Meanwhile, the Wing Commander IV juggernaut continues to roll. Three magazines on the shelf now have WC IV on their covers (we told you about Strategy Plus last month). Overall, Terry Coleman, with Computer Gaming World, has perhaps the most thorough coverage. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that he spent an entire day with the team one month ago. Though he inflated the game's price tag a bit ($12 million) and had a couple of other questionable points, overall it was a good preview. Terry had high marks for the game's acting, story and interactive elements. "There's no doubt of the technical brilliance involved in WCIV," he wrote.
CGW also listed WC IV among its Holiday Hot 100 games. George Jones wrote, "No series to date has managed to capture such a Hollywood feel and successfully combine it with such quality action."
In Computer Game review, where WC IV is also front and center, Steve Honeywell writes, "ORIGIN takes games to a new level." The cover article included interviews with several from the WC team, including George Oldziey, Chris Douglas, Tony Morone, and Chris Roberts. Honeywell says, "Wing Commander III broke new ground in the technical arena and its stronger, bigger sibling, Wing Commander IV looks to do the same thing in the artistic realm."
BTW, Wing Commander was one of the featured games in a recent article in Business Week. In Paul Eng's article about interactive movies, WC III was cited as "one of the better examples" of games that make extensive use of digitized video footage and Hollywood production techniques to create a new level of game realism. Eng wrote, "While the gaming sequences were enjoyable, I was so intrigued by the game's story line that interacting with the other actors became more compelling."
Did someone mention holidays? ORIGIN is well represented in all the holiday gift guides you'll find in practically every magazine this month. Computer Gaming World's Holiday Hot 100 included the already mentioned Wing Commander IV, Crusader, and Cybermage.
PC Gamer has its 40 Can't Miss Games for the Holidays... Also included were BioForge ("It's an amazing hybrid: part graphic adventure, part arcade game, part movie-and all entertaining."), System Shock ("As close to virtual reality as a PC game has ever gotten.") and Wing Commander III ("Still the reigning champion of space shoot-'em-ups, and it belongs in every gamer's collection.")
... Finally, hats off to the Wing Commander III crew for some top honors. Games magazine recently named WC III as the Best New Simulation Game of 1996. Also, WC III received nine nominations for the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awards. Nominations include Best Computer Game, Best Sound, Best Action, Best Director (Chris Roberts), Best Editor (Phil Gessert), Best Producer (Chris Roberts), Best Composer (George Oldziey), Best Writer (Frank DePalma & Terry Borst) and Best Marketing campaign (Your very own ORIGIN Marketing Dept.). WC III received more nominations than any other game, according to an article in the Hollywood Reporter. The winners will be announced at a special award ceremony on national television next month. Check out the AIAS web site at http://www.interactive.org. Good luck!!
