Wing Commander 2 [DOS] - Journey #294 (1/3)
1This is part 1 of 3, and a continuation from a previous Journey.
See the previous Journey here: https://youtu.be/F-aHfJv_H7E
See the next part here: https://youtu.be/ub1oWup354w
Wing Commander 2 is a space combat simulator, and by many considered a true classic. This game inherits a lot from the previous wing commander, and it still works very well. The technology is quite impressive for its time, with 3D combat, good AI (different behavior depending on ship class, and individual characters have different behaviors to suit their personality), dynamic damage and a vast array of missions. The only down side might be that the units are rendered as sprites, and not as 3D objects, so it can be hard to know exactly where objects resides in space, but it does work better than in WC1 where I collided with stuff seemingly all the time. I do miss the named enemy pilots from WC1 though, they were a fun addition. And the tone of the story is more serious and engaging than WC1, which is both good and bad, depending on what you're after in a space flight sim.
I really like this game; it is a ton of fun to play. The action is intense and immersive. I did notice thought that this game is much harder than the previous one. In WC1, you could take on 4-5 ships alone with no issues, but in this game it becomes hard managing 2-3 ships. You also die much easier, and your partner is weaker too. Ships you escort however are more powerful, which is great improvement from the previous installment.