Nerds That Geek Gaming Flashback - 'Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​I’m not exactly sure why I’m suddenly traveling down memory lane when it comes to my favorite games…but it’s a journey that I’m definitely welcoming. Because there were truly some amazing PC adventures to be found back in the 1990’s and after taking the time to revisit the wonder of Star Trek: Borg the other day, I came to realize that it was only right to sit down and reflect upon other impressive Interactive Movies that managed to wow us back in the day.
 
In fact, the one we are going to talk about today, I would outright wager is the reason the market began to grow in the first place. Because this one, set quite the high mark for Interactive Movies since it featured an all-star cast, and a sprawling plot line that managed to truly immerse the player and well, this is one that holds a special place in my heart because it turned into a joint venture between my brother and I as we both worked to outthink and out fly the Kilrathi in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger.
 
Now if that title sounds familiar, there’s good reason for that. Because in the early 90’s the Wing Commander franchise dominated the PC Gaming landscape with its enriching story of a war in the future wherein humanity battled the cat-like Kilrathi. But this game took the entire saga to a whole new level by adding full motion video into the mix and in all honesty, while the video looks a tad dated now, it’s obvious that it was top of the line back in the day and as I recall, playing an interactive movie on your computer was nothing short of spectacular because I had never seen anything like this before at the time and this experience was only further enhanced by the incredible names that graced my computer screen.
 
Because this story featured some damn incredible actors. I mean come on, you had Biff himself, Thomas F. Wilson playing the iconic Maniac and this screen icon was joined by so many others. John Rhys-Davies played Paladin, and let’s be honest, he was perfect for that role. Plus, you had Malcolm McDowell (yes, that’s right, Malcolm freakin’ McDowell) playing Admiral Tolwyn; and he added a majesty and grace to the role that the character was lacking in the graphical version and of course, there’s the star of the show, Mark Hamill; who played the all-important Colonel Christopher Blair and he just flat out kills it in this game, delivering a brooding and calculated performance for the ages.
 
But, while all of this glamour and glitz is wonderful in its own right, the gameplay is important as well and thankfully, that also lives up to expectations since the missions are thrilling and fun and offer plenty of challenges for the player. Either way, this is a game that truly stands as a PC Gaming classic, and had more games been of this caliber, I’m fairly certain that Interactive Movies may have seen more traction in the marketplace and if by chance you want to give this game a try, it can be found for purchase online at a solid price and well, if you have some spare time, give it a whirl, you’ll be glad you did.   

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