Wing Commander: Prophecy

Wing Commander is a legendary franchise and there are very few bad things one could say about it, although maybe the story quality suffered a bit over the years. However, the gameplay remained largely the same and most aspects kept on improving with every new release, which is just what one might wish from a video game series. The fifth episode is no different than the rest, although it brings its fair share of changes to the formula.

Wing Commander: Prophecy comes to continue the epic saga from the first four installments, although it does make a few drastic changes when it comes to the story. Hence, you now get to play as a different character, although he is related to the good old Colonel Chris Blair and he is still part of the story, even if you do not get to control him directly over the course of the campaign.

Hence, it all starts when the human galaxy is attacked by a race of dangerous aliens, as the Kilrathi foretold it would happen. Lance Casey is the character you play as and he just happens to be a rookie that looks forward to relaxing after the stressful training program he went through at the academy. Unfortunately for him, the fate of the human race lies with his ability to dispatch with the alien threat and save the galaxy from destruction.

Once you get in charge of the ship controls, everything should be familiar and intuitive for those who are long time fans of the franchise, since the developers tried to keep as much of the old formula intact for this title as well. Hence, other than a few refinements and adjustments here and there, the mechanics and the controls are mostly the same, which is definitely a good thing.

A lot of work went into the new graphics engine as well, since it needed to be able to render much more detailed environments and landscapes. At the time, the engine managed to impress everyone when it came to looks and the smoothness of the models, which was pretty difficult to achieve with the technology available at the time. Obviously, the classic live-action cutscenes are still present and they do a good job at advancing the plot.

All things considered, Wing Commander: Prophecy is definitely a worthy continuation of the epic space saga, although the story screws up a few times along the way and you can definitely feel Blair’s absence in the main role. However, the game still feels like a Wing Commander and it is worthy to share the same shelf as the rest of the episodes in the series.