Point of Origin: Vol. V, No. 2

A computer virus hits Origin in this February, 1995 edition of The Point of Origin -- surely a sign of all that the newly charted information superhighway will eventually bring the company. Until that happens, though, there's lots of praise for Wing Commander III...

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• In Ink has the reactions we knew were coming!

Welcome to the Wing III stampede, folks. Yes, the reviews are popping up everywhere. We start with the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly. Bob Strauss gave WCIII a grade of "A." "Hollywood sci-fi stars soar in 'Wing Commander III,'" he wrote, "but it's the game's sophisticated technology that leaves other CD-ROMs eating its space dust." Strauss applauded ORIGIN for casting Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill in the lead role. "It may be just a computer game, but it boasts an early sequence worthy of Star Wars series."

The high grades continued with PC Gamer, which rated WCIII 96% in its March issue. Tom McDonald wrote, "Finally, what everybody has been waiting for, an 'interactive movie' that's both truly interactive and a good movie. ORIGIN has produced a title that succeeds so perfectly and on so many levels that it must be considered the new benchmark against which all interactive entertainment will be compared."

Hold it, don't turn that dial. There's more, much more. Russ Ceccola, who writes for Electronic Games, gave it an "A+" to Wing III in the March issue. Russ clearly was blown away by the graphics in WCIII. "The space combat scenes look like they were filmed, although it is certain that they are computer generated. It is very easy for players to focus on the screen and get lost in the game's world as they watch the dramatic scenes and action."

Strategy Plus is out with its assessment of Wing Commander III. "WCIII is a graphically stunning, entertaining action game featuring perhaps the finest integration of film and game seen to date," exclaimed Steve Bauman. "The multimedia gaming event of the year."

Overseas, they are also singing the praises of the latest installment of the Human-Kilrathi war. "The quality of a major movie!" gushed Frederic Marie in Generation 4 from France. He gave WCIII a score of 93%. Editors at another French publication, Joystick, gave WCIII a 92% score. "We have never seen a game so similar to a movie," they wrote.

Perhaps the best accolades came from the UK where Gary Whitta, with PC Gamer, gave WCIII a 95% score. "Believe the hype - the most cinematic game ever," he wrote. "Undoubtedly the most elaborate and ambitious PC game ever created, and the first to stake a legitimate claim to the holiest of grails, the term 'interactive move.'"

Other mentions for Wing Commander III have come from TV Guide, which referenced the game in an article about Mark Hamill and his guest role on NBC's Sea Quest. Also, WCIII was demonstrated a couple of weeks ago during the popular PBS program, Computer Chronicles. Doing the honors was none other than Wing IV co-producer Mark Day.

And while there's lots of hype surrounding the release of WCIII, System Shock continues to haul in its fair share of kick-butt reviews... PC Gamer is out with its year-end awards and System Shock walked away with Best Adventure Game honors for 1994... in case you're interested, Doom was chosen Game of the Year and TIE Fighter edged out WCIII for Best Action Game honors. Huh?!?!?

Next Generation, the new mag from GP Publications, is now on newsstands... In the same edition, Armada was given a grade of 3 out of 5.

• In Development is a fascinating article which discusses projects Origin is working on, including many which didn't make it out. The entry for Firehorse mentions WC: "A 100% Live-Action Interactive Movie in the tradition of John Woo, with 'a higher body count in the first five minutes than every Wing Commander and Ultima put together.'"
• Pulse Check has the latest from marketing: "According to the vast (and vocal) gaming audience, ORIGIN is on a roll... Next, it was a Wing 3 Christmas. (Wing 3 showed up on many lists as one of the top-selling CD titles of 1994, even though it was only on the shelves for two weeks of that year.)... Finally, if you liked the Wing 3 Interactive CD (and hey, who didn't?), look for even more of that kind of stuff in the future..."
• The EOM goes to... a Wing Commander veteran!: "This month's honors go to Brent Thale, who works in Eric Hyman's group, in recognition of the vast amount of work he has contributed toward the development of Wing Commander III 3DO. Brent has worked on the project in the capacity of Technical Director, and in the words of one of his colleagues, Brent has shown '...ceaseless devotion to Wing III 3DO, staying up all night to make new versions, writing new tools at the drop of a hat, following up with marketing [on] box design and strategies, and fearlessly pursuing a state-of-the-art game.' Brent has been with ORIGIN since 1991, and has worked on Wing Commander II, Wing Commander Academy, and Super Wing Commander 3DO among other projects."

Point of Origin
Vol. V, No. 1 - February 10, 1995 Contents Spotlight: ORIGIN catches the bug
In Ink
Descent of a Champion
In Development
Pulse Check
EOM
Special
The Gospel
New Hires
The Future
Ticker