Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi

Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi from 1991 by Origin Systems continues the first installment's space combat simulation and picks up the story of pilot Christopher Blair, who, following the events of the previous game, faces charges of treason and must once again earn the trust of human command amid the ongoing war with the Kilrathi race. The game combines action-packed aerial dogfights in space with a fairly branching story, where the outcome of individual missions influences which missions and twists the player experiences next, and a failed mission can even lead to a permanently different, worse-off war situation.

Gameplay-wise, it's a refined version of the first Wing Commander — better graphics, smoother combat, a wider selection of fighter and bomber craft and weapon systems, and a more elaborate system of conversations between missions aboard the mothership, where the player talks with fellow pilots and superiors and watches how the personal relationships between characters gradually evolve. The game also offered the option to eject from a damaged fighter and wait for rescue, adding another layer of tension to individual missions. It was precisely these between-mission sequences that gave the game an unusually strong sense of connection to its characters for its time and strengthened the emotional impact of the story, whether it involved the loss of a comrade or tense moments before a decisive battle. The music and sound effects supported the tension of the space dogfights well, which were among the technically most demanding scenes that DOS computers with sound card support could display and play back at the time.

Wing Commander II was received by critics and players as a significant improvement over the already successful first installment and cemented the series' position as the flagship of the space simulator genre. Its emphasis on story, characters, and the consequences of player decisions influenced later installments of the series as well as the competition, and it's still remembered today as one of the peaks of Origin Systems' early era and as a stepping stone toward the even more cinematic sequels.

Why play it: For fans of space simulators who appreciate a strong emphasis on story, characters, and the consequences of their own decisions — one of the peaks of Origin Systems' early era.