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by Hugh Falk
When it comes to buying a computer game, the intangibles often win me
over. With more than 300 games on the shelf claiming to be "the best
action/sports/simulation game ever," you have to start somewhere, and
Wing Commander IV certainly has some interesting intangibles in its
favor. The original Wing
Commander, released by Origin in 1990, is a classic by PC
gaming standards. I'll stop short of claiming Wing Commander IV has
educational value, but it can easily be considered as the next chapter
in PC gaming history. Plus there's the intrinsic satisfaction of buying
a game that comes on six CD-ROMs. It makes you feel like you're buying
something important and culturally rich, such as The Masters of
Classical Music collection of audio CDs.
But reputation and size alone don't guarantee greatness. Wing
Commander IV certainly has plenty of both of these attributes.
Unfortunately, the gameplay does not break new ground. In fact, it is
very similar to Wing Commander III, which is both good and bad. Here's
how it stacks up:
Hugh Falk is often credited with
producing the world's first video-gaming magazine, PongWorld, which
debuted in 1974. Unfortunately, an immature gaming market, a total lack of
interest in Pong-related news, and the fact that he was six years old
doomed the project to failure. Now he works as just another reviewer in
the industry he founded. Send your gaming challenges to gamerx@cnet.com.
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