They really don't and I can't fathom why. I just played through the first mission of WC1 for the first time in a few years now. Had some fun blowing up the Dralthi at nav 1, then purposefully threw myself into an asteroid at nav 2 so I could watch my funeral.
The action in WC1 is great, yes. By modern standards it's pretty basic though isn't it? I mean has been imitated and emulated many times, and later games in the series (along with other 1990s space-sims) arguably did the space combat better and refined it more.
BUT, while the mechanics of flying around are simple, the immersion of the game is brilliant. The narrative, the writing of the game is what sets it apart for me. Why don't games have characters like this? Briefing rooms? Branched missions, winning awards and promotions. DYING AND WATCHING YOUR OWN FUNERAL (this was always one of my favorite parts). Your friends dying and seeing their funerals. Other games have done some of this stuff, but I can't think of anything that has done all of it since WC1. Twenty years old this game is. I can spend the last three, four years playing modern games, then pop this in for 10 minutes and be blown away by what a masterpiece of design and creativity it is.
There's a lot of games that have storylines. Some have pretty brilliant ones, and a lot of those are great (even masterful) games in their own right.
WC1, unlike most other games (including later games in the series)... it really doesn't have a set narrative. You the player make your story. You could end the game victoriously but have to watch your best friend in the squadron die for example. Or end the game with everyone alive and happy. Or be the only survivor. It's quite an experience. Wish there were other games like it.
The action in WC1 is great, yes. By modern standards it's pretty basic though isn't it? I mean has been imitated and emulated many times, and later games in the series (along with other 1990s space-sims) arguably did the space combat better and refined it more.
BUT, while the mechanics of flying around are simple, the immersion of the game is brilliant. The narrative, the writing of the game is what sets it apart for me. Why don't games have characters like this? Briefing rooms? Branched missions, winning awards and promotions. DYING AND WATCHING YOUR OWN FUNERAL (this was always one of my favorite parts). Your friends dying and seeing their funerals. Other games have done some of this stuff, but I can't think of anything that has done all of it since WC1. Twenty years old this game is. I can spend the last three, four years playing modern games, then pop this in for 10 minutes and be blown away by what a masterpiece of design and creativity it is.
There's a lot of games that have storylines. Some have pretty brilliant ones, and a lot of those are great (even masterful) games in their own right.
WC1, unlike most other games (including later games in the series)... it really doesn't have a set narrative. You the player make your story. You could end the game victoriously but have to watch your best friend in the squadron die for example. Or end the game with everyone alive and happy. Or be the only survivor. It's quite an experience. Wish there were other games like it.