ORIGIN System Incorporated’s action game, Wing Commander: Academy was released for play in the early nineties. The game was developed by ORIGIN for play only on the personal computer and was designed with the MS-DOS operating system in mind, although it will play in later systems with the help of tool such as DOSBOX. Wing Commander: Academy plays entirely from the first person perspective, like a shooter. It offers a very fun futuristic, science fiction theme. It is part of a fairly large Wing Commander franchise which features several games.
In Wing Commander: Academy, the user will play the part of a young pilot, a recruit in the Confederation Army. One of the stipulations of becoming a fully vested Academy pilot states that young recruits must test their flight skills in the Academy’s simulator. That is what the gamer will be doing: performing missions and practicing flight patterns within the simulator. There is no story line beyond that, as in other Wing Commander games, and there is no long, drawn out campaign or career mode. It is all about being a good student in this game.
Within the simulator, however, the user has many options. He will be able to fly in dogfight style missions, and he will also
be able to practice his precision and maneuverability. Perhaps the most interesting challenge, however, will come directly from the pilot. He will be given a screen that looks similar to radar. Within that screen, he will be able set up his own goals or waypoints. He will be able to designate friendly fighters, enemy planes, enemy capital ships, space stations, stranded pilots who have been forced to eject, and any manner of other interesting thing on these waypoints. These, more or less, serves as a mission builder or construction set for people who are bored with the challenges the game offers. The user can make these self-created missions as challenging or easy as he sees fit, which adds great depth and replay level to this game.
Players are able to choose from different ships and weapons and can also select wingmen. These options are all very similar to those available in Wing Commander II. The controls and graphics are also very alike. Even some of the initial simulation missions are similar, leaving the story (or lack thereof) the biggest difference between the games.
Wing Commander: Academy is probably not the best in the Wing Commander series, but the series itself was so popular that even a mediocre game within this franchise is going to better than the best game from another series. This should provide a good flight challenge, and the ability to build your own challenge makes it even better.
