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.

WC4 was an amazing step for what used to be a prized goal, interactive movies. All of the previous WC games were also interactive movies, expanding the field with every release. This was the first computer game to make the cutscenes and movies on actual film to add to the quality and detail of the scenes. Other games had live-action cutscenes, but none were as interactive and as high quality as this was, using all sorts of movie special effects. It was a milestone in not only the Wing Commander but also the Interactive Movie history.

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!

Wing Commander III: Heart Of The Tiger was quite a new and unique video gaming experience. It combined the graphics and playability of a video game with the sensibilities, style, drama, and live-action performers of any Hollywood movie. And, guess what? It worked, to great effect! So, how do you improve upon perfection itself? Simple. You make everything bigger, better, and, in the case of the live-action elements, more realistic and film-like! First off, let's talk about the live-action. WC3's live-action scenes simply had the actors and actresses filmed against green-screen. The CGI-created sets were added later on in post-production. Because of this process, the film camera had to be locked down to the studio floor all of the time. In other words, the live-action scenes had no camera-movements whatsoever. In Wing Commander IV: The Price Of Freedom, director Chris Roberts has taken care of both of these minor problems by fully utilizing real, and in some cases impressive, sets this time. He sure uses his newfound camera-movements to great effect, too. He zooms in and out on his actors, he pans all around his sets in some shots, he follows his actors around the sets using hand-held cameras. He even threw in a few dolly and crane shots just for fun. He also knows a good thing when he sees it, too, because he managed to bring back almost all of the actors who were in WC3, including Mark Hamill, Thomas F. Wilson, Malcolm McDowell, and the great John Rhys-Davies. If you enjoyed Wing Commander III, then chances are you'll enjoy Wing Commander IV just as well, or maybe even more! It is currently available for both PC and PlayStation. I personally would recommend the PlayStation version, since the graphics and live-action video are much more cleaner and clearer than the PC version. Buy this game, and have fun! That's an order, Colonel!