View source for Software:Wing Commander: Prophecy

{{Infobox video game
|title = Wing Commander: Prophecy
|image = WC Prophecy cover.jpg
|alt = Cover art
|developer = [[Company:Origin Systems|Origin Systems]]<br>Raylight Studios (GBA)
|publisher = [[Company:Electronic Arts|Electronic Arts]]<br>Destination Software (GBA)
|director = Frank Roan
|producer = David Downing<br>Mark Day
|designer = Billy Joe Cain
|programmer = Peter Shelus
|artist = Mark Vearrier
|writer = David Carren<br>J. Larry Carroll
|composer = George Oldziey<br>Bill Munyon
|engine = 
|released = '''Windows'''<br>{{vgrelease|NA|December 11, 1997<ref>{{cite web | author=PC Gamer staff | date=December 11, 1997 | url=http://www.pcgamer.com/news/news-1997-12-08.html | title=Now Shipping | website=PC Gamer | publisher=Imagine Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980218070342/http://www.pcgamer.com/news/news-1997-12-08.html | archive-date=February 18, 1998 | url-status=dead | access-date=December 6, 2019 | quote=Origin's Wing Commander Prophecy is now officially in stores...}}</ref>|EU|1997}}'''Game Boy Advance'''<br>{{vgrelease|NA|May 23, 2003<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2003 |title=Destination Software Inc. {{!}} Game Developer and Distributor - Wing Commander(TM) Prophecy shipped to stores May 23, 2003 |url=http://www.dsigames.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040625125859/http://www.dsigames.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24 |archive-date=June 25, 2004 |access-date=December 27, 2003 |website=[[Company:Destination Software|Destination Software]]}}</ref>|EU|July 17, 2003}}
|genre = Space combat simulation
|modes = Single-player<br>multiplayer (GBA only)
|platforms = [[Software:Microsoft Windows|Windows]], Game Boy Advance
}}

'''''Wing Commander: Prophecy''''' is the fifth installment in the ''Wing Commander'' science fiction [[Software:Space combat simulator|space combat simulator]] franchise of computer games. The game was originally released in 1997 for [[Software:Microsoft Windows|Windows]], produced by [[Company:Origin Systems|Origin Systems]] and distributed by [[Company:Electronic Arts|Electronic Arts]], and in 2003, a GBA conversion was produced by Italy-based Raylight Studios and distributed by [[Company:Destination Software|Destination Software]].

The game features a new game engine (the VISION Engine), new spacecraft, characters and story elements. The events depicted in ''Prophecy'' are set over a decade after ''[[Software:Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom|Wing Commander IV]]'' and, rather than the Kilrathi, the player must deal with a new alien threat, an insectoid race codenamed Nephilim that has invaded the human galaxy through a [[Physics:Wormhole|wormhole]]. ''Prophecy'' was the first main-line ''Wing Commander'' game in which the player did not take on the role of Christopher Blair, instead being introduced to a new player character, Lance Casey. Some of the characters and actors from previous games return in ''Prophecy'', where they rub elbows with an entirely new cast of Confederation pilots and personnel.

A standalone [[Software:Expansion pack|expansion pack]], ''Secret Ops'', was released by Origin in 1998 solely over the Internet and for no charge. The large initial file challenged the dial-up connections of that day. ''Secret Ops'' was later released for sale in combination with ''Prophecy'' in the ''Wing Commander: Prophecy – Gold'' package. A Game Boy Advance port of ''Prophecy'' with added [[Software:Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]] was released in 2003.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wcnews.com/background/wing-commander-prophecy-gba.shtml | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy for Game Boy Advance - Series Background | website=Wing Commander Combat Information Center | access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref>

==Gameplay==

Controls are available in two modes: basic, catering to new and casual players, and advanced, aiming to give a more realistic feeling of space combat. The two modes leverage the same flight dynamics engine, but in basic mode turning the ship around is assisting the player by coupling pitch, yaw, and roll (emulating airplane flight dynamics), while in advanced mode each axis is made independent for more complex but increased control, especially when using a HOTAS setup. There is also the possibility to temporarily disable the coupling system that assists the player in keeping thrust forward as the player pivots along the axes as if the spacecraft was an airplane: when this assisting system is disabled it is therefore possible to tilt the spacecraft using thrusters while keeping movement constant through inertia, as is realistic in space, and allowing for advanced offensive and defensive maneuvers, such as drifting sideways alongside a capital ship while shooting at it or quickly pivoting 180 degrees around and shooting at a chasing fighter.

Missions are played in sequence, and while the core scenario is constant, it is possible to fail missions and keep going forward in the game. Subsequent missions may become increasingly harder as the enemy gains an upper hand on the operational theater. As is traditional for the ''Wing Commander'' franchise, the player is placed in command of a flight of fighters, piloted by various [[Software:Non-player character|non-player character]]s. Some of them may be killed during missions, resulting in a KIA in the leaderboard; however, others are plot-critical and will make use of their [[Engineering:Ejection seat|ejection seat]] to escape an exploding craft.

In between missions, the player may explore the TCS ''Midway'', the carrier vehicle upon which they are stationed, and engage various characters in conversation.

==Plot==
Twelve years after the destruction of the Kilrathi homeworld, the Terran Confederation is building several ''Midway''-class megacarriers, brainchild of Navy Commodore Christopher 'Maverick' Blair. The first one, the ''Midway'' herself, is undergoing her shakedown cruise, with Blair along for the ride.

The player takes the role of 2nd Lieutenant Lance Casey, son of the venerable Major Michael "Iceman" Casey from ''Wing Commander I''. He and his best friend Max "Maestro" Garrett have been assigned to the ''Midway'' as members of the ship's junior Diamondback Squadron, led by Lieutenant Jean "Stiletto" Talvert. Blair, Colonel Jacob "Hawk" Manley and Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall compete for control of the Black Widow Squadron. In charge of the ''Midway''{{'s}} two squadrons is CAG Patricia Drake, while Captain Eugene Wilford serves as her skipper. Commander Aurora Finley heads up the "Sciences Division", while Colonel John "Gash" Dekker leads the ship's contingent of Marines. Finally, Blair's old love interest Rachel Coriolis has returned as the ship's Chief Technician.

The ''Midway'' receives a distress call from a Kilrathi cruiser in the H'rekkah system, and Marshall, Manley, Casey, Talvert and Garrett are sent to investigate. Casey is placed in command of his flight; Stiletto intends to test the rookie pilot's reputation. They find the cruiser has been destroyed, and attackers come out of the nearby asteroids. In order to alert Confed HQ of the invaders, who have been codenamed Nephilim, Casey, Blair and Dekker fly out to an abandoned Confed relay station. The Nephilim have been lying in wait, and Blair is captured. Casey defends the station from attackers until reinforcements arrive.

The ''Midway'' is tasked with defending Kilrathi colonists in the T'lan Meth system. Casey finds himself on Hawk's wing several times, and learns more about his father. Once, when still a rookie aboard the TCS ''Tiger's Claw'', Manley lost a wingman, and was a complete wreck for some time. Only one pilot volunteered to fly on his wing, and had to fight off nearly an entire squadron of Kilrathi until Hawk could get his act together. That pilot, Major Michael "Iceman" Casey, eventually ejected from his damaged fighter and was scooped up by the Kilrathi; the family was told instead that he was killed during a Kilrathi ambush. While Casey and Manley are assisting a wing of Kilrathi fighters, Hawk advises that they turn on them in revenge for old grievances. If Casey agrees, both he and Hawk will become hostile to the Kilrathi; if he declines, Casey and Hawk are temporarily on bad terms. The Kilrathi also withhold assistance at a later juncture if Casey attacks them. Finally, the Marines retake a captured Kilrathi starbase, on which the Nephilim held a number of human prisoners, though only one remains: Commodore Blair.

Reports filter in of a Nephilim superweapon: a [[Physics:Plasma|plasma]] cannon that can destroy an entire fleet with one blast. Casey leads a raid to steal the weapon, which is subsequently grafted onto the ''Midway''. Because of incompatibilities between Nephilim and Terran technology, the plasma gun does not work as intended, and Casey assists in its firing by delivering a primer charge to an enemy ship. This results in the complete annihilation of the hostile fleet. If ''Midway'' attempts to charge the weapon again, she runs a two-thirds risk of a fatal backfire.

The ''Midway'' moves on to the Kilrah system, where the Nephilim's wormhole gate is still pumping out ships. Casey leads an attack on the gate, which is controlled by seven shielded towers. Casey and Talvert escort Dekker's Marines in and then combat waves of Nephilim fighters, while the Marines land and deactivate the shields on the towers so that Casey can destroy them one by one. Blair, flying in on his own shuttle, lands at the last remaining tower and deactivates its shields. The Nephilim Warlord who kidnapped Blair is within the tower; Blair, distracted by this higher priority, does not escape before the explosion. Casey returns to the ''Midway'' and the Confederation as a hero. Blair is declared missing in action.

==Development==
''Wing Commander: Prophecy'' was the first ''Wing Commander'' game made after series creator Chris Roberts left Origin, though the [[Software:Game engine|game engine]] was taken from Roberts' last project with Origin, the unfinished game "Silverheart".<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_34/page/n131/mode/2up | title=NG Alphas: Wing Commander Prophecy | magazine=Next Generation | issue=34 | date=October 1997 | page=129 | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>

The Nephilium were designed by [[Biography:Syd Mead|Syd Mead]].<ref name=GPro111>{{cite magazine | author=Dan Elektro | url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_111_Volume_09_Number_12_1997-12_IDG_Publishing_US/page/n117/mode/2up | title=PC GamePro Previews: Wing Commander: Prophecy | magazine=GamePro | publisher=IDG | issue=111 | date=December 1997 | page=116 | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>

Character conversations were filmed in [[Software:Full motion video|full motion video]], with Mark Hamill, Tom Wilson, and Ginger Lynn Allen reprising their roles from prior games.<ref name=GPro111/>

==Reception==
{{Video game reviews
| GBA = true
| PC = true
| na = true
| GR_GBA = 63%<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gamerankings.com/gba/583421-wing-commander-prophecy/index.html | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy for Game Boy Advance | website=GameRankings | publisher=CBS Interactive | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430134250/https://www.gamerankings.com/gba/583421-wing-commander-prophecy/index.html | archive-date=April 30, 2019 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| GR_PC = 81%<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/43354-wing-commander-prophecy/index.html | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy for PC | website=GameRankings | publisher=CBS Interactive | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521123357/https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/43354-wing-commander-prophecy/index.html | archive-date=May 21, 2019 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| MC_GBA = 70/100<ref name=mcgba>{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/wing-commander-prophecy/critic-reviews/?platform=game-boy-advance | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy for Game Boy Advance Reviews | website=Metacritic | publisher=Red Ventures | access-date=March 1, 2016}}</ref>
| CNG_PC = 8/10<ref>{{cite web | author=Chick, Tom | date=December 23, 1997 | url=http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-1388,00.html | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy | website=Gamecenter | publisher=CNET | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815225207/http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-1388,00.html | archive-date=August 15, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| CGSP_PC = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web | author=Ocampo, Jason | year=1997 | url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/009/045/wc_prophecy_review.html | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy | website=Computer Games Strategy Plus | publisher=Strategy Plus, Inc. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030529183055/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/009/045/wc_prophecy_review.html | archive-date=May 29, 2003 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| CGW_PC = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine | author=May, Scott A. | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_165.pdf | title=Ship Shape (''Wing Commander: Prophecy'' Review) | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=165 | date=April 1998 | pages=158–59 | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref><br />(GE) {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Dahl, Chase | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_175.pdf | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy Gold Edition | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=175 | date=February 1999 | page=201 | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| Edge_PC = 6/10<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Edge staff | url=https://retrocdn.net/images/a/a4/Edge_UK_055.pdf | title=Wing Commander Prophecy (PC) | magazine=Edge | publisher=Future Publishing | issue=55 | date=February 1998 | page=94 | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| EuroG_GBA = 6/10<ref>{{cite web | author=Taylor, Martin | date=July 11, 2003 | url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_wcommander_gba | title=Wing Commander Prophecy (GBA) | website=Eurogamer | publisher=Gamer Network | access-date=November 22, 2021}}</ref>
| GI_GBA = 7/10<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Reiner, Andrew | url=http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200308/R03.0807.1717.37315.htm | title=Wing Commander [Prophecy] (GBA) | magazine=Game Informer | publisher=[[Company:GameStop|GameStop]] | issue=124 | date=August 2003 | page=104 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041113165139/http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200308/R03.0807.1717.37315.htm | archive-date=November 13, 2004 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| GI_PC = 8.5/10<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Bergren, Paul | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy (PC) | magazine=Game Informer | publisher=FuncoLand | issue=59 | date=March 1998}}</ref>
| GameRev_PC = B+<ref>{{cite web | author=Anderson, Tom | date=December 1997 | url=http://www.game-revolution.com/games/pc/prophecy.htm | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy Review (PC) | website=GameRevolution | publisher=CraveOnline | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980613192954/http://www.game-revolution.com/games/pc/prophecy.htm | archive-date=June 13, 1998 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 22, 2021}}</ref>
| GSpot_GBA = 7.4/10<ref>{{cite web | author=Provo, Frank | date=June 12, 2003 | url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wing-commander-prophecy-review/1900-6029892/ | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy Review (GBA) | website=GameSpot | publisher=Red Ventures | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050104073943/http://www.gamespot.com/gba/sim/wingcommanderprophecy/review.html | archive-date=January 4, 2005 | url-status=live | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| GSpot_PC = 8.6/10<ref>{{cite web | author=Dulin, Ron | date=December 16, 1997 | url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wing-commander-prophecy-review/1900-2545907/ | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy Review (PC) [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"] | website=GameSpot | publisher=Red Ventures | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050204153519/http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/wingcommanderprophecy/review.html | archive-date=February 4, 2005 | url-status=live | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| IGN_GBA = 7/10<ref>{{cite web | author=Harris, Craig | date=June 9, 2003 | url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/06/09/wing-commander-prophecy | title=Wing Commander Prophecy (GBA) | website=IGN | publisher=Ziff Davis | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| NGen_PC = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=ngen>{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_40/page/n107/mode/2up | title=Profitable (''Wing Commander: Prophecy'' Review) | magazine=Next Generation | publisher=Imagine Media | issue=40 | date=April 1998 | page=106 | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>
| PCGUS_PC = 89%<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Wolf, Michael | url=http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/1166.html | title=Wing Commander Prophecy | magazine=PC Gamer | publisher=Imagine Media | volume=5 | issue=3 | date=March 1998 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000226232029/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/1166.html | archive-date=February 26, 2000 | url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

The Game Boy Advance version received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.<ref name=mcgba/> ''Next Generation'' said that the PC version "offers enough solid gameplay and eye-catching graphics to satisfy even the most demanding space combat fan."<ref name=ngen/> ''GamePro'' criticized that due to the hyped multiplayer feature having been dropped before release, the game has little to differentiate it from previous ''Wing Commander'' games apart from its stunning graphics when using a 3D accelerator, though they said the series's familiar story and gameplay remain solid.<ref>{{cite magazine | author=The Player | url=https://retrocdn.net/images/2/22/GamePro_US_114.pdf | title=Wing Commander: Prophecy (PC) | magazine=GamePro | publisher=IDG | issue=114 | date=March 1998 | page=69 | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>{{efn|''GamePro'' gave the PC version a perfect 5/5 for graphics, two 4/5 scores for sound and fun factor, and 3.5/5 for control.}}

PC Data, which tracked computer game sales in the U.S., reported that the PC version earned $6.7 million and sold roughly 195,000 units by October 1999. Its revenue in the country represented a drop from ''Wing Commander IV''.<ref>{{cite web | author=Asher, Mark | date=October 29, 1999 | url=http://www.gamecenter.com/News/Item/0,3,0-3354,00.html | title=Game Spin: Crunching Numbers | website=Gamecenter | publisher=CNET | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001015081153/http://www.gamecenter.com/News/Item/0,3,0-3354,00.html | archive-date=October 15, 2000 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

The PC version was nominated at the AIAS' inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards in the categories of "PC Action Game of the Year" and "Computer Entertainment Title of the Year",<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardupdate.htm | title=The Award - Updates | website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980615090128/http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardupdate.htm | archive-date=June 15, 1998 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref> but lost to ''[[Software:Quake II|Quake II]]'' and ''[[Software:StarCraft (video game)|StarCraft]]'', respectively.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardwin98.htm | title=The Award - Winners | website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980615090115/http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardwin98.htm | archive-date=June 15, 1998 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref> The same PC version was also nominated for the "Best Sci-Fi Sim" award at the ''CNET Gamecenter'' Awards for 1997, which went to ''[[Software:Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter|Star Wars]]''.<ref>{{cite web | author=Gamecenter staff | date=January 28, 1998 | url=http://www.gamecenter.com/Features/Exclusives/Awards97/Off/ss08.html | title=The Gamecenter Awards for 1997 (Sci-Fi Sims) | website=Gamecenter | publisher=CNET | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816220825/http://www.gamecenter.com/Features/Exclusives/Awards97/Off/ss08.html | archive-date=August 16, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref> The staff of ''Computer Games Strategy Plus'' named said PC version the best "Sci-Fi Simulation" of 1997.<ref>{{cite web | author=GGSP staff | url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/009/194/1997_cgsp_awards.html | title=The Winners of the 1997 Computer Games Awards | website=Computer Games Strategy Plus | publisher=Strategy Plus, Inc. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050206152953/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/009/194/1997_cgsp_awards.html | archive-date=February 6, 2005 | url-status=dead}}</ref> The game also won the awards for "Best Action/Simulation" and "Best Graphics" in ''GameSpot''{{'}}s Best & Worst Awards for 1997;<ref>{{cite web | author=GameSpot staff | year=1998 | url=http://gamespot.com/features/awards97/act_sim.html | title=GameSpot's Best & Worst Awards for 1997 (Best Action/Simulation) | website=GameSpot | publisher=Ziff Davis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980213094333/http://gamespot.com/features/awards97/genre.html | archive-date=February 13, 1998 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author=GameSpot staff | year=1998 | url=http://gamespot.com/features/awards97/graphic.html | title=GameSpot's Best & Worst Awards for 1997 (Best Graphics) | website=GameSpot | publisher=Ziff Davis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980213120943/http://gamespot.com/features/awards97/graphic.html | archive-date=February 13, 1998 | url-status=dead | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref> and for "Space Sim Game of the Year" in ''Computer Gaming World''{{'}}s 1998 Premier Awards.<ref>{{cite magazine | author=CGW staff | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_164.pdf | title=CGW 1998 Premier Awards (Space Sim Game of the Year) | magazine=Computer Gaming World | publisher=Ziff Davis | issue=164 | date=March 1998 | page=80 | access-date=November 21, 2021}}</ref>

{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby game|id=/wing-commander-prophecy}}

{{Origin Systems}}


[[Category:Science fiction video games]]
[[Category:Space combat simulators]]
[[Category:Video game sequels]]
[[Category:Windows games]]

{{Sourceattribution|Wing Commander: Prophecy}}