The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, apparently.
And the price of Wing Commander IV was very low indeed once I bought it on budget, years after its release. I was a fan of the first Wing Commander game, but sadly, it was the only one ported to the Amiga. Fast forward to the era of PC ownership in 1998 or so, and I could finally discover the remainder of the series.
It’s easy to see how Wing Commander IV was, at the time of its birth, the most expensive computer game ever produced, clocking in at a reported $10 million (fairly standard nowadays). Although its gameplay was severely limited by the PC hardware of the mid-90s (its SVGA, pseudo-3D graphics have not aged well), its vast budget had been lavished on its cinematic, ‘interactive movie’ cutscenes. And it showed.
I’ve said this before, and it wasn’t a joke: the cutscenes in Wing Commander IV make a better film than the actual Wing Commander movie.
Ironically, it’s the non-interactive cutscenes that are most enjoyable, the ability to choose between a couple of options at certain points - mostly having very little impact on the overarching storyline - being little more than a distraction. Somehow, the fact you’re taking over the role of your protagonist during missions makes the on-screen action more compelling all by itself. You are Mark Hammill.
I’ve been gradually creeping my way through the remastered DVD edition of the game. Even the high-res enhanced cinematics have stood the test of time, though the in-game sequences certainly haven’t, and Wing Commander IV remains one of that rare breed: more of an experience than a game.
