Wing Commander 4

Developer - Origin
Publisher - Electronic Arts
Players - 1
Extras - Memory card, Analog

The bit on the box

"Now that the bloody battle between the Kilrathi and Terrans has been concluded, the Confederation doesn't have to look very far for it's next enemy. Civil wars and unrest have broken out on the home front. Colonel Blair is recalled to help the Terran government stamp out the growing fires. It won't be easy. The Confederation is beginning to splinter under the new pressures. It will take a quick mind and quicker reflexes to save it from it's most insidious enemy to date! Three flight modes for both novice and advanced players. Virtual physics with an ultrarealistic "feel" to flying. Sony dual analog and digital joystick support. Choose your own destiny - compassionate hero or merciless avenger? 5 different control layouts. Completely woven story featuring old friends and new comrades. Top quality movies with Dolby Surround sound. Stunning sci-fi special effects. Ensemble cast of favourites, including Mark Hamill, John Rhys-Davies, Tom Wilson and Malcolm McDowell as 'Tolwyn'."

Graphics

Let's start with the good bit shall we? Wing Commander 4 is chock full of video sequences, using real sets and actors, and is of some of the best quality that has been seen in a game. I played this game on the PC and the video is far better in the playstation version, although apart from that it is pretty much the same. The in-game graphics are disappointing however, being in low res and missing a few frames of animation, maiking it extremely difficult to target enemy ships when there is alot going on on-screen. I would have actually preferred it if Origin had cut down on textures and left the game in hi res, though whether this game engine could have made it over to the Playstation with a better framerate is questionable anyway.

Sounds

The voice acting is superb for a game, being of Hollywood quality, and although Mark Hammill is supposed to be the star, Malcolm MacDowell tends to steal the show in his role as the Admiral. The music is also excellent, using an orchestral score that fits the science fiction feel of the game perfectly. In-game the sound is good, although not to the same degree as the video scenes. Explosions are a bit lame, and the sound of the weapons on ships sound all the same, making it difficult to tell when the enemy is shooting at you or your wingman is shooting at them. As for the wingmen themselves, they make a few comments while in battle, which can get monotonous after awhile as they repeat the same lines. Also, the speech in combat can sometimes fall behind the little video screen of your wingman, spoiling the lip synching effect and detracting from the "high budget" feel.

Gameplay

There are two parts to Wing Commander 4, the story and the action sequences. The story is told through the use of the aforementioned video sequences, which stop on occasion to allow the player to choose a course of action. Sometimes this can effect the storyline later in the game, but most of the time the "interactivity" is just a joke. The action sequences take place in the cockpit, flying missions such as patrols, escort duty and dogfighting. Unfortunately there is absolutely no feeling of depth in space during these scenes, and playability can be completely ruined when the frame rate drops so much that no matter what you do, you can't get the target to sit on an enemy ship. This game really needed the same treatment as Mechwarrior 2, a new approach and a revamped graphics engine, designed from scratch.

I feel a verdict coming on

Being a huge Wing Commander fan from way back, I really wanted to like this game. The story is solid and it does feel like a film, but this is not a good thing if the gameplay suffers as a result of misguided design. Also of note is the fact that some missions, usually ground based, have been completely removed from the game, taking away some of the variety that was available in the PC version. This shows how weak this particular graphics engine is, as it was probably impossible to convert those missions over and keep them playable. This is all a great pity, as if things had been done differently this could have gone down as a classic, but i'm afraid it remains worse than mediocre. Avoid.

Review by D.R.T.Barrett