The name "Wing Commander" is known to any gamer who is familiar with the games of the 1990s. For those who do not know, let us refresh your memories. Wing Commander is a grand space opera about an all-out war between Terran Confederation (us humans) and an alien civilization of felines (giant killer cats) called the Kilrathi Empire.
This battle for the domination of the galaxy took place over several games, sequels, and spin-offs. The last installment of the series - Wing Commander: Secret Ops - was released back in 1998.
With no more WC games since, it seemed as though we have lost our beloved heroes. But one day a group of dedicated fans, who waited several years for a sequel, realized that Wing Commander will not be continued. They gathered a group of talented programmers and game designers and went to work. The result of this tedious effort is the Prologue for the Wing Commander Saga game.
The story starts right after the Battle of Earth, a terrible battle in which a Kilrathi armada came close to exterminating humanity, and a year before the end of the War (spoilers: the Kilrathi homeworld of Kilrah is destroyed). The main character, a young Second Lieutenant named David Markham, is a young rookie assigned to the TCS Wellington – a very old and obsolete carrier. This ship was going to play a role in the opening stages of the counterattack on the Kilrathi Homeworld. The developers, driven by their ambition, passion, and drive, created an interesting story about heroism, love and loss. In the course of 40 (!) missions you will face the terrible battle for survival, in which, as we will learn, there is no right and wrong, but only pain, loss and suffering.
Gameplay of the Wing Commander Saga Prologue should be familiar to anyone who played any game in the Wing Commander series. The Terran and Kilrathi arsenal contains various fighters, bombers, frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and carriers. You will be in control of fighter vessels only and will be dogfighting with enemy fighter squadrons. Missions are dynamic with different goals, but usually you're supposed to eliminate every opposition encountered.
The developers have succeeded in their attempt to preserve the atmosphere of the Wing Commander series. During missions, additional goals pop up periodically. The story is unpredictable and the radio is full of pilot chatter. Pilots trade jokes, comment about current events, and make fun of other pilots.
Wing Commander Saga: Prologue is based on the Freespace 2 engine. The graphics are very decent - for a free game of course. Very neat special effects, decent war ships models, good character animation. It should be noted, that for an amateur product, the game is put together very professionally. We did not encounter any bugs or other problems that common with freeware programs. This is indeed a very well made and very polished looking product.
Before we conclude, we should let you know that this fantastic game is completely free. You can get it straight from our DVD and become part of the epic struggle between the Terrans and the feline Kilrathi. In the Wing Commander Saga Prologue, older gamers will become reminiscent of good old days and younger fans of space simulators will definitely enjoy this sequel of one of the greatest game series of all time.