GameSpot Promotes Wing Commander Like Few Others

A lot of classic Wing Commander previews and features from the 1990s come from print magazines, but there are a handful of major gaming websites that predate the CIC and were around to cover the series. GameSpot, which has existed almost as long as the web itself, reviewed Wing Commander IV and Kilrathi Saga a full ten years ago in 1996. By the time Prophecy was hot stuff in 1997, GameSpot was ready with an exclusive preview of the game. This eight-page whopper summarized the setting, provided detailed biographs and exclusive pictures of each of the fighters, discussed the guns and missiles in great detail (don't miss the fancy renders provided by Origin), biographied the cast and even summarized a few missions. It was a substantially more weighty preview than many "hands-on impressions" done for modern titles today and gave us all a tantalizing look at the amazing new game.

Their editorial staff gave the game a solid 8.6 in the review (and a 7.4 for Prophecy Advance in 2003) and then went on to create an in-depth online strategy guide. This clocked in at almost three times the length of the preview and included specifics on every weapon, enemy and mission in the game, plus tactics and tips for successful pilots. Since the site's format and layout have changed significantly over the years, I'm actually surprised that these pages still live on to today. With the surge in popularity of WCP this year, both this guide and the CIC's original walkthrough can continue to help fans today.

In 1999 GameSpot created a big fancy feature to celebrate the release of the Wing Commander Movie. The development of the film itself was analyzed, a thorough history of all the games was written and the site conducted a huge trivia contest. The game feature was compiled by none other than GameSpot's current editor-in-chief, Greg Kasavin, and the contest's grand prize was a signed copy of each major game in the series!

The sheer number of articles relating to Wing Commander, combined with GameSpot's massive popularity, have helped the franchise to maintain its prominent spot in gamers' minds over the last few years. The overwhelming response to readers' feedback features has provided a glimpse at the huge base of fans the series still has today. Here's a look at a handful of their other updates that have promoted Wing Commander.

Other Feature WC Articles
• Favorite WC Game - August 10, 1998
• Ten Best Endings - December 20, 1999
• Ten Best Heroes In Gaming - September 11, 1999
• Ten Best Game Soundtracks - June 15, 1999
• Ten Best Readers' Endings - January 23, 2000
• Ten Best Sidekicks - April 16, 2000
• Ten Best Readers' Sidekicks - May 8, 2000
• Ten Best Female Characters - June 11, 2000
• Games To Make Massively Multiplayer - August 29, 2000
• Readers' Best Game Cinematics - September 9, 2000
• Top Fifteen Most Influential Games of All Time - October 23, 2000
• Chris Roberts Guest Writer Feature - February 5, 2001
• Ten Best Looking Games - June 25, 2001
• Game Collector on Prophecy Gold - July 15, 2001
• Classic Series You'd Most Like Revived - December 17, 2002
• New Life At Origin - June 24, 2003

So what's the bottom line? To be perfectly honest, after playing Wing Commander: Prophecy, we were more excited about the WC series than we had been in a very long time. The team has really gotten back to the game's roots, designing a product that is more engrossing, playable, and suspenseful than any offering the series has made in quite a while..

There aren't a lot of licenses that have made it as far as Wing Commander has.. Boasting a fresh design team that is dedicated to gameplay above all else.. Wing Commander: Prophecy has been given a fresh new lease on life, one that could take the venerable series well into the next millennium.