Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Release year
1990
Releases
Age rating
12 and above
Game mode(s)
No modes defined
License
Available for purchase

Humanity is locked in a war with a race of catlike humanoids calling themselves the "Kilrathi", that are somewhat reminiscent of the Klingons from Star trek. You enroll as a pilot on the TCS Tigersclaw, a human battleship. As the game opens, the ship enters the Enyo system, that is controlled by them. A control you intend to wrestle from them and then drive them out altogether. But they will not go down without a fight.

Wing Commander 1 is a classic space battle simulator that looks and plays a bit like Elite when it comes to the fights in space. But it also features a driven story where you meet, talk to, and fight alongside with several fellow pilots. The animations and music work like a movie where the music changes as the situation does. Soft, calm music jumps into a frenzy as the enemy attacks. The story has several cut scenes that play out in response to how many missions you fail or succeed with.

The game came out in 1990 for the PC and later for other platforms.

Published: 16.11 2021 by djdaemon

Screenshots
Game screenshot of Wing Commander
Wing Commander 1 - The pub
Game screenshot of Wing Commander
Wing Commander 1 - Running towards the hangar
Game screenshot of Wing Commander
Wing Commander 1 - CD32 Cockpit view

I remember getting the game in 1993 as it already had hit the bargain bin. Weirdly enough, the Amiga version came out almost three years after the initial release for the PC. And the version I had was for the classic Amiga, and thus had less colors and a smaller resolution. My aging Amiga 500 struggled with the game, but it was still playable with some patience. When I got my Amiga 1200, the game was very nice to play indeed.

I must say the characters are stereotypes when it comes to nationality and other movie tropes. But they're easy to like (except Maniac!) and I found myself reloading the game when they died by my side in battle. The graphics play like a movie, which was very popular in the early 90s and the music does full "Mikey Mousing", that is changes in accordance with what happens in the game. It changes to minor chords as battles are lost and are upbeat, epic, and triumphant in victory.
The game starts at a very low level and the learning curve is very kind and easy to follow. But it gets tougher as you progress. Expect to replay many missions.

I like the story as it takes you in and makes you part of the team about the Tigersclaw.

By Djdaemon - 15.11.2021

Score summary
Graphics
5
Very good
Sound
6
Superb!
Gameplay
4
Good
Story
5
Very good
Difficulty
4
Hard
Learning curve
6
Forget it, you won't beat this anytime soon!

Overall: 6

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