Wing Commander

Wing Commander is the first, eponymous game in Chris Roberts's science-fiction flight simulator franchise.

Released by Origin Systems in 1990, the game was a marked departure from the standard formula, bringing space combat to a level approaching the Star Wars films. Set in the year 2654 and characterized by Chris Roberts as "World War II in space," it featured a multi-national cast of pilots from the "Terran Confederation" flying missions against the predatory, aggressive Kilrathi, a feline warrior race. Most impressively, cockpit performance affected game-play: going above and beyond the call of duty resulted in medals, promotions in rank were awarded at regular intervals, and success or failure on certain critical missions would even decide the player's plot progress, "winning" or "losing".

The player takes the role of a nameless, wordless pilot aboard the legendary TCS Tiger's Claw, a Bengal-class Strike Carrier. The player gets to name the pilot and choose his call-sign. The pilot (known to Origin personnel as "Bluehair," after his most notable feature) quickly rises through the ranks of the flight wing, and (presuming the player performs ideally in the cockpit) eventually leads a strike on the Kilrathi High Command starbase in the Venice system. On the other hand, if the player does not perform optimally, in the final mission he must hold off an enemy destroyer while the Claw escapes—without him. However, given the presence of a sequel, Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi, and two expansion packs, it can be assumed that Bluehair survives even this death sentence to fight another day.