Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom

This video game/movie is one of the best games, if not the best, that I have ever played. It is made up of such famous actors as Malcolm McDowell & Mark Hamill & the movie footage makes you just want to keep playing the game over & over

There is no perfect game, but this one comes about as close as possible.

Intense, amazing, and -- most importantly -- NEW, the storyline for this game is the best I've seen for ANY game, regardless of genre. I knew that the video for this game would look much better than in WC3 when I got it, but I had no idea what the plot was, and the only assurance I had that it would be even mildly interesting is the traditional WC high quality that doesn't fail here.

Forget the senselessly stupid WC "movie" that came out in theaters a few months ago; this is what should have been put on the screen. This had a convincing, natural-sounding script, top-notch acting, and great EFX to boot. Unlike a lot of games, this one made you care about the characters. This is, to date, the only game I've played that kept me out of bed for more than two days straight just to play "one more mission".

There is, however, one failing that this game does have, one flaw: the gameplay. The flight engine is recycled from WC3, with enhanced AI. I would have preferred that this game be in development for another year if only that would give it the better flight engine, but I suppose you have to live with what you can get.

Still, this is a minor quibble, and not enough to pull the game away from a 10 rating in my book.

Wing Commander III was good. But Wing Commander IV takes game playing to a whole other level. It's too bad there are not more games like this out there. They are a lot of fun to watch and play. You get caught up in the story. The acting is superb. Led by Mark Hamill as Colonel Christopher Blair, and Thomas F. Wilson as Maniac. With most of the cast back from Wing Commander III it felt like being with a old friend. It is interactive where you make some of the choses. Sometimes these can lead you down the wrong path or give you a unexpected twist. This game is never boring.

Out of all Wing Commander products to make use of video sequences, this one was definitely the best. Mark Hamill and Tom Wilson really add depth to the game, and the late-great Jason Bernard gives a performance to squeeze respect out of any Starfleet Captain. By far, WAY superior to the movie.

While making only slight improvements over the Wing Commander III engine, and a supporting cast substantially weaker than it's predacessor, The Price of Freedom has a deeper plot and is a joy for everyone. I do not know a single person who's played this to have been disappointed.

I hear the DVD version rawks!

This is the high point for the videos of the entire Wing Commander series, and the computer games in general. Films using real Hollywood techniques and an astronomical (for computer games) budget, we got the best video sequences ever seen on a computer screen, and even better on its DVD version.