Escapist Reviews Classic Wing Commanders

Escapist Mag has followed up on their recent Prophecy Review with a profile of Wing Commander 1&2. They're currently in the midst of a re-review of the series thanks to the nearly-complete library of WC games now available on GOG. The author starts with a thought that I think will resonate with the vast majority of Wingnuts: "There are the games that you play and then there the games that you fall in love with. Most dedicated gamers have at least a few; titles that hit just the right personal note or landed at just the right moment in their lives to linger ever after in their memories." More than just nostalgia, there's also a lot of appreciation in the article for how well the games have held up and retained their charm more than twenty years later. The author does lament the lack of 'checkpoints' mid-mission due to the difficulty factor, but such a concept was virtually unheard of in the early 1990s where just the ability to save after landing was a relatively novel feature. Check out the full piece here. Reviews of Wing Commander 3 and 4 will be forthcoming next week!

Even with these flaws however, there's no overstating how enjoyable both Wing Commander 1 and 2 are. Granted, this could all be nostalgia talking on my part. I'll admit to experiencing some warm and fuzzies when I first booted up Wing Commander 2 for this review. That being the case, I can still acknowledge that these games aren't perfect. I might adore Wing Commander 2, but there are some very legitimate reasons that others might not. That said, if you've never tried a Wing Commander game, the first two in the series will only run you $5.99 at GOG and, as is generally the site's standard, come packaged with a wealth of goodies as well as all of the available expansions. In my opinion, it'd be money well spent.