Wing Commander: Prophecy

Wing Commander. Now we're talking. Here was a series that would quite happily push back the boundaries of acceptable minimum spec requirements and not give a damn in the process. I still remember the very first time I opened the original game's box and was immediately confronted with a big red WARNING! sign saying that anything less than a 386 PC wouldn't be acceptable (this in the days of 286s and EGA graphics). Forget market trends and buying habits, Wing Commander dictated the pace and the rest could go to hell. Five games down the line and it's still going strong, still setting the pace, still employing Mark Hamill. Wing Commander: Prophecy is the first of the series to employ 3D-accelerated graphics and, as a result, looks pretty damn smart. Not quite as good, oddly enough, as non-3Dfx games like Darklight Conflict or I-War, but still pretty fine. Where Wing Commander: Prophecy still scores most highly is in the FMV. 'Proper' actors doing 'proper' acting (and a porn star sadly not doing any 'improper' acting). The whole thing reeks of cash, so it came as no surprise when Origin announced that there was to be a full-length movie (except, perhaps, to Mark Hamill, who had figured his big-screen days were forever behind him).

The actual combat sections are a little less enjoyable than those of Privateer 2 or Conflict: Freespace, mainly because of the rigid, inflexible nature of the missions. Also, the engine Origin have used isn't quite as fluid as that in X-Wing or Freespace.

Wing Commander: Prophecy has a pedigree, make no mistake. It's just that it's one of those American pedigrees, which means you either really 'get' it, or you just sit there with a cynical sneer on your face, asking: "Is that it?"