Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom

About Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom

Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1996) is Origin's $12 million space combat sequel, set after the Kilrathi war, in which Colonel Blair is recalled to investigate attacks blamed on the Border Worlds.

Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom in Depth

Several years after the Terran-Kilrathi War, the Confederation is trying to stabilise its economy and society, and the Kilrathi survivors, led by Melek, struggle in peacetime. Tension with the Union of Border Worlds deepens after an unarmed medical transport is destroyed by mysterious fighters with a new weapon that incinerates a ship's contents. As Paladin, now a senior governor, calls for a vote on war, Admiral Tolwyn is sent on a fact-finding mission, and the retired Colonel Christopher "Maverick" Blair, scraping a living as a farmer on a desert world, is recalled to service; within five minutes of taking the cockpit, the station he is heading for is attacked.

Between missions Blair moves around his carrier, at first the TCS Lexington, talking to other characters in full-motion video scenes, then takes a briefing from the captain and picks his wingman and fighter. Each fighter differs in durability, manoeuvrability, top speed, guns and missile hardpoints, and loadouts can be chosen. Combat centres on close-in dogfights: shields regenerate but armour does not, guns draw on a limited, recharging energy pool, missiles and ECM are in limited supply, and pilots can eject in an emergency. Wingmen differ in flying style, marksmanship and obedience, and branching conversations can change a character's attitude, crew morale, the next assignment and the ending.

Making Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom

Origin Systems developed it on an aggressive 12-month schedule aimed at December 1995, and Electronic Arts released it for MS-DOS on 8 February 1996, followed by Windows, Mac and a 1997 PlayStation version. Its budget of US$12 million was then unheard of for a video game, mostly spent on its film shoot. PC Data ranked it first for February 1996, it sold over 200,000 units in Europe by February 1997 and earned a VUD Gold award in 1998, and critics received the PC version well.