It was amazing at the time, and facilitated thoseStar Wars/Battlestar Galacticafantasies gamers had wanted to play out.

The aforementioned branching story was another key element.

If you died, it was game over, and your story stopped there.

Youd simply have to live with the consequences, and life may become harder.

The need to be successful was very real, and made each mission far more tense.

This urgency was also enhanced by the mortality of your wingmen.

Although AI controlled, these fighter pilots under your command werent invulnerable and certainly not perfect.

For all its technical achievements, though, perhapsWing Commanders biggest success was its simple, but challenging gameplay.

Instead it featured intuitive and enjoyable arcade dogfights, and an interesting sci-fi universe to fly around in.

Instead,Wing Commanderexpanded its universe with a couple of spin-off titles.

Wing Commander: Academy (1993)

The first spin-offWCtitle was an odd one.

Instead of using the familiar format of story-based space combat utilised byWC IandII,Academywas a stand-alone training simulation.

Rather than a series of pre-set missions, the game instead gave players the chance to create their own.

This free-roaming continued even after the main game story was complete.

The actual play was split between space travel and combat and excursions to bases and trading posts.

New ships could be purchased, and all could be upgraded with better weapons.

Likewise, others can come to your aid.

It included the secret missions fromWC, as well as another new campaign.

It also featured a more in-depth story lead up toWC II.

The Apple Mac was hardly a gaming machine, and the 3DO never managed to take off.

This leftSuper Wing Commanderin a rut, and few gamers have played this interesting remake.

LikeArmada,WC IIIditched the ageing OriginFX game engine in favour of the new RealSpace engine.

This was further enhanced over theArmadaversion, with full SVGA support and visual improvements.

Alongside the new game engine was the move from graphical cut-scenes to full FMV sequences.

ForWCIII, Origin doubled its efforts on the games plot, which had been ramping up throughout the series.

With real actors and then-amazing FMV video, this was very important.

This meant that series veterans could pick up and play the game without even reading the manual.

This move is part of a secret plan by Tolwyn, which is revealed as the story progresses.

With the tag line The best interactive movie has just gotten better,WC IVundersold itself.

That said, the movie aspect ofWC IVwas simply stunning, and its no wonder it stole the show.

As the games title hints, peace certainly doesnt come for free.

Your decisions affected missions, the games eventual conclusion and even how others reacted to Blair.

It was impressive and well-handled.

Although the movie sequences may have grabbed the limelight, the space combat was far from sidelined.

Photo-realistic visuals were incorporated, and the same, rock solid dogfighting remained to carry the story along perfectly.

Few play your own movie titles ever really worked.

Set around a decade afterWC IV, Prophecyintroduced a new alien foe in the form of the Nephilim.

This was an insectoid race who were invading the galaxy via a wormhole.

As protagonist, Lance Casey, players were tasked to do battle with the this new threat.

The main difference here was the distribution of the game.

Each episode featured a collection of missions, furthering the storyline through in-game cut scenes.

This is a shame, but also understandable as the genre hasnt exactly flourished s time has gone by.

More arcade-style releases have been produced, but none have become major money spinners.

Wing Commanderis a true example of a classic gaming series.

Importantly, the series never sat still.