Wing Commander box art
Playing Played Wish List Backlog
Add to Shelf Add to List

See more on IGDB

Wing Commander (1990)

Origin Systems

Amiga · Amiga CD32 · DOS · FM Towns · Mac · PC (Microsoft Windows) · Sega CD · Super Famicom · Super Nintendo Entertainment System

3.65 from 110 ratings

294 members have it in their collection · 5 playing now · 84 backlogged · 29 wish listed

How long? Main story 7h (from 2 logged playthroughs)

Gameplay consists of completing successive missions and overall cockpit performance affects gameplay: going above and beyond the call of duty results in medals, promotions in rank are awarded at regular intervals, and success or failure on certain critical missions decides the player's plot progress, "winning" or "losing".
Remove Ads with Grouvee Gold

Details

Developers
Origin Systems
Publishers
ASCII Corporation, Fujitsu Interactive, GameTap Entertainment, Mindscape, Mindscape, Inc., Ocean Software, Origin Systems, Sega Entertainment
Genres
Shooter, Simulator
Themes
Action, Science fiction
Series
Wing Commander

Release dates

  • Sep 26, 1990 (Full Release) (North_America) DOS
  • Mar 01, 1992 (Full Release) (North_America) Super Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Sep 1992 (Full Release) (Europe) Amiga
  • Dec 1992 (Full Release) (Japan) FM Towns
  • 1992 (Full Release) (North_America) Amiga
  • Jun 01, 1993 (Full Release) (Europe) Amiga CD32
  • Jul 23, 1993 (Full Release) (Japan) Super Famicom
  • Oct 1993 (Full Release) (Europe) DOS
  • Feb 06, 1994 (Full Release) (North_America) Sega CD
  • Mar 25, 1994 (Full Release) (Japan) Sega CD
  • Sep 1994 (Full Release) (Europe) Super Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Aug 1995 (Full Release) (North_America) Mac
  • Nov 30, 1996 (Full Release) (North_America) PC (Microsoft Windows)

Related

Bundled in

Expansions

Remove Ads with Grouvee Gold

Rating distribution

5 stars
22
4 stars
43
3 stars
32
2 stars
10
1 star
3
Remove Ads with Grouvee Gold

Community All Reviews Statuses

stupac13

Status stupac13 Jan 13, 2023

And just like that, I'm done with Wing Commander finally. The biggest issue with this game honestly is the technical problems. The original game is buggy on its own and furthermore doesn't play nicely with DosBox. It falters between hyper speed and slideshow in dogfights. I finally tried the Kilrathi Saga version, but that just played waaaay to fast. I …

Read more

And just like that, I'm done with Wing Commander finally. The biggest issue with this game honestly is the technical problems. The original game is buggy on its own and furthermore doesn't play nicely with DosBox. It falters between hyper speed and slideshow in dogfights. I finally tried the Kilrathi Saga version, but that just played waaaay to fast. I finally found a sweet spot by setting the CPU cycles to 4400. I was a little sad that Hunter bought it on the final mission too. Despite some balance issues (attacking is ridiculously easy, defending/escort is ridiculously hard), the game was a fantastic experience. And one I may play again. But first, I'll give the Secret Missions a try then move on to Wing Commander II!

enter image description here

Read less
2 Comment Permalink
fe17

Status fe17 Oct 17, 2022

Spaceship combat sims are games that I did not grow up with and that are not really for me. Since I wouldn't do their legacy any justice by rating them as someone who is not in the game's target group, I'll just give quick random thoughts on games like this but otherwise leave them without a rating, in case you …

Read more

Spaceship combat sims are games that I did not grow up with and that are not really for me. Since I wouldn't do their legacy any justice by rating them as someone who is not in the game's target group, I'll just give quick random thoughts on games like this but otherwise leave them without a rating, in case you were following my challenge to go through as many games as possible starting chronologically in 1990. This would be game 21.

Controls felt pretty complicated and it didn't really feel enjoyable to play with a mouse + keyboard and at the low framerate that was offered, which I don't think was unusual for space combat sims. I'm not sure if people played this with a joystick back in the day or it didn't simply bother them, but I would have been overwhelmed even if the game played at double digits, so this only exacerbated my problems.

That said, I did get through two missions before calling it a day. The vet who accompanied me somehow died after the first mission and while I still have no idea why (she just said "my ancestors await me" as I was trying to figure out how to dock), I could tell that the interaction between the player and other characters - in addition to the neat cinematic story telling - was a big deal. If I had grown up with this genre, I can imagine my experience with this game being positive. That said, the missions already felt repetitive very early on and I can imagine that this is a common complaint about this game, and not a surprising one due to the game's age.

Read less
0 Comment Permalink
Mixplit

Status Mixplit Apr 7, 2022

Disc version is from PC Gamer Classic Games Collection disk volume 1 July 2,000. Full games not just demos. Full disc contents: X-COM: UFO Defense , Wing Commander, Alone in the Dark, Terminal Velocity, Duke Nukem 2, King's Quest, Descent, Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed, Ultima Underworld, Links, The Secret of Money Island.

0 Comment Permalink
Guran

Review Guran 4/5 · Jun 16, 2015

Groundbreaking and immersive

A classic game that's still fun to play. One of my favourites back in the day so I might be biased. Missions can be a bit monotonus but it doesnt matter much when combat is this much fun! Use a joystick if you have one!

1 Comment