[Greg14]

The Secret Missions 2: Crusade​

Origin/PC

This second scenario disk for Wing Commander continues and completely renews the interest of this superb game. This time, the Kilrathi fleets converge on the Firekka system. Your admiral’s ship is the only one capable of opposing them, as no reinforcements are available at the moment.
The reason why these enemy ships are attacking this system remains a mystery. As you discover the truth, you will be helped by a deserter from the Kilrathi. On board his craft, you will be able to infiltrate enemy ranks in order to carry out your missions, seize the opportunity to do so.
As with the first scenario disk, this one features new cinematic scenes illustrating the important events. You will face new enemy ships, and above all, elite pilots from the Kilrathi Imperial Guard. Their abilities and combat tactics will put your piloting skills to the test.
They do not merely wait for you to be shot down; they carry out tight turns, barrel rolls, etc... You found the Wing Commander missions too easy? This one will give you plenty to keep you busy.
No more fighting against one or two enemy ships. Now, there are at least four ships confronting you, and this number can even rise to seven or eight in certain cases. It is a real hell.
Fortunately, two new wingmen will come and lend you a hand, taking turns depending on some of your missions. The missions are quite varied: espionage, reconnaissance, protection and destruction of various targets.
Much more difficult than the first expansion for Wing Commander, “The Crusade” requires flawless piloting skills, as well as the development of new combat strategies.
The few new graphics (ships, animated scenes, etc.) are enough to bring a little fresh blood to the excellent Wing Commander. In addition, an option allows you to play any of the 40 missions presented in the original game, an option that was already available in The Secret Missions I.
This makes it possible to discover missions from the original game that you may not have had the chance to complete.
A welcome expansion to continue having fun with Wing Commander. An absolute must-have.

WING COMMANDER: THE SECRET MISSIONS & CRUSADE​

“Let them crush the Kilrathi!”
In the year 2654, the Terrans are still struggling against the formidable Kilrathi. All communications with the Goddard colony (named after one of the pioneers of space exploration at the dawn of the 20th century) have been cut off.
From the depths of the galaxy, they have invented a terrifying weapon capable of annihilating an entire planet. Once again, the pilots of Tiger's Claw will have to risk their lives over sixteen brand-new missions — added to those of the original game. These missions can now be played at any time, and, fortunately, the characters from the original version are still available.
Four new ships appear on the disk, including a massive eight-person transport — a true war machine. On their side, the Kilrathi have deployed increasingly fast and much better-armed ships, so caution and good sense are essential!
They have also equipped themselves with a powerful new craft capable of displaying the damage caused by your weapons. And there are intermediate sequences animated — how much does this make the game more immersive?

Crusade​

Crusade is the title of another mission disk. The Kilrathi have now taken control of a peaceful planet inhabited by rather welcoming creatures.
The game, after the introductory sequence, begins the briefing and then takes you into a dormitory a little later (in fact, the party's living quarters), or into a command room where you will hear the Kilrathi talking about their plans. Better still, you can go outside to explore the area with the Imperial Kilrathi Guard, pilots of the highest rank!
Two new allies will also come to your aid. And, with a little luck, you will be able to pilot one of the fabulous Kilrathi ships hijacked by a traitor to their own cause...
All these disks extend the interest of Wing Commander, a simulator inspired by Star Wars, although its references to the famous trilogy are numerous.
New enemies, increasingly fierce combat, magnificent animated sequences... What more could you ask for?
Oh yes, of course — there is Wing Commander 2, which is just around the corner...
But that's a completely different story.

Two disks
Two disks, originally designed for PC (one 720 KB disk or a single 1.2 MB disk in 5¼-inch format).
B.J.

TOP MICRO NEWS​

INTEREST: ★★★★★
GRAPHICS: ★★★★★
ANIMATION: ★★★★★
SOUND: ★★★★★

WING COMMANDER SECRET MISSIONS 2​

Origin is the undisputed master of the role-playing game (Ultima). With Secret Missions 2, the publisher confirms that it is also a specialist in fast-paced action on PC.
Secret Missions 2: The Crusade
Just as Secret Mission 1 has barely been released, Secret Mission 2, “The Crusade”, lets us once again take command of the Tiger Claw cruiser (the Tiger: a sort of spaceborne Clemenceau aircraft carrier), operating in the Antares system and on the border of our dear Vega.
The enemy is now equipped with Dralthi Mark II fighters, armed with a “Mass Driver” cannon and fitted with a more substantial shield.
In certain cases—missions 2 and 3—you will simply have to follow the Kilrathi fleet without attacking it, in order to gather as much data as possible.
We are also pleased to learn that, during mission 2, the rather cumbersome Scimitar is permanently withdrawn from the fleet.
Sometimes the flight plan will be completely disrupted and you will have to improvise, moving from one rendezvous point to another despite all common sense—Nav 1 to Nav 3, then back to Nav 2, and so on.
Another new feature is the appearance of the Drakhai, the Imperial Guard, whose flight tactics completely change the usual routine: they attack in pairs, firing head-on, then, after turning around, take off at full speed before you have time to blow up their engines.
Fortunately, as you progress through the game—if you manage to get past missions 4, 5 and 6, which are extremely demanding—you will be able to pilot a new craft...

A Kilrathi one, given to you by a renegade!
It is even possible that these extraterrestrial wingmen may end up flying alongside you in your cockpits.
Lt. Colonel Moulinex

Photo 1:
While current machines are now being pushed to the absolute limit of their capabilities, PC games (or consoles, but who cares!) still have some major surprises in store.
Wing Commander is one of them, since it makes full use of the VGA 256-color mode. And when we say full use, we mean the cockpit, the scenery, but also—and above all—the animated objects: ships, meteors, explosions and various pieces of debris.
Photo 2:
The intermission screens, all animated, give you a chance to catch your breath between missions.
And believe me, you'll need it, because these missions are even more difficult than those in SM1, which were themselves harder than the missions in Wing Commander.
Try getting through the sixth mission without ejecting, just to see!

Photo 1:
Just as interesting as SM1, these additional missions allow you to delve deeper into the psychology of the characters, with the dialogue being somewhat longer. Of course, as soon as things get a little more exciting (during the game, it is strongly recommended that you remain behind your wingman), you can try a suicide mission against the enemy! But, mind you, you pay for your mistakes: Shootglass, the bartender, watches your drinks disappear, ouch, those drinks really hurt. As for Makiko, she gets angry if you offend her... Finally, playing Wing Commander or Secret Mission 2 means coming home to the family.

NOTE PC​

The score may seem excessive and deserves a little explanation.
Games evolve and, in fact, scores become outdated: the best game from ten years ago is worth nothing today, and the same game would not receive the same score if it were released today.
Conversely, a game that technically surpasses all the others must be the benchmark we look forward to seeing eventually surpassed.
So, one hundred percent.
This isn't subjective; it's simply common sense, reflecting a constantly expanding curve. Look at the phenomenon in the United States: the installation of a demo in computer stores has increased PC sales.
Signed: the crazy reviewer.

Tested on PC by Moulinex​

Thanks to a special technique using VGA zoom, the animations are fast. Very fast, in fact.
The software itself provides an option for slowing down the game. In this regard, here's a little-known trick: there are two ways to slow down Secret Missions 2: either use the [Alt +] / [Alt -] keys, which slow down the screen refresh rate (frames per second), or use [Ctrl +] and [Ctrl -], which skip a frame (Skip Frame).
This option, which is new, is also available in Wing Commander itself.
On the sound side, the use of a sound card provides very immersive sound effects and music worthy of a science-fiction movie.
Wing Commander also supports mouse, keyboard and joystick. The mouse, by the way, is rather impractical; the two buttons and double-click are configurable. This is what makes the game pleasant with a mouse, keyboard, or joystick.
Finally, it is worth noting that the software uses the memory extension according to the LIM (Lotus Intel Microsoft) standard. During installation of the missions, a user with at least 1.2 MB of free disk space will be able to decompress the images onto the disk, saving time rather than disk space.

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TECHNICAL DETAILS​

VGA GRAPHICS: 20
SOUND: 20
ANIMATION: 20
DIFFICULTY: 18

SIZE: Wing Commander + 2 MB

100%​

Available on PC — Price: approximately 150 French francs