Nerds That Geek Gaming Flashback - 'Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​Over the past few days, we’ve talked a lot about the good and the bad that came about when the Interactive Movie ruled the PC Gaming landscape back in the 1990’s. But what we haven’t talked about yet, is when this particular sub-genre of gaming actually managed to reach absolute perfection, and oddly enough, the game that actually managed to pull that off, just so happened to be the next entry in the Wing Commander franchise.
 
Which is fitting to say the least, because if Heart of the Tiger was able to take the video aspect of the Interactive Movie to its apex, it’s only logical for the next chapter in this saga to be the one to take storytelling to the next level. And it is that quality work with the story that makes Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom hands down one of my favorite video games of all time, and still one of the finest that I’ve ever played, because of how incredible the story turned out to be since it gave us a tale grounded in humanity and it was so grand and sweeping that it instantly sucked you in.
 
In fact, I remember that my brother and I, who often tag teamed games like this, stayed up extra late when playing this, simply because we had to know what was coming next, and the big reveal as to what Admiral Tolwyn was up to in this tale, and why he did what he did outright blew us away because this was the kind of stuff you only saw in a major motion picture and that wasn’t the only Hollywood element present in this tale, because the CGI effects in this game were downright breathtaking. To this day, I still get chills when I watch the TCS St. Helens arrive to save Blair and the Intrepid from Tolwyn’s ship, the Vesuvius and those cinematic elements are only further enhanced by the incredible performances on display in this tale.
 
Because this time around, it seems as though the returning cast from Wing Commander III are one hundred percent comfortable in their roles, and the juicy script and all of its twists and turns give them plenty to work with and well, it makes for some powerful performances, specifically from Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell who are at their best in this story, and it’s just magical watching these two interact when they’re together on screen. But make no mistake about it, every single actor contributes something special in this story, even Tom Wilson, who finally gets to do a little more with Maniac here than just quip. But of course, at its core, this is a game, and gameplay matters and, in all honesty, that part of the saga is at its apex as well here, thanks largely in part to the story that precedes the missions and unfolds during them because that makes for a seamless experience.
 
If anything, this game is a true masterpiece, one that I firmly believe paved the way for games that now provide us with sprawling and powerful stories since it showed everyone that quality storytelling makes one hell of a difference when it comes to the gaming experience. Thankfully, this one is available for download, so if you haven’t played it, or are looking to revisit old memories, you can still check it out. Either way, they simply don’t make them like this anymore and honestly, they never would again because the Interactive Movie began to fade away after this game and well, it’s a wonderful thing that this particular sub-genre had the opportunity to go out on top…

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