Wing Commander: Privateer
| Wing Commander: Privateer | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Origin Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Designer(s) | Joel Manners |
| Series | Wing Commander |
| Platform(s) | DOS |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, Space simulator, Space western |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Wing Commander: Privateer is an adventure space flight simulation computer game released by Origin Systems in 1993. Privateer and its storyline is part of the Wing Commander series. Privateer had an add-on titled Righteous Fire (1994) that continues the story and adds other purchasable equipment to the game.
The software features a pseudo-3D world in plain raster graphics at 320x200 with 256 colors.
The player takes the role of Grayson Burrows, a "privateer" who travels through the Gemini Sector, one of many sectors in the Wing Commander universe. Unlike Wing Commander, the player is no longer a navy pilot, but a freelancer who can choose to be a pirate, a merchant, a mercenary or any of the above in some combination. The player may follow the built-in plot but is free to adventure on his own, even after the plot has been completed.
Burrows' name was unknown to the general public for many years. During that period he was known as "Brownhair", by reference to "Bluehair", the Wing Commander I and II protagonist later known as Christopher Blair.
In the CD-ROM edition which uses full speech, the characters always refer to him as "Captain" or "Privateer"; many people assume "Privateer" is his callsign.
Basic gameplay consists of flying and fighting with the ship in a star system, jumping from system to system via jump points, landing on bases or planets, interacting with people (mainly talking) and buying or selling equipment or commodities. The Gemini sector is divided into quadrants, each contains several star systems, most of them with planets or bases that may be visited. Unlike other games in the series, the gameplay is primarily in the sandbox style of play.
When flying, the main view is a first-person-look from inside the cockpit onto the cockpit screens (HUDs) and the space before the ship. Space combat simulation is similar to the style of other Wing Commander games of its time. On planets and bases a static overview / first-person-view is used to show the rooms and interact with people. When buying or selling and taking missions from the mission computer, in-game menus are used.
The Gemini sector is frequented by seven factions: merchants, bounty hunters, retros, pirates, militia, the Terran Confederation and the Kilrathi. Some of them attack the player on sight, some are allies of the player. How the members of the factions react is not only pre-set but depends also on the player's actions.
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Wikipedia