''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' is the third main game in
Chris Roberts' ''
Wing Commander''
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
space combat simulation video game series, developed and released by
Origin Systems in December 1994. It was a departure from previous games in the series in that it uses extensive
live action
Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...
full-motion video to add an
interactive movie-style presentation to the space combat gameplay, emphasized by its advertising slogan, "Don't
watch the game, play the movie!". The game's more than two hours of video featured a number of prominent movie stars including
Mark Hamill as Colonel Christopher "Maverick" Blair,
Malcolm McDowell as Admiral Tolwyn,
John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor known for portraying Gimli (Middle-earth), Gimli in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He has received three ...
as James "Paladin" Taggart and Thrakhath nar Kiranka, and
Tom Wilson as Todd "Maniac" Marshall.
Gameplay
Wing Commander is a
space combat simulator intercut with live action
cutscene
A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s. Gameplay involves completing missions and destroying enemy craft. Wing Commander III dispensed with the issuing of medals after such missions and relied more on cutscenes to drive the story along, making much more use of CD technology. As the man giving the orders,
Blair often gets to choose what ship he will fly, what missiles it will carry, and what wingman (wingmen) he will take with him. As in ''
Wing Commander'', some wingmen can be killed permanently in combat. Blair's own
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...
remained customizable.
Plot
The
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the previous two games is officially assigned a name, Colonel
Christopher Blair. Thrakhath nar Kiranka, Crown Prince of the hostile Kilrathi Empire, presides over the execution by disintegration of a group of Terran Confederation prisoners of war. One, however, is left alive: Blair's lover Colonel Jeannette "Angel" Devereaux, due to her status among the Kilrathi as a respected warrior. On the planet Vespus, Blair and Brigadier General James "Paladin" Taggart inspect the downed wreckage of the TCS ''Concordia''. The carrier is a total loss.
It is the year 2669, and the Terran-Kilrathi War has been going for over thirty years, with no signs of stopping. Blair, by orders of Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn, is transferred as Wing Commander to the TCS ''Victory'', a ''Ranger''-class carrier twice as old as Blair. Her captain, William Eisen, has been with her for many years, and is proud of his ship. There are a few old faces—Colonel Ralgha nar "Hobbes" Hhallas, and Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall, but all the other pilots and staff are people Blair has never met. Among those on board, Blair meets Lieutenant Robin "Flint" Peters and Chief Fighter Technician Rachel Coriolis.
The ''Victory'' is assigned to the Orsini System, away from the front. Shortly after Blair's arrival, test pilot Major Jace "Flash" Dillon arrives on board the ''Victory'' with his prototype warcraft, the F-103A Excalibur heavy fighter. When Flash fails to respond to an attack on the ''Victory'', willfully napping through the crisis, Blair commandeers the Excalibur in defense of the ''Victory'' and, in an ensuing argument with Flash, accuses him of being a coward and repeatedly insinuates that he has no flying skills. This angers Flash who challenges Blair to a simulator duel. If Blair wins the duel, he forces Dillon to request reassignment to the ''Victory''
's flight wing. Immediately afterward the ''Victory'' is rerouted to the Locanda System, where the Kilrathi are deploying a potent pair of new weapons: the "Skipper" cruise missile, equipped with a cloaking device, and a genetically-engineered bioweapon for use against the Locanda colonies, the home of Flint. Blair and his wing are scrambled to defend Locanda against several of these missiles. Even if Blair destroys the missiles, Flint breaks formation and attacks the Kilrathi forces in an act of revenge. The player is given the option to follow her, though she returns safely in either case.
Thrakhath appears with a squadron of Pakthan bombers and taunts the ''Victory'' over subspace radio, calling Blair "the heart of the tiger"; the Confed pilots gather the Kilrathi have bestowed this name on him as a sign of respect. Admiral Tolwyn rendezvouses with the ''Victory'', escorted by several destroyers. Tolwyn is responsible for the escort and defense of the TCS ''Behemoth'', an extremely large vessel (essentially a titanic particle accelerator with engines) capable of destroying a planet. Following a successful field test of the ''Behemoth'' in the Loki system, the ''Victory'' jumps to Kilrah and Tolwyn prepares to use the ''Behemoth'' on the Kilrathi home world. Thrakhath's forces attack the Behemoth. A traitor aboard the ''Victory'' has transmitted targeting data to the Kilrathi revealing the ''Behemoth's'' weakpoints, and the ''Behemoth'' is destroyed. Thrakhath then challenges Blair in single combat. He taunts Blair with a recording showing how he personally disemboweled Angel after her colleagues were disintegrated. Blair's instinct is to accept, but Lt. Ted "Radio" Rollins warns him that the ''Victory'' is leaving the system. When he returns to the Victory, the player chooses between getting drunk or talking to Rachel about his loss. If Blair gets drunk, he must then fly an emergency scramble drunk, with the game controls not responding reliably, making combat virtually impossible.
After a retreat to the Alcor System, Paladin arrives. He reveals that before Angel was captured, she transmitted data indicating that the Kilrathi home world is seismically unstable. Paladin suggests a weapon called the Temblor Bomb which, if dropped in the right place, will cause the planet to shake itself to pieces. Before they can complete the bomb, Hobbes kills one of the ''Victory''
's pilots, Lt. Laurel "Cobra" Buckley, steals her fighter and makes for Kilrathi space with news of the planned T-Bomb attack. Blair has the choice of chasing him or letting him go. If he gives chase, he kills Hobbes, the carrier is attacked, and Lt. Mitchell "Vaquero" Lopez is killed in the fight. Either way, afterwards Blair finds Hobbes left a message locker, explaining that he was brainwashed long before he met Blair, and this brainwashing led him to defect to the Confederation. His original personality was reactivated by the code phrase "heart of the tiger", the Kilrathi name for Blair.
Blair has the option to choose to initiate a romance with Flint or Rachel. Flint refuses to fly with him if he chooses Rachel, Rachel refuses to help him with his missile loadouts if he chooses Flint, and both are bitter with him if he chooses neither. Blair launches against Kilrah, with up to three wingmen of the player's choice. This attack comes just as the Kilrathi prepare for a massive and devastating strike against Earth, intending to finally force humanity into submission with the loss of their home planet. After successfully downing Prince Thrakhath above Kilrah (and Hobbes, if he was not killed earlier), Blair descends to the surface and delivers the bomb. The resulting explosion destroys Kilrah and wipes out nearly the entire Kilrathi armada assembled in orbit, but damages Blair's fighter as well; a surviving Kilrathi capital ship tractors him in. Morally devastated by the destruction of their home planet, the Kilrathi, commanded now by Thrakhath's retainer Melek nar Kiranka, surrender to Tolwyn. The surviving Kilrathi begin to colonize a new homeworld and now want to live in peace and harmony with humans while Blair and his romantic interest make plans to start their new lives together.
Cast
*
Mark Hamill as Colonel Christopher "Maverick" Blair
*
Malcolm McDowell as Admiral Tolwyn
*
John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor known for portraying Gimli (Middle-earth), Gimli in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He has received three ...
as Thrakhath Nar Kiranka (voice) / James "Paladin" Taggart
*
Jason Bernard as Captain William Eisen
*
Tom Wilson as Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall
*
Ginger Lynn Allen as Rachel Coriolis
* Jennifer MacDonald as Lieutenant Robin "Flint" Peters
*
Courtney Gains as Lieutenant Ted "Radio" Rollins
*
François Chau as Lieutenant Winston "Vagabond" Chang
* B.J. Jefferson as Lieutenant Laurel "Cobra" Buckley
*
Josh Lucas as Major Jace "Flash" Dillon
* Julian Reyes as Lieutenant Mitchell "Vaquero" Lopez
* Yolanda Jilot as Colonel Jeannette "Angel" Devereaux
*
Barbara Niven as Barbara Miles
*
Tim Curry as Melek Nar Kiranka (voice)
*
Alan Mandell as Emperor (voice)
*
John Schuck as Ralgha Nar "Hobbes" Hhallas (voice)
Development
''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' was developed and released by
Origin Systems. It was released in 1994 for
DOS and
Mac OS, in 1995 for
3DO, and in 1996 for
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
. A
Sega Saturn
The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...
version was also announced
and advertised,
but not released. ''Wing Commander III'' made the move from the
sprite-based graphics used in previous titles to software-driven
texture-mapped polygonal
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane (mathematics), plane Shape, figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain.
The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its ''edge (geometry), edges'' or ''sides''. The p ...
3D, and used
FMV for
cutscene
A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s. ''Wing Commander III'' featured an entirely new line of ships and fighters, abandoning the technology of ''
Wing Commander'' and ''
Wing Commander II''. Terran Confederation craft were redesigned from "airplanes in space", while Kilrathi craft were totally redesigned into asymmetrical ships with prongs, barbs and fang-like surfaces. The new, blockier forms were made necessary by the then-primitive state of
polygon graphics, as ''WCIII'' was released a few years before the first
true 3D video cards and all 3D effects had to be calculated by the
CPU.
''Wing Commander III'' ultimately cost between and to develop.
Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to between today.
FMV was filmed entirely via
chroma key
Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a Visual effects, visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two or more images or video streams together based on colour hues (colorfulness, chroma range). The techniq ...
, with actors against green screens and all sets created digitally in post-production.
A number of branching ("interactive") conversations allow the player to choose what response his character will give; the choice may affect the other person's attitude towards the character, or even the morale of the entire crew. As such movie content consumes a large amount of data storage, the game was packaged on four
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...
s instead of
floppy disks, another emerging technology at that point.
A
Pentium (then a very high-end processor) was required to get optimum performance out of ''Wing Commander III''. Roberts said, "We're not afraid to lead hardware sales a little, and we believe that Pentium will soon be the standard."
In June 1995,
Atari Corporation realized a deal with EA to bring select titles to the
Atari Jaguar CD, with ''Wing Commander III'' among the selected games. This port was never released due to the commercial and critical failure of the
Atari Jaguar platform.
A novelization by
William R. Forstchen and
Andrew Keith was published in 1995. A
collectible card game
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards. The genre was introduced with ''Magic: The G ...
adaptation was published in the same year by
Mag Force 7 Productions, under the helm of noted science-fiction authors
Margaret Weis
Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is f ...
and
Don Perrin. The sequel, ''
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom'', was released in 1996.
After the end of the official support by Origin the fan community began to provide support for the game themselves. For instance, the community developed several
unofficial patch
An unofficial patch, sometimes alternatively called a community patch, is a patch for a piece of software, created by a third party such as a user community without the involvement of the original developer. Similar to an ordinary patch, it alle ...
es to enhance the compatibility with newer versions of
Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and newer PC hardware.
In September 2011, the
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer.
Since a computer, at base, only ...
of ''Wing Commander III'' was handed to the fan community by a former developer for the purpose of
digital long-time preservation.
On September 13, 2011 ''WC III'' was re-released on
gog.com via
digital distribution.
Version differences
A number of major changes were made in porting the game to the 3DO. These include:
* Difficulty select was removed; the game can only be played at one difficulty, which roughly corresponds to "Veteran" in the PC version.
* All stages set on planetary surfaces are cut, and replaced with Full Motion Video cutscenes. Staple mission audio clips (e.g. "Attack my target") are used for the dialogue in these scenes.
* Manual takeoffs are similarly replaced by FMVs. The player starts each mission in open space.
* The left VDU cannot be made invisible.
* Several enemy types were removed, including all land-based enemies.
* A new enemy was added, the gun platform. This enemy is stationary.
* The ejection animation was cut, as was the option to retry the mission after ejecting.
* The player must select a ship as a target in order to communicate with it.
* The bug which prevents the player from accessing the cutscene explaining Hobbes' betrayal in the PC version is absent.
* There is a new bug in the first Hyperion mission. Unless all enemies in the mission are destroyed, this mission will register as failed, regardless of whether or not the player successfully used the bomb prototype.
* Only two of the three possible endings of the PC version are accessible. This is because the removal of the planetary sequence makes it impossible to fail the mission in which the Temblor Bomb is planted.
* The scripted deaths of the pilots in the Temblor Bomb mission were cut. Thus, it is possible to complete the mission with all four wingmen remaining.
* The cloaking device works on Hobbes and Thrakhath, and thus the Temblor Bomb mission may be completed without fighting either of them.
The PlayStation version is much more similar to the PC version, though like the 3DO version it does not carry the bug which blocks off the Hobbes cutscene. Also, unlike either the PC or 3DO versions, it includes considerable load times when navigating the ''Victory''.
Novelization
While mostly following the plot outlined above, authors Keith and Forstchen made a number of decisions and changes to increase the tension of the novel:
* Blair's Gold Squadron flies Thunderbolts exclusively before transferring over to the new Excaliburs. Green Squadron runs the Longbows, Red Squadron has Hellcats (misprinted as Arrow Interceptors in the book) and Blue Squadron flies Arrows.
* Flash arrives, not as a test pilot for the Excalibur, but from the Locanda system as a replacement contributed from a Home Defense squadron. He retains his "hotshot" mindset and rank of major, however.
* Blair fails to save Locanda.
* Forstchen-created character Kevin "Lone Wolf" Tolwyn makes an appearance as a courier, preparing the ''Victory'' for the admiral's arrival. Lone Wolf, now a major, declines to join Blair's wing only because it would pain his uncle.
* Thrakhath's declaration that Blair is the "Heart of the Tiger" occurs while the pilots are in their cockpits, scrambling to defend the ''Behemoth'', instead of standing on the ''Victory''
's bridge. Flash, flying on Hobbes' wing, is killed in the ensuing fight.
*Since Hobbes knows about the Temblor bomb project, there is no question of allowing him to escape. Hobbes uses voice recordings to impersonate Buckley, but when Vaquero (Cobra's wingman) hears what has happened, he engages Hobbes, as per Blair's orders, and is killed just as Maverick arrives.
* Blair chooses Rachel.
* Flint, Winston "Vagabond" Chang and Maniac, the only living Gold Squadron pilots at this point in the novel, fly with him to Kilrah. Vagabond is shot down on the second leg of the journey (though he survives through unspecified means to return in ''Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom''), Flint is killed in space above Kilrah, and Maniac is shot down in the planet's atmosphere. Maniac would also return in ''Wing Commander IV''.
Reception
''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' was another major hit for the ''Wing Commander'' series, the PC versions alone selling over 500,000 copies. It sold over 700,000 copies in total.
PC Data, which tracked computer game sales in the United States, reported that ''Wing Commander III''s computer version earned $15.9 million and sold roughly 400,000 copies by October 1999.
A critic for ''
Next Generation'' gave the 3DO version five out of five stars, chiefly praising the usage of big-name actors in the video cutscenes, which he argued makes the game more realistic and suspenseful and gives a sense that the FMV is enhancing gameplay rather than substituting for a lack thereof. While he noted that the 3DO version lacks the graphical sharpness of the PC version and is less challenging, he concluded that it "makes a more than acceptable alternative" for players who cannot afford the expensive hardware required to run the PC version at optimal settings.
The four reviewers of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly'' focused their praise on the high quality of the FMV, which both Al Manuel and Sushi-X said was the cleanest FMV yet seen on either the 3DO or the PC. Ed Semrad and Sushi-X criticized that the control scheme is difficult to master.
James V. Trunzo reviewed ''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' in ''
White Wolf Inphobia'' #56 (June, 1995), rating it a 5 out of 5 and stated that "''Wing Commander III'' is quite simply the most stunning game around. It does what other CD-ROM products only promise, and by doing so ups the ante for every game to come. A sure Hall of Famer, ''Wing Commander III'' is the ultimate gaming experience."
Reviewing the PlayStation version, a reviewer for ''Maximum'' praised the "intricate" plot but criticized that the combat is simplistic and dull and that the FMV sequences lack any interaction beyond the occasional multiple choice response.
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the game an A.
Accolades
The editors of ''
PC Gamer US
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' nominated ''Wing Commander III'' for their 1994 "Best Action Game" award, although it lost to ''
TIE Fighter''.
In 1995, the game was awarded the 3DO Interactive Movie of the Year.
In 1996, ''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...
'' ranked it as the 54th best game of all time for its "thrilling space action in the first successful interactive movie",
and the ninth most innovative computer game.
In 2011, ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' ranked it 72nd on the list of the 100 best PC games of all time.
References
External links
* Original Origin WC3 webpage from 1997
* EA product page of their re-released digital download version
*
{{Authority control
1994 video games
1995 science fiction novels
3DO games
Cancelled Atari Jaguar games
Cancelled Sega Saturn games
Classic Mac OS games
DOS games
Full motion video based games
Games commercially released with DOSBox
Interactive movie video games
Novels based on Wing Commander
PlayStation (console) games
Science fiction video games
Single-player video games
Space combat simulators
Video game sequels
Video games developed in the United States
Wing Commander (franchise)