Wing Commander 3
Developer - Origin
Publisher - Electronic Arts
Players - 1
Extras - Memory card
The bit on the box
"Origin places Hollywood on the
PlayStation with you as the star! Turn your PlayStation into a home theatre
with Wing Commander III, Heart of the Tiger. Join an all star cast that
includes Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell and immerse yourself in a futuristic
adventure that combines Hollywood Movie making expertise with the adrenaline
pumping gameplay of a space combat simulation. Your actions will determine
the eventual outcome in the final decisive showdown between Terran and
the Kilrathi forces. Four PlayStation disks hold full speech, explosive
sound, an interactive plot and live action video images. Multiple camera
angles and complete interactive player control bring space combat simulation
to new heights of cinematic realism."
Graphics
Wing Commander 3 is a fairly respectable port of
the third chapter in the popular series on the PC. The FMV actually looks
much better than the PC version, although admittedly it is quite obvious
that green screening has been used rather than real sets. The in-game engine
is a little disappointing, and not as smooth or sharp as I had hoped it
would be. Space looks very "flat" also, not really giving a good effect
of traveling about in a spacecraft at high velocities. Dogfights look quite
good but when you attack a capital ship the action tends to slowdown to
a snail's pace with the amount of gunfire going on around you. The programmers
seem to have had little confidence in converting this title to PlayStation,
as they have axed the ground based missions completely and replaced them
with animated CG movies.
Sounds
The sound in Wing Commander 3 is actually rather
good, with a great "epic" sounding soundtrack that appears very orchestral
(even though it is only general Midi), and the combat sound effects giving
a good feel of being in the thick of it. The sounds in the dogfights really
makes you feel like being involved in some "Star Wars" type battle, as
not only do you hear the searing blasts of gunfire but also the radio communications
of your wingmen. The acting in the FMV parts of the game are Hollywood
quality and do alot to enhance the overall storyline, which has always
been a key point in the Wing Commander series of games.
Gameplay
I'm sorry to say that the control system for the game
has suffered much in the translation from the PC to PlayStation. Whereas
much of the keyboard was used at times in the PC version now the player
has to used button combinations to access various things in flight (some
of which are a little complicated especially in the midst of battle). A
slow framerate can also make it difficult to target enemies if they are
a distance away, and makes it impossible to maneuver when close to large
capital ships. The missions are all waypoint based, but there is a large
variety in what you have to do which does keep the game interesting enough
to play so you can see what happens next in the plot, that's if you can
control your ship well enough to survive the missions that is.
I feel a verdict coming on
A good story backed up by bad controls and a below par
graphics engine may doom Wing Commander 3 to more obscurity than
it's PC cousin. Longevity is also a factor as once you have played through
the game once you may never go back to it again unless you are a diehard
fan of the series. If there is a next time Origin may want to consider
overhauling the graphics engine for these games as the storylines and high
quality production of the FMV deserve alot better than what accompanies
them at this time, even if they have to dump some of the graphics detail
to get an overall smoother feel (maybe graphics similar to the Amiga classic
Epic).
If you are into space epic movies try renting this one or picking it up
cheap, otherwise stay away.
Review by D.R.T.Barrett
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