Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi

aka: WC2
Moby ID: 823
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Description official descriptions

Your carrier, the Tiger's Claw, is destroyed by Kilrathi stealth fighters. You are blamed for the loss of the ship. After being demoted you are transferred to a space station far off the front lines where you are supposed to spend the rest of your career.

However, ten years later, you are able to save the Confederation flagship, the Concordia, from a Kilrathi attack. On the ship, you meet many old friends. Back in the cockpit, it's up to you to stop the Kilrathi and prove your innocence in the destruction of the Tiger's Claw.

The basic gameplay of Wing Commander II is very similar to that of its predecessor. There are all-new ships for both the Kilrathi and the Confederation, however - only the Rapier returns from the previous game, in an upgraded version.

While many of the weapons (including both missiles and energy guns) are also reused, new technology (used by both sides) requires new tactics: Since capital ships now employ "phase shielding", making them immune to normal weapons fire, only special torpedoes can damage them. Only heavy fighters and bombers are able to make torpedo runs. Before a torpedo can be fired, the shields of the target must be analyzed to find a way to get through, which results in a long locking phase during which the bomber must not move. The bombers are equipped with one or more gun turrets to protect them from enemy fighters during the lock-on. Another new technology are chaff pods, which can be deployed to lure enemy missiles off the target.

The Wing Commander series' trademark cinematic storytelling is greatly expanded in Wing Commander II, with many animated cutscenes continuing the story between missions.

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Credits (DOS version)

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 87% (based on 12 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 56 ratings with 6 reviews)

Lightning strikes twice: Another PC gaming classic

The Good
WC2's graphics and sound, like the previous version, were way ahead of the competition. At the time of its release, this was THE graphics extravaganza for gamers.

The play balance and mission design are simply outstanding; only "TIE Fighter" has such well-balanced, interesting, and exciting missions. The fighters are varied and awesome. The backstory is terrific.

As atrocious as the "Wing Commander" movie was, you can see, playing the games, why they made a movie about it; playing WC2 felt exactly like being the main chaacter in a science fiction epic. No dogfighting game has ever had the immersive, you're-in-a-movie feel like WC and WC2, and the game itself is perfectly suited for it.

The Bad
Like WC, this can be a hard game to get the right memory requirements for. Other than that, this is a perfect game in every respect, and a big step over the first Wing Commander game.

The Bottom Line
One of the true granddaddies in PC gaming history, a magnificent achievement and a joy to play.

DOS · by Rick Jones (96) · 2001

Equally influential follow-up to one of the most influential games of all time.

The Good
It used an upgraded version of the same engine that powered the first game, so the nearly-perfect gameplay is still there. The addition of the Speech Pack, adding full speech to all the radio transmissions during flight, gave it an element of realism no game up to that point had. (it was not at all uncommon to start talking to your computer in the heat of battle, when one of your wingmates calls to you) Plus, its use of cinematics and storyline were ground-breaking at the time - no other game had an immersive plot like this, although you had little control over it, outside of the branching mission structure. The first time many of us saw this, with full speech over the opening story sequences, was something of a religious experience.

The Bad
They altered the ship characteristics slightly so that everything took less damage to blow up. This meant more, faster-paced dogfights. I appear to be one of the few people in this world who prefered the slower-paced, more realistic battles of the first game. (less bad guys, but you could spend 10 minutes jousting with a Gothri trying to kill it) Also, the game was a bit on the buggy side, ESPECIALLY with the Special Ops 2 add-in, which appeared to have gone through approximately half an hour of rigorous testing before release. Finally, if you're one of those who viewed Sound Blaster as the evil dictator of the computer sound industry in the 90s, here's the game to blame - it's almost universally agreed that no one program inspired more people to go buy SBs than this one.

The Bottom Line
A definate classic. Not quite as good as the original, but darned close, and gameplay wise, probably still superior to everything that came after.

DOS · by WizardX (116) · 2000

An excellent sequel to Wing Commander

The Good
I enjoyed the storyline and felt the graphics, particularly the explosions, were very good. The folks at Origin also dida great job increasing the difficulty level. There were a few missions I had to repeat many times to beat, but each one was beatable. I love the Wing Commander series and this was another good game in it.

The Bad
It ended.

The Bottom Line
Exactly like the Wing Commander game where you lead the Confederation through a series of missions against the Kilrathi. Leading may be a misnomer here since you aren't actually in charge, but your mission results do dictate the course the story follows.

DOS · by Spectre (126) · 2000

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Trivia

Cancelled SNES version

A SNES port of this game was created in 1994, to follow the previously released Wing Commander and Wing Commander: The Secret Missions SNES games. All indications are that the game was completed and shipped to the factory to begin manufacturing. However at the very last minute the game seems to have been cancelled. The only indications that it ever existed are the April 1995 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly and the May 1995 issue of GamePro, both of which published reviews of the game. More information can be found here.

References

One of the mission series in Wing Commander II takes place in the Niven system. This is a tip of the hat to science fiction writer Larry Niven, whose felinoid aliens, the Kzinti, inspired Wing Commander's antagonists, the Kilrathi.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • November 1994 (Issue #124) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame

Information also contributed by Terok Nor.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Shoddyan, Ricky Derocher, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger.

Game added February 4, 2000. Last modified January 19, 2024.