<s>
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Price	I-Application
of	I-Application
Freedom	I-Application
is	O
the	O
fourth	O
main	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Wing	O
Commander	O
science	O
fiction	O
space	O
combat	O
simulator	O
video	O
game	O
series	O
,	O
produced	O
by	O
Origin	O
Systems	O
and	O
released	O
by	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
in	O
1996	O
and	O
the	O
Sony	B-Device
PlayStation	I-Device
in	O
1997	O
(	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
also	O
released	O
on	O
the	O
North	O
American	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Network	I-Device
Store	O
in	O
2009	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
game	O
set	O
after	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
Terran-Kilrathi	O
War	O
,	O
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
depicts	O
a	O
galaxy	O
in	O
the	O
midst	O
of	O
a	O
chaotic	O
transition	O
,	O
with	O
human	O
civilians	O
,	O
Kilrathi	O
survivors	O
and	O
former	O
soldiers	O
on	O
both	O
sides	O
attempting	O
to	O
restabilize	O
their	O
lives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
is	O
a	O
simulator	O
game	O
in	O
which	O
players	O
take	O
on	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
Col	O
.	O
Christoper	O
"	O
Maverick	O
"	O
Blair	O
,	O
a	O
veteran	O
pilot	O
of	O
enormous	O
repute	O
,	O
as	O
he	O
flies	O
starfighters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
between	O
missions	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
controls	O
Blair	O
aboard	O
a	O
carrier	O
,	O
initially	O
the	O
TCS	B-Application
Lexington	I-Application
,	O
during	O
which	O
he	O
may	O
engage	O
in	O
conversations	O
with	O
other	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starfighter	O
combat	O
revolves	O
around	O
close-in	O
dogfights	B-Device
with	O
ships	O
 '	O
guns	O
as	O
their	O
primary	O
weapon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tension	O
between	O
the	O
Confederation	O
and	O
the	O
Union	B-Application
of	I-Application
Border	I-Application
Worlds	I-Application
has	O
deepened	O
,	O
most	O
recently	O
with	O
an	O
attack	O
on	O
an	O
unarmed	O
medical	O
transport	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tolwyn	O
assigns	O
Blair	O
to	O
the	O
TCS	B-Application
Lexington	I-Application
with	O
the	O
task	O
of	O
unraveling	O
these	O
tensions	O
and	O
getting	O
to	O
the	O
bottom	O
of	O
the	O
story	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
Blair	O
sneaks	O
onto	O
the	O
flight	O
deck	O
,	O
he	O
witnesses	O
Seether	B-Application
arriving	O
in	O
a	O
shuttle	O
and	O
meeting	O
Paulsen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
Blair	O
defects	O
with	O
Vagabond	O
,	O
he	O
arrives	O
with	O
Eisen	O
,	O
Maniac	O
,	O
Vagabond	O
and	O
Catscratch	O
at	O
the	O
BWS	B-Application
Intrepid	I-Application
,	O
an	O
old	O
Durango-class	O
carrier	O
that	O
has	O
recently	O
suffered	O
damage	O
from	O
a	O
Confed	O
attack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blair	O
and	O
Maniac	O
succeed	O
in	O
downing	O
the	O
Lexington	O
,	O
though	O
Paulsen	O
escapes	O
in	O
a	O
shuttle	O
with	O
Seether	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seether	B-Application
kills	O
Paulsen	O
for	O
his	O
failure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hawk	O
tells	O
them	O
that	O
when	O
he	O
signed	O
on	O
with	O
Confed	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
rookie	O
pilot	O
on	O
his	O
ship	O
,	O
call	O
sign	O
'	O
Seether	B-Application
 '	O
,	O
who	O
could	O
pull	O
off	O
the	O
maneuver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
program	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
he	O
never	O
found	O
out	O
what	O
it	O
was	O
,	O
and	O
Seether	B-Application
was	O
transferred	O
from	O
the	O
flight	O
roster	O
to	O
Confed	O
Intelligence	O
Operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
he	O
discovers	O
a	O
secret	O
starbase	O
,	O
guarded	O
by	O
the	O
TCS	B-Application
Vesuvius	I-Application
,	O
and	O
manned	O
by	O
thousands	O
of	O
black-clad	O
soldiers	O
,	O
including	O
Seether	B-Application
,	O
collectively	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Black	B-Application
Lance	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blair	O
is	O
spied	O
by	O
Seether	B-Application
and	O
forced	O
to	O
fight	O
his	O
way	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Intrepid	O
,	O
pursued	O
by	O
the	O
Vesuvius	O
and	O
Tolwyn	O
's	O
Black	B-Application
Lance	I-Application
pilots	O
,	O
makes	O
a	O
run	O
toward	O
Earth	O
,	O
intending	O
to	O
stop	O
Tolwyn	O
from	O
addressing	O
Congress	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
helped	O
by	O
the	O
intervention	O
of	O
the	O
TCS	B-Application
Mount	I-Application
St.	I-Application
Helens	I-Application
,	O
sister	O
ship	O
to	O
the	O
Vesuvius	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
new	O
captain	O
,	O
Eisen	O
,	O
the	O
Intrepid	O
is	O
unsuccessful	O
in	O
stopping	O
Tolwyn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blair	O
duels	O
Seether	B-Application
one-on-one	O
above	O
Earth	O
and	O
then	O
lands	O
at	O
the	O
Congressional	O
Building	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blair	O
will	O
either	O
regain	O
his	O
rank	O
as	O
Colonel	O
and	O
be	O
seen	O
helping	O
Panther	O
train	O
new	O
pilots	O
at	O
the	O
Academy	O
or	O
using	O
Black	B-Application
Lance	I-Application
assets	O
to	O
crush	O
rebellions	O
with	O
Hawk	O
at	O
his	O
side	O
as	O
the	O
new	O
Admiral	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
general	O
tone	O
of	O
his	O
choices	O
throughout	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
targeted	O
for	O
a	O
December	O
1995	O
release	O
(	O
thus	O
giving	O
the	O
game	O
an	O
aggressive	O
12-month	O
development	O
schedule	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
ultimately	O
released	O
on	O
February	O
12	O
,	O
1996	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
PCs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
majority	O
of	O
this	O
budget	O
went	O
into	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
full	B-Application
motion	I-Application
video	I-Application
scenes	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
shot	O
on	O
actual	O
sets	O
instead	O
of	O
a	O
greenscreen	O
and	O
using	O
35mm	O
film	O
instead	O
of	O
digital	O
capture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
edition	O
shipped	O
on	O
six	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Origin	O
later	O
released	O
a	O
native-client	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Windows	B-Application
client	O
added	O
a	O
deinterlace-option	O
to	O
improve	O
the	O
appearance	O
of	O
the	O
cutscenes	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
game	O
in	O
all	O
other	O
respects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
most	O
PCs	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
were	O
insufficiently	O
powerful	O
to	O
play	O
the	O
MPEG2	B-Algorithm
DVD	O
video	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
client	O
relied	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
's	O
multimedia	O
player	O
to	O
stream	O
the	O
video	O
from	O
DVD	O
to	O
a	O
hardware	O
decoder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
dependency	O
on	O
external	O
hardware	O
rendered	O
the	O
game	O
unplayable	O
outside	O
Windows	B-Application
PCs	I-Application
equipped	O
with	O
the	O
correct	O
decoder	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
the	O
gaming	O
community	O
developed	O
fan-made	O
patches	O
to	O
allow	O
this	O
version	O
to	O
play	O
on	O
more	O
modern	O
hardware	O
where	O
no	O
hardware-based	O
MPEG2	B-Algorithm
decoding	O
was	O
available	O
(	O
or	O
necessary	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
separate	O
DVD	O
release	O
which	O
lacked	O
the	O
enhanced	O
video	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
hence	O
playable	O
on	O
all	O
PCs	O
capable	O
of	O
playing	O
the	O
original	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Wing	O
Commander	O
III	O
,	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
was	O
not	O
a	O
direct	O
port	O
;	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
graphics	O
were	O
redone	O
,	O
the	O
collision	O
detection	O
was	O
modified	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
controls	O
were	O
simplified	O
by	O
making	O
certain	O
actions	O
automated	O
,	O
though	O
a	O
control	O
scheme	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
is	O
also	O
an	O
option	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
3DO	B-Device
Interactive	I-Device
Multiplayer	I-Device
version	O
was	O
announced	O
to	O
be	O
in	O
development	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
never	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
a	O
port	O
for	O
the	O
Panasonic	B-Device
M2	I-Device
was	O
in	O
the	O
works	O
by	O
Origin	O
Systems	O
and	O
slated	O
to	O
be	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
launch	O
titles	O
but	O
never	O
happened	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
eventual	O
cancellation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
April	O
2012	O
,	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
was	O
handed	O
to	O
the	O
game	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
by	O
a	O
former	O
developer	O
for	O
the	O
purpose	O
of	O
long-time	O
preservation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2021	O
,	O
a	O
fan	O
project	O
known	O
as	O
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
:	O
Remastered	O
,	O
began	O
development	O
of	O
a	O
version	O
using	O
upscaled	O
video	O
assets	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
series	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
producing	O
a	O
modern	O
remake	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Data	O
,	O
which	O
tracked	O
computer	O
game	O
sales	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
ranked	O
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
at	O
#1	O
for	O
the	O
month	O
of	O
February	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Price	I-Application
of	I-Application
Freedom	I-Application
for	O
the	O
PC	O
was	O
well	O
received	O
by	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Daniel	O
Jevons	O
of	O
Maximum	O
opined	O
that	O
"	O
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
makes	O
huge	O
leaps	O
and	O
bounds	O
in	O
the	O
interactive	O
movie	O
stakes	O
,	O
seamlessly	O
blending	O
impressive	O
interactive	O
cinematic	O
sequences	O
with	O
slick	O
and	O
exciting	O
SVGA	O
battle	O
sequences.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Bob	O
Strauss	O
wrote	O
in	O
Entertainment	O
Weekly	O
that	O
"	O
I	O
've	O
come	O
to	O
the	O
conclusion	O
that	O
the	O
Wing	O
Commander	O
series	O
has	O
two	O
reasons	O
for	O
existence	O
:	O
to	O
prolong	O
the	O
career	O
of	O
Mark	O
Hamill	O
(	O
who	O
has	O
leveraged	O
his	O
big-screen	O
space-jockey	O
credentials	O
into	O
this	O
most	O
prestigious	O
of	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
franchises	O
)	O
and	O
to	O
force	O
technological	O
laggards	O
to	O
trade	O
in	O
their	O
old	O
PC	O
clunkers	O
for	O
the	O
whiz-bang	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
moment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
's	O
nothing	O
in	O
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Price	I-Application
of	I-Application
Freedom	I-Application
to	O
dissuade	O
me	O
from	O
this	O
opinion.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
was	O
nominated	O
as	O
Computer	O
Games	O
Strategy	O
Pluss	O
1996	O
"	O
Science-Fiction	O
Simulation	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
lost	O
to	O
Terra	B-Application
Nova	I-Application
:	I-Application
Strike	I-Application
Force	I-Application
Centauri	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inside	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
Games	I-Application
named	O
it	O
1996	O
's	O
best	O
space	O
simulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reaction	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
was	O
more	O
mixed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
generally	O
approved	O
of	O
the	O
cutscenes	O
,	O
praising	O
the	O
story	O
,	O
acting	O
,	O
and	O
full	B-Application
motion	I-Application
video	I-Application
quality	O
,	O
but	O
assessed	O
the	O
gameplay	O
as	O
average	O
at	O
best	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trent	O
Ward	O
noted	O
in	O
GameSpot	O
that	O
though	O
the	O
control	O
is	O
dramatically	O
improved	O
when	O
using	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Analog	I-Device
Joystick	I-Device
,	O
this	O
controller	O
was	O
not	O
due	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
for	O
another	O
two	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crispin	O
Boyer	O
of	O
EGM	O
devoted	O
his	O
entire	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
review	O
to	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
conversion	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
whereas	O
Wing	O
Commander	O
III	O
was	O
a	O
straight	O
port	O
,	O
Wing	B-Application
Commander	I-Application
IV	I-Application
had	O
been	O
effectively	O
redesigned	O
to	O
accommodate	O
the	O
hardware	O
,	O
in	O
particular	O
simplifying	O
the	O
control	O
scheme	O
and	O
redrawing	O
the	O
HUDs	O
so	O
that	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
read	O
on	O
the	O
lower	O
resolution	O
of	O
a	O
TV	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
contended	O
that	O
the	O
3DO	B-Device
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
versions	O
of	O
Wing	O
Commander	O
III	O
had	O
much	O
better	O
tuned	O
controls	O
.	O
</s>
