Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi
The main character (whose name and callsign are given by the player) is a space fighter pilot, in a war against the Kilrathi; a race of tiger-like creatures. The Kilrathi are a vicious, imperialistic and martial civilization, and a fearsome opponent. Little is revealed here about the objectives of this war, but in previous publications, it is revealed to be a Kilrathi holy war. The prologue informs the player that he (the main character) was blamed for a disaster that saw the destruction of one of the Terran Confederation's capital ships, the TCS Tiger's Claw. In fact, only he knows that Kilrathi ships with cloaking ability were responsible, but no one believes this, and the flight recorder disk that might prove this remains mysteriously elusive. The protagonist is court-martialed. Admiral Tolwyn believes the hero to be guilty of cowardice and treachery, but the court-martial could only convict him of negligence, and has the dubious fortune of only suffering a demotion and an undesirable assignment. However, his skill is badly required on the front lines, and is assigned to the TCS Concordia—a carrier from which fighters are launched. Gameplay has the player flying various space craft from the agile and lightly armed Ferret to the heavy Broadsword bomber. He flies reconnaissance missions (all of which end up on combat), strike missions against enemy capital ships, and other combat missions. Sometimes his flight plan might take him through asteroids or mine fields. These missions are interlaced with animated cinematic sequences, usually involving him chewing the fat with his peers. His fellow pilots, to name some, are Doomsday, a very pessimistic pilot who is always expecting to die a senseless death with his comrades, Paladin, an old Scottish friend who appears to have had a career in the private sector as a freighter captain, Angel, his French commanding officer with whom he has a budding romance, and Hobbes, a Kilrathi defector who is treated with some suspicion, notably by the main character. The hero also sometimes flies solo missions, wherein he encounters the stealth fighters again, only to find that his flight recorder was defective each and every time. As the game progresses, it is clear that there is a saboteur on board the Concordia. Towards the climax, it is discovered to be Jazz. Jazz escapes in a fighter, and in his second to last mission, the player gives chases and manages to destroy Jazz's craft. Before the embittered hero can shoot Jazz, helplessly spinning in his escape capsule, Angel manages to snatch him away with the rescue facilities aboard some fighters. Jazz reveals that his motive was revenge against select crew members he blamed for his brother's death—a marine who was killed in action, sometime before the game was set. The flight recorder disk that proves the protagonist's innocence in the destruction of the Tiger's Claw is found among Jazz's belongings, and he is finally absolved in this matter. In the final mission, the main character, against orders, flies against a Kilrathi space station, single-handedly destroying it. Upon his return Tolwyn appear furious with him for his reckless behavior, but begrudgingly admits to having pride in him. To a cheering crowd, Angel orders the hero to her quarters with a bottle of champagne.
- Released
- 1991
- Country
- United States
Details
Release year: 1991
Storyline
The main character (whose name and callsign are given by the player) is a space fighter pilot, in a war against the Kilrathi; a race of tiger-like creatures. The Kilrathi are a vicious, imperialistic and martial civilization, and a fearsome opponent. Little is revealed here about the objectives of this war, but in previous publications, it is revealed to be a Kilrathi holy war. The prologue informs the player that he (the main character) was blamed for a disaster that saw the destruction of one of the Terran Confederation's capital ships, the TCS Tiger's Claw. In fact, only he knows that Kilrathi ships with cloaking ability were responsible, but no one believes this, and the flight recorder disk that might prove this remains mysteriously elusive. The protagonist is court-martialed. Admiral Tolwyn believes the hero to be guilty of cowardice and treachery, but the court-martial could only convict him of negligence, and has the dubious fortune of only suffering a demotion and an undesirable assignment. However, his skill is badly required on the front lines, and is assigned to the TCS Concordia—a carrier from which fighters are launched. Gameplay has the player flying various space craft from the agile and lightly armed Ferret to the heavy Broadsword bomber. He flies reconnaissance missions (all of which end up on combat), strike missions against enemy capital ships, and other combat missions. Sometimes his flight plan might take him through asteroids or mine fields. These missions are interlaced with animated cinematic sequences, usually involving him chewing the fat with his peers. His fellow pilots, to name some, are Doomsday, a very pessimistic pilot who is always expecting to die a senseless death with his comrades, Paladin, an old Scottish friend who appears to have had a career in the private sector as a freighter captain, Angel, his French commanding officer with whom he has a budding romance, and Hobbes, a Kilrathi defector who is treated with some suspicion, notably by the main character. The hero also sometimes flies solo missions, wherein he encounters the stealth fighters again, only to find that his flight recorder was defective each and every time. As the game progresses, it is clear that there is a saboteur on board the Concordia. Towards the climax, it is discovered to be Jazz. Jazz escapes in a fighter, and in his second to last mission, the player gives chases and manages to destroy Jazz's craft. Before the embittered hero can shoot Jazz, helplessly spinning in his escape capsule, Angel manages to snatch him away with the rescue facilities aboard some fighters. Jazz reveals that his motive was revenge against select crew members he blamed for his brother's death—a marine who was killed in action, sometime before the game was set. The flight recorder disk that proves the protagonist's innocence in the destruction of the Tiger's Claw is found among Jazz's belongings, and he is finally absolved in this matter. In the final mission, the main character, against orders, flies against a Kilrathi space station, single-handedly destroying it. Upon his return Tolwyn appear furious with him for his reckless behavior, but begrudgingly admits to having pride in him. To a cheering crowd, Angel orders the hero to her quarters with a bottle of champagne.
Top credits
- Ken Demarest III — Capt. Christopher Blair
- Marten Davies — Admiral Sir Geoffrey Tolwyn, Col. James 'Paladin' Taggart
- Denise Dee — Col. Jeannette 'Angel' Devereaux, Female Fighter Pilot
- Bill Harwell — Maj. Zach 'Jazz' Colson, Male Freighter Pilot, Male Comm Officer
Did you know
• Spirit's last hand at poker before her fatal mission is aces full of eights. This is the Wing Commander "death hand", as several characters in various Wing Commander games play this same hand before dying. (A two pair of black aces and eights is known as "Dead Man's Hand" in poker circles.)
• The last game in the series to feature animated characters during the cut scenes. All following games feature live actors performing their roles on actual sets.
• SPOPILERS:Of all the characters from the original game, only 4 are still alive: Angel, Spirit, Maniac and Paladin plus series hero Christopher Blair. Spirit dies in this game in a kamikaze run at a space station, Angel is stabbed to death by a Kilrathi in the following game, Paladin goes into politics and gives up flying completely and Blair himself dies in Wing Commander: Prophecy. This leaves only 1 character from the original game that is still a pilot after the last game in the series: Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall.
User reviews
Great sequel to a classic
