Wing Commander Review

The Wing Commander series has had a fairly long run on the PC, but it was also ported to the Amiga back in the day. Now the Amiga 500 port was as good as it could have been but the frame rate is what really dragged it down and made it a little unplayable.

Lucky for us we have a CD32 version which has upgraded graphics so it looks even better than the PC original. The sound has been redone for more effects and I just love how the music changes when in certain situations. It really seems like your in some kind of sci-fi film

There are a lot of people to talk too so make sure you do because they can offer tips on how to beat the enemy. As you talk to them you get a sense that it's not just case of killing everything and moving on to the next mission. If one of your wingmen dies, for instance, the people you talk too may just sob and tell a sad story or they will even blame you, it is fantastic.

Now I don't know if they used the Akiko chip or if the 68020 CPU is doing all the grunt work, but the game most certainly has a big frame upgrade. That doesn't mean that its perfect as when you are in a really big dogfight with lots of other ships it does slow down, but its a damn sight better than the Amiga 500 version.

The controls are the most interesting as this game had a ton load, but with the controller offering so many buttons it seems like its fairly easy to get around. Some will require you to press 2 buttons on the controller which really nothing you have been subjected too in modern games. All in all, it works and is responsive which is what you want really.

This game was given away with the console and I must say when I had my CD32 console all those years ago I was excited to play it. My hopes on it being a good game to play were fulfilled and I had loads of fun even now. It doesn't show the full power of the CD32, but it does show that something is hiding under the hood of the console.