Good Old Reviews: Wing Commander 3 & 4

[Andy Chalk]

Edit: Also, you're so hung up on the FMV sequences you're ignoring the actual gameplay. /That/'s what I'm saying was a technical marvel, and frankly it's still pretty impressive today.

Maybe you're impressed by it. I see it as the original Wing Commander recycled in a new engine that despite being more advanced resulted in an uglier experience. You're certainly entitled to your opinion but I think you might be seeing it through slightly rose-tinted lenses, and of course I don't agree with your assessment that I'm not cut out to review old games either, but maybe I'll be able to change your mind this Saturday when I drop the hammer on Wing Commander: Armada BOOM OH YEAH BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYY HERE COMES THE PAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIN

 

[Frost27]

And then in week 3: Why Wolfenstein 3D sucks because Battlefield 4 looks better.

Are these intended to be reviews in the traditional sense, or dragging old games back into the light to judge them based on modern technology?

Did WC3 have bad points? Sure. Was the FMV comparable to cutscenes even 5 years later? No. But at the time the game released, no one else had done it better or come close. That goes for the FMV sequences and the flight portion as well.

Quality of the footage aside (keep in mind, they were trying to put together FMV sequences that PCs that were running DOOM would be capable of rendering in an era when there was really no such thing as a "gaming PC) they did have a fantastic cast. Mark Hamill, John Rhys--Davies, Malcolm Mcdowell (giving the Kilrathi a bit of the old ultra violence), Tim Curry, Ginger Allen (porn stars.... In SPAAACE!), Tom Wilson and Jason Bernard.

 

[The Wooster]

Agreeing with the past few posts. Other than that, I don't have much more to add on, what I haven't already said apart from that I think you're punishing these games a bit too much for having FMV sequences. Seriously, if you want to see bad FMV games, you can check out some of these Spoony reviews [http://spoonyexperiment.com/category/game-reviews/fmv-hell/]. Like it or not, WC3-4 are actually one of the good examples of FMV games, not the classic ones. That first sentence of the article is, for the lack of a better word, an outright lie.

(And luckily, my opinion is the only one that counts around here.)

Careful. That's a dangerous territory where you're treading now.

I fully understand that this was meant as a joke but it comes off as a bit of a elitism. See, there's a difference between writing a random post, on a random forum, saying that your opinion matters and being able to write a featured article on a high traffic site where, in this case, your opinion actually matters. Making statements like that, when you're in an influential position is pompous and arrogant. This is the reason celebrities are always complaining about having to walk on eggshells, all the time.

What you mean is, "That's clearly a joke, but I've chosen to interpret it as genuine elitism, because reasons."

It's interesting to see that these games get a pass from most because they were amazing "at the time," while Myst is often rubbished despite being a technical marvel in its era.

 

[Product Placement]

What you mean is, "That's clearly a joke, but I've chosen to interpret it as genuine elitism, because reasons."

Oh yeah. Because I clearly didn't explain exactly why I thought he should be careful with making such statements. Thanks for ignoring that and telling me how I actually felt about his comment.

It's interesting to see that these games get a pass from most because they were amazing "at the time," while Myst is often rubbished despite being a technical marvel in its era.

I actually happen to be on the side of the fence that Myst was a really good game as well. It was a game you get stuck in, though, so people with little patience never liked it and will never like it.

And I'll admit, that's actually a game that does use FMV clips in a unique and clever way which now makes me curious about Andy's opinion on it.

At any rate, you might like this article about the game [http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9713372/looking-back-game-myst-20th-anniversary], since you brought it up.

 

[Monsterfurby]

Edit: Also, you're so hung up on the FMV sequences you're ignoring the actual gameplay. /That/'s what I'm saying was a technical marvel, and frankly it's still pretty impressive today.

Maybe you're impressed by it. I see it as the original Wing Commander recycled in a new engine that despite being more advanced resulted in an uglier experience. You're certainly entitled to your opinion but I think you might be seeing it through slightly rose-tinted lenses, and of course I don't agree with your assessment that I'm not cut out to review old games either, but maybe I'll be able to change your mind this Saturday when I drop the hammer on Wing Commander: Armada BOOM OH YEAH BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYY HERE COMES THE PAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIN

I have no nostalgia for WC 3 and 4 as I first actually played the games when they came out on GOG (even though I was interested in the universe and lore before that). Even before I played them, I had a cut of only the WC4 FMVs on my PC - it's still one of my favourite SciFi-Movies.

Then again, I am the kind of player who plays games only to experience the story. Yes, I even like Modern Warfare for the story (among Tom Clancy-esque hollywood bravado action schlock, it's pretty good).

What I think is that you make the mistake of giving your subjective opinions (which of course any review consists of) the veil of objectivity, while accusing everyone else of being merely influenced by nostalgia. That is wrong. Your opinion is quite frankly a very subjective one, possibly even influenced by negative nostalgia (that does exist, bad memories tied to a certain game that one may or may not have played, or its title, or its team) - and that's fine, but a balanced review should debate a number of possible pro's and con's and views, not merely the author's subjective judgement.

 

[Gledster]

I must admit, I also disagree with this review. WC3 and WC4 were among the best of the bunch FMV-wise back in the day. I loved the scripts with their twists and turns. Having your choices actually affect the game was dramatic too. Sure we're used to it today but back then it was fantastic.

I also enjoyed the dialogue in-flight, Maniac's "They can't touch me" and Hobbes's gravely voice resonating over the speakers. You can taunt the enemy too and they taunt you right back. I'll remember "You pathetic descendent of monkey's" until my dying day.

Fantastic games, fantastic characters (all-right, not all of them but most) and whilst yes, some of the FMV is repetitive (Blair walking up stairs etc) it can be skipped with ESC.

I think I'll try one of these GENERAL MIDI set-ups that people have posted and give them a shot again.