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Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi
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Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi is the first sequel in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator franchise of computer games, produced by Origin Systems.
Released in 1991, Wing Commander II retains much of the first game's core conventions: an interstellar war between the Terran Confederation and the felinoid warrior race called the Kilrathi, multiple allies as wingmen, and a wide variety of ships on both sides of the war. However, WCII places a greater emphasis on storytelling, providing various sprite-animated cutscenes and some of the industry's first examples of voice acting. The storyline is also somewhat less open-ended: the game's campaign tree is much more structured and the player character can no longer be promoted or awarded medals. Wingmen can no longer be killed during normal gameplay; when their fighters are damaged beyond repair, they eject (though some die in scripted sequences). Finally, because the story is a direct sequel to WC, many Kilrathi ships have names similar to the WC ships they replace (for instance, the "Sartha" replaces the "Salthi", and the Confederation uses an upgraded version of the Rapier medium fighter).
Expansion packs Special Operations 1 and 2, were released in 1991 and 1992, respectively, and a stand-alone spin-off, Wing Commander Academy, in 1993. Origin also released a Speech Accessory Pack, which upgraded WCII with pre-recorded voice acting.
A port for the SNES by FCI was announced for May 1995, but never released. A Sega Genesis version was also planned but never released.
Gameplay of Wing Commander II is similar to the first Wing Commander game: a space flight simulation game, with the player piloting a ship, completing missions, and engaging enemy ships of various capabilities. There will generally be an AI-controlled wingman which the player can give orders to. The graphics, audio, and AI were improved for Wing Commander II, along with new ships and weapons, and animated cut-scenes featured voice acting. Like the first Wing Commander, missions will generally include multiple objectives. But the mission tree is much more structured and less open-ended: the game can proceed even if the objectives in the "winning" path are failed as long as the protagonist survives, but the player must successfully complete the missions in the "losing" path for the game to continue. Also, the player character can no longer be promoted or awarded medals. Wingmen can also no longer be killed during normal gameplay, and they eject when their fighters are damaged beyond repair (although some do die in some of the scripted cut-scenes).
The year is 2655. The TCS Tiger's Claw, pride of the Terran Confederation's fleet, is on campaign in the Enigma sector, near the Kilrathi sector headquarters, the K'tithrak Mang starbase. In a sudden attack, it is lost with all hands, save a few pilots who had been transferred off, and one who was out on patrol: the player's character, whose name and call sign are specified by the player. Origin personnel, in these days, called him "Bluehair" after his most defining feature; in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, his name was changed to Christopher "Maverick" Blair. Blair's claims that some sort of "Kilrathi stealth fighter" destroyed the Claw are summarily dismissed, especially since his flight data recorder is damaged. He is court martialed for treason (reduced to negligence, without the flight recorder as evidence), demoted to Captain, and branded as "The Coward of K'Tithrak Mang". Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn attempts to force Blair to resign; when Blair refuses, he is transferred to InSystem Security and exiled to Caernarvon Station in the backwater Gwynedd system.
Ten years later, Blair, flying a patrol, is startled to engage Kilrathi fightercraft in the area. Not long after, Admiral Tolwyn's flagship, the TCS Concordia, shows up on sensors, under heavy attack by a Kilrathi cruiser and her fighters. Blair and his wingman Captain Elizabeth "Shadow" Norwood together save the ship, and he is briefly reunited with some of his friends from the Claw—Colonel Jeannette Devereaux, Lieutenant Colonel Mariko Tanaka, the Kilrathi defector Colonel Ralgha nar Hhallas, Captain Etienne Montclair, and Major Zach Colson— used to assist in the attack on the Kilrathi cruiser, before being packaged back to Caernarvon. Colonel Devereaux requested a transfer for Blair to the Concordia but on the flight back, Blair states to Shadow that he probably won't get reassigned due to his past with Admiral Tolwyn. But Blair and Shadow have barely returned when the Concordia is attacked again, and an explosion on the flight deck has crippled her ability to launch fighters. In the ensuing battle, Shadow is killed, Blair triumphs, and Tolwyn, ever-mindful of the need for good pilots, takes The Coward of K'Tithrak Mang onto his flagship.
Blair's time there is not particularly easy. At least one pilot, Captain Dirk "Stingray" Wright, believes the slander spread about the Claw's destruction, and he and Blair's stauncher supporters (Tanaka, nar Hhallas, Devereaux) are frequently at odds. The flight deck explosion, a bizarre murder, and radio transmission records suggests that there is a traitor aboard the Concordia. Tolwyn frequently credits Blair's successes to his wingmen (particularly nar Hhallas). Though Maverick encounters Kilrathi Strakha stealth fighters several times, his black box always manages to malfunction or be destroyed. His repeated claims regarding the invisible ships frustrate Devereaux, who despite her belief that he didn't have anything to do with the destruction of the Tiger's Claw does not believe his statements about the cloaked ships.
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Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi is the first sequel in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator franchise of computer games, produced by Origin Systems.
Released in 1991, Wing Commander II retains much of the first game's core conventions: an interstellar war between the Terran Confederation and the felinoid warrior race called the Kilrathi, multiple allies as wingmen, and a wide variety of ships on both sides of the war. However, WCII places a greater emphasis on storytelling, providing various sprite-animated cutscenes and some of the industry's first examples of voice acting. The storyline is also somewhat less open-ended: the game's campaign tree is much more structured and the player character can no longer be promoted or awarded medals. Wingmen can no longer be killed during normal gameplay; when their fighters are damaged beyond repair, they eject (though some die in scripted sequences). Finally, because the story is a direct sequel to WC, many Kilrathi ships have names similar to the WC ships they replace (for instance, the "Sartha" replaces the "Salthi", and the Confederation uses an upgraded version of the Rapier medium fighter).
Expansion packs Special Operations 1 and 2, were released in 1991 and 1992, respectively, and a stand-alone spin-off, Wing Commander Academy, in 1993. Origin also released a Speech Accessory Pack, which upgraded WCII with pre-recorded voice acting.
A port for the SNES by FCI was announced for May 1995, but never released. A Sega Genesis version was also planned but never released.
Gameplay of Wing Commander II is similar to the first Wing Commander game: a space flight simulation game, with the player piloting a ship, completing missions, and engaging enemy ships of various capabilities. There will generally be an AI-controlled wingman which the player can give orders to. The graphics, audio, and AI were improved for Wing Commander II, along with new ships and weapons, and animated cut-scenes featured voice acting. Like the first Wing Commander, missions will generally include multiple objectives. But the mission tree is much more structured and less open-ended: the game can proceed even if the objectives in the "winning" path are failed as long as the protagonist survives, but the player must successfully complete the missions in the "losing" path for the game to continue. Also, the player character can no longer be promoted or awarded medals. Wingmen can also no longer be killed during normal gameplay, and they eject when their fighters are damaged beyond repair (although some do die in some of the scripted cut-scenes).
The year is 2655. The TCS Tiger's Claw, pride of the Terran Confederation's fleet, is on campaign in the Enigma sector, near the Kilrathi sector headquarters, the K'tithrak Mang starbase. In a sudden attack, it is lost with all hands, save a few pilots who had been transferred off, and one who was out on patrol: the player's character, whose name and call sign are specified by the player. Origin personnel, in these days, called him "Bluehair" after his most defining feature; in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, his name was changed to Christopher "Maverick" Blair. Blair's claims that some sort of "Kilrathi stealth fighter" destroyed the Claw are summarily dismissed, especially since his flight data recorder is damaged. He is court martialed for treason (reduced to negligence, without the flight recorder as evidence), demoted to Captain, and branded as "The Coward of K'Tithrak Mang". Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn attempts to force Blair to resign; when Blair refuses, he is transferred to InSystem Security and exiled to Caernarvon Station in the backwater Gwynedd system.
Ten years later, Blair, flying a patrol, is startled to engage Kilrathi fightercraft in the area. Not long after, Admiral Tolwyn's flagship, the TCS Concordia, shows up on sensors, under heavy attack by a Kilrathi cruiser and her fighters. Blair and his wingman Captain Elizabeth "Shadow" Norwood together save the ship, and he is briefly reunited with some of his friends from the Claw—Colonel Jeannette Devereaux, Lieutenant Colonel Mariko Tanaka, the Kilrathi defector Colonel Ralgha nar Hhallas, Captain Etienne Montclair, and Major Zach Colson— used to assist in the attack on the Kilrathi cruiser, before being packaged back to Caernarvon. Colonel Devereaux requested a transfer for Blair to the Concordia but on the flight back, Blair states to Shadow that he probably won't get reassigned due to his past with Admiral Tolwyn. But Blair and Shadow have barely returned when the Concordia is attacked again, and an explosion on the flight deck has crippled her ability to launch fighters. In the ensuing battle, Shadow is killed, Blair triumphs, and Tolwyn, ever-mindful of the need for good pilots, takes The Coward of K'Tithrak Mang onto his flagship.
Blair's time there is not particularly easy. At least one pilot, Captain Dirk "Stingray" Wright, believes the slander spread about the Claw's destruction, and he and Blair's stauncher supporters (Tanaka, nar Hhallas, Devereaux) are frequently at odds. The flight deck explosion, a bizarre murder, and radio transmission records suggests that there is a traitor aboard the Concordia. Tolwyn frequently credits Blair's successes to his wingmen (particularly nar Hhallas). Though Maverick encounters Kilrathi Strakha stealth fighters several times, his black box always manages to malfunction or be destroyed. His repeated claims regarding the invisible ships frustrate Devereaux, who despite her belief that he didn't have anything to do with the destruction of the Tiger's Claw does not believe his statements about the cloaked ships.