Wing Commander no longer on PCG's "Top 100 PC Games" List

Sylvester

Vice Admiral
So I was reading this list put out by PC Gamer of their top 100 PC games of all time and I was at least a little shocked to discover that not one of the Wing Commander games was on it anymore. This is the first time I can recall that not one WC game made the list - if I remember right WCIII placed as high as 3 or 4 on one of the lists from the early 2000s. Maybe it's because they've begun to age, but the original XCOM from 1994 is still on there so that can't be the entire reason. For heck's sake, Freespace 2 made the list at #96. I would have thought with the news Star Citizen has generated that WC might be on the minds of some of their editors.
 
It's really strange - I've noticed PC Gamer covers Star Citizen a little (interviews and such), but not nearly as much as one would imagine, and I'm not sure why (pressure from publishers, since that's their bread and butter perhaps? Or perhaps they think it may fail.). At any rate, I definitely think WC deserves to be on that list.
 
I noticed a lot of not-so-great games all along the way... And mostly piles and piles of crap I would never play. And yes age differs, Monkey Island 2 has been redone two years ago, so that is why it probably appeared on that list. Joysticks are rare these days, and that Elite is on it is simply because it was a favorite from one of the reviewers. Just about everything in that list consists of franchises that are still around and playable today.

Every kid who was into computers born in the late 70's or early 80's knows wing commander.
 
I agree with that assessment Mace. I've been reading PC Gamer since....well since I could read really, which is going on nearly 20 years now. I've noticed that in the last 5 years or so everything has a bit more of a publisher attached feel to it then before, despite the rise of indie games through Steam and other platforms.

As for kids into computers - I was born 1 year and 1 day before the original WC was released and it's still one of my favorites. I played a couple missions of SM1 today while waiting for my wash to be done.
 
I don think they have to put just a game. but the wing commander series is one of the top 10 best game series ever, and its still popular. I know at least 5 folks at work that got wc3 free from origin. but we need something new in the series
 
I never put much stock in these lists. Without fail, most games I enjoyed are overlooked or given poorer ratings against games that have no place on such a list.

Perfect example: how many times does Halo make the ten best console games of all time? Ugh. Meanwhile, I made some good friends online playing two James Bond games (Goldeneye Reloaded and Quantum Of Solace) that reviewers barely batted an eye at. I'd take either of those over most games these days.

Similarly, Wing Commander casts a longer shadow in gaming than any game made in the last ten years. The fact that a list can't acknowledge that tells you the list is rubbish from the get-go. Dust your shoulders off and move on from that rag.
 
1998, 1993... the numbers almost look the same at first sight. But from competent gaming journalists I'd expect to get the release year of DOOM right.
 
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As a watcher of some of PC Gamer's YouTube content, I've noticed they spend actually a good bit of time playing either indie games, or virtual versions of card games, not just what you think of as your standard PC game. They just started a (monthly I think) webshow, and it's pretty entertaining, but they've already spent a significant portion of time on a type of card game (I forget what...but it's similar to monster card games you play with physical cards), a rough game with a 2D arena where you're fighting for control of a ball or something, a game where you control various appendages (with other players) of an Octopus guy to do routine tasks like make coffee, and another 2D jousting type game that looked fun and was clearly indie. I love indie games - don't get me wrong; they're more interesting in a lot of ways than some mainstream titles nowadays, but I swear their coverage is probably well above 50% so far with bigger titles getting much less coverage. It's kind of funny seeing an indy game or card game being played when they have the behemoth Large Pixel Collider sitting there.

It just seems like PC Gamer has changed a lot since the days (15-20 years ago) I used to subscribe. A good part of that is there are so few projects being developed exclusively for, or taking advantage of, PC's nowadays... I really have to wonder if the people in charge of PC Gamer now simply don't remember the "good old days" of gaming because, frankly, they're too young to.

I was talking with a friend tonight about how fleeting certain aspects of our society are, especially since the acceleration of technology - experiences that we might have that nobody else in history...or in the future...are really going to have. One example is the days of VHS rental places ("be kind, please rewind" anybody). Another more apt to this forum is the days of carefully tweaking DOS boot disks, with the hope you can make that game you just got run, and the feeling you get when you get it just right and the magic happens...or just how GOOD some of these graphics and the sound looked and sounded at the time, not to mention the still-great and relevant gameplay.

These are experiences people only a little bit younger than us will never have...

Anyways...I took the long way around...but yeah...it's a good bet that most of the higher ups at PC Gamer never actually PLAYED Wing Commander. It's hard to realize the significance of certain games if you weren't there to experience them. Data about games, etc., is all well and good, but having played them in the proper timeframe makes all the difference. It also explains why they might mess up the date for DOOM. Someone who was there probably wouldn't, but it's an easy thing to do if it's all stories you've heard from someone else, not an experience YOU had.
 
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Another more apt to this forum is the days of carefully tweaking DOS boot disks

I learned a lot about DOS and batch files and how to write (minimal) code solely because of this one thing. I'm happy I don't have to fine tune boot discs anymore (I remember having to tweak Armada A LOT for some reason?) but I do miss those days.
 
I learned a lot about DOS and batch files and how to write (minimal) code solely because of this one thing. I'm happy I don't have to fine tune boot discs anymore (I remember having to tweak Armada A LOT for some reason?) but I do miss those days.

I cobbled together a vintage rig (a small DOS slowdown utility cheat since it was still a bit too fast) to play some of the old games (including the Wing Commanders), and I can't tell you how much it made me smile to do this again after all this time (and still that thrill when you finally get the game working and playing right). ^.^
 
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