Reinstall invites you to join us in revisiting classics of PC gaming days gone by. This week, we set a course through space for a simpler time, when $4 million was considered a lot of money to spend making a game.
Even now, with the ropey-effects, chunky FMV, and the realization that said combat really hasn't aged well, Wing Commander 3 holds onto a surprising amount of majesty. The opening chords in the soundtrack are powerful and bombastic. Our first scene is of the triumph of series baddies the kilrathi, and not merely over a group of nameless mooks, but Angel, both lead character Col. Blair's lover, and one of the series' most prominent pilots from the very start.
That bleakness works beautifully, giving the uplifting moments something to contrast with. As hammy as the acting often is , there's a genuine warmth to it. Blair's growing bonds with the Victory's crew, helped by the fact that you get to walk around between missions and think of it as home, are in stark contrast to the way games like X-Wing and Freespace 2 saved their focus for the combat.
mrsambarlow is saving the genre.
Interactive movies are soooo bad idea, talking from a gamer perspective.
I can't win the first dogfight in the game's intro lol
These need a remaster so badly.
Generative AI will help
And 4!
Ironic that a studio called 'Remedy' keeps the trend going strong... (Love em, though)
*Hell March intensifies*
FMV is awesome and people that hate it are boring.
CNC 2 did it very well
You take that BACK! FMV was the best! You are more than welcome to join us on our channel, where the king & queen of FMV: Paul Stetler (the lead actor from Phantasmagoria 2) and Victoria Morsell (the lead actress from Phantasmagoria 1) stream regularly!
PC gamer, this is the worst take ever
Journeyman series by Redhat Studios. One of the best games I've ever played. Created using Macromedia Director and FMV
The person who wrote this has not respect for the classics
Wing Commander V was better.
What an absolute shit title to this article.
FMV games were great. Its more obvious every day that no one at PC gamer is an actual gamer.
PatrickHellio 🤭
Needs to make a BIG comeback
it was a blessing not a disease
You just had to be there.
It was... and it was beautiful.
FMV was the right way to go then, now with UnrealEngine everything can look hyper-realistic without the need for wardrobe, lighting, & physical set pieces. Just a green screen & some mocap & you’re done.
Lol, a ten year old article, slowwwww day huh?
The FMV in the various Star Wars games of the era made them feel like extensions of the original trilogy. For a kid like me who loves star wars they were exciting.
FMV was awesome.
WC2 and WC privateer are the best space sim ever ever ever ever ...
Under a killing moon was a masterpiece, underrated and under appreciated
The Wing Commander series was my favorite back in the day and still recall how amazed I was by wc3 in particular.
Nah they were great. Gabriel Knight 2 for instance.
Ah, yes. Those were the days.
say what you want , this fmv is the most impactful thing i've ever seen in my gaming experience , and i am a 2000s kid
Another shit take. Those were awesome in Command & Conquer, Warhammer: Final Liberation and many other games. It seems like game journalism of the 20's caught a disease.
Steel Harbinger (PS1, 1996)
It was very impressive at the time. I had the X-files game on PS1 and they went all out on it. Felt like an Interactive mini series.
there are so many games that integrated FMV better, gabriel knight 2, tex murphy, some of the best adventure games of all time. this was a shooter game with fmv cutscenes, you might as well call command and conquer an fmv game it's an rts with fmv cutscenes
Honestly, I think FPS was the disease
I know this isn't what the article is about, but it was not a disease by any means. FMV was an innovation that lead to a lot of interesting games and experiments and provided a massive leap in cutscenes at the time. Dragon's Lair, Night Trap, Sonic CD... FMV was awesome.
During the '90s, PC gaming pulled a legendary sword from stone, and its name was FMV.
Phantasmagora💪
Loved Titanic Adventure Out of Time! All of the characters you could interact with in that were live action