much preferred to have more serious-minded characters, for example the captain of the ship acts kind of like a stern but funny big sister instead of a true "captain". In the end it becomes very hard to take your crew member seriously or to really feel at the centre of a difficult situation, and the atmosphere goes down the drain.
This is one of those games that I would like to be able to remove from my memory, so that I could play it again from scratch and enjoy it as I did the first time. Yes, it's that good. Mind you, you have to get past the terribly outdated graphics (I played it on Xbox back then, and it looked like a bad PS2-era game). But if you can do it, and you should, boy you're in for a treat. This game features a great and fascinating story, memorable characters and a general aura of mystery and strangeness that will keep you mesmerized right until the very end. If you like this kind of adventures, where unfolding the mystery and getting to know a lot of extremely well written characters is the whole point of the game, then it's a no-brainer: you won't be disappointed. Even more so if you happen to like David Lynch and his masterpiece tv series Twin Peaks, because this game is a massive tribute to it.
Wing Commander IV is the highest point in one of the greatest series in the history of gaming. Everything that made WC wonderful is present and better than ever. The story in particular is probably the most enticing ever seen in an already splendidly told saga. The war with the Kilrathi is over, but new enemies arise for the Terran Confederation, and Colonel Christopher Blair, now retired, is asked to get back again in the cockpit to ensure peace against the threat of a separatist alliance of planets. But is this the real threat? Or is the Confederation, weakened and blinded after the long and bloody war with the Kilrathi missing its true enemy? WC4, like its predecessor WC3, is told through a magnificent series of cutscenes shot with real actors. We have Mark Hamill, Tom Wilson and Malcolm McDowell among the "stars", but also a few other important characters like the Captain Eisen from WC3. You may also recognize a great Chris Mulkey (Twin Peaks, among other things) playing the pilot Hawk. Every character is played very well, as WC4 is probably the greatest example of the often discussed 'interactive movie' era of games. The best part of the game, however, remains its plot and the way it unfolds. There is a lot of mystery going on, difficult choices to make and later in the game you also have the choice to decide how the war campaign should going on, e.g. choosing to go on a series of defensive missions rather than going for the assault (I'm speaking generally to avoid spoilers). Compared to WC3, this chapter really makes an effort to make you feel like your choices actually impact the game, you'll see that the replayability is pretty high because even though in the end the main storyline is one, there are a few different approaches towards it, with missions varying a lot based on what you choose. The only relatively lacking part, like in WC3, is the flight model. Focusing so much on the movie-like experience, the feeling in the cockpit is pretty distant from other space sims like, say, the Freespace saga. The game however is still pretty fun, and reasonably difficult at higher levels. All in all, Wing Commander IV is an absolute masterpiece, the great ending to a great saga (I'm not counting WC5, which wasn't made by Chris Roberts). Get your popcorns, plug in your joystick, and get ready to find out why "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance".
Each one of the 3 Gabriel Knight games can be considered a landmark in the history of videogaming, and videogame adventures especially. If you think about it, across the 3 games of the saga, the franchise went through the usual, old-style 2d 'painted' adventures, then onto the short but consistent phase of real-actors, and finally into the 3d era. The interesting bit is that each GK managed to be a great game even when put into a shaky context: the second game is actually one of the few 'real-actors' games worth playing, and the third is in my opinion the only, single 3d adventure to ever really shine. Sure, the graphics are not amazing. I hear the voice dubbing is also pretty bad (I can't really comment on it, as I used to play an italian localised version of the game). And 3d in itself isn't really an adventure gamer's cup of tea, never has been and never will. But on the "adventure" side, this game has it all. A grand story which interweaves historical facts and supernatural events in the classical and loved style of Jane Jensen's previous games. A group of interesting, fun and deep side characters, each one with their own personal agenda that you can choose to uncover, even if it's just a "surplus" from actually finishing the game. Yes, because GK:3 will actually leave you a certain degree of choice. It's not an open-ended game, but there are many moments where a careful eye can lead you to uncover new and interesting details of whatever is happening in Rennes-Le-Chateau. And if you miss those moments, you will still finish the game, but will be left hungry for more information. The series' humour and fascinating storytelling is still strongly present in this (unfortunately) last chapter, as is Gabriel's funny but brave attitude towards mistery and danger. Just add the fact that this game includes what I honestly believe to be the best puzzle ever seen in a pc adventure... you'll love to hate Le Serpent Rouge, and you'll plain simply love Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned.
