The Wing Commander series is arguably the most successful computer game series to date. Dating back to the late 1980's, Chris Roberts began the series with the idea of a Star Wars-type space fighter sim. He was turned down by LucasArts, then a new company, but he found a home at Origin Systems, a relatively small game publisher with only the Ultima series as it's claim to fame.

Wing Commander was an almost immediate success, largely due to it's taking advantage of then new game technologies like 3D play and MIDI music. Wing Commander was followed by two add-on packs, and then three sequels under Roberts' command. Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, released in 1994, broke new ground by being the first game to use over 2 hours of cinematic video. Wing Commander III also was the first game to utilize SVGA 3D gameplay.

Roberts continued the series with the even more ambitious Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom. However, after that game's release, Roberts became annoyed that Origin was cutting the storylines to preserve the space-flight gameplay. After a few weeks of working on Wing Commander: Prophecy, Roberts quit to begin work on a feature film version of Wing Commander, which is due to be released in early 1999.

After Wing Commander: Prophecy, it was decided that the next installment was to be released free over the Internet and along with the Wing Commander: Prophecy Gold Edition, at the cost of losing the video segments that have made the series famous.

The game is broken into Episodes, with Episode I containing the major 3D engine/in-flight video. Downloading this part of the game takes up a staggering 60 megabytes, or 120 megabytes if you opt to include the added 40 MB speech pack. However, once you're past this massive initial download, the other six episodes (seven total) take up only a megabyte each.

Secret Ops starts directly after Prophecy ends, with the TCS Midway being re-fitted, and Lieutenant Casey, and his fighter squadron, moving to the new quick-strike carrier named Cerberus to aid its defense. He is followed by many of his fellow pilots from Prophecy. Confed believes that it has wiped the alien presence from the universe, but it soon becomes clear that what was initially classified as the broken remnants of the alien fleet is really a much greater threat. The plot becomes clearer through the process of playing the game's missions, but it stalls at points between the in-flight communication segments and quick cut-scenes that start each episode. Another problem with Secret Ops' plot is its extremely quick wrap-up. It shows just how little direction the series has now that Roberts has departed. I don't believe I have seen a more open-ended conclusion to a game than that of Secret Ops.

The game's 3D engine is nearly the same as that used in Prophecy. Lens flare is added to the Direct3D mode of the game, but that's the only noticeable difference. A high level of detail is displayed by the graphics engine, but it can occasionally become unstable. It can crash during a heated battle, leaving you wondering what happened. The texturing of the alien ships seems basic, but the Capital ships and colored lighting seemed to look more real, especially when using DirectX 6 drivers. What really surprised me was a neat effect used later in the game. I can't say what it is because it is the focus of the plot, but it is still one of the most beautiful 3D objects I have seen in a game.

The sound in the game is fair. I'm assuming that Origin compressed the sounds to some a great degree, but it still sounds reasonably good. Many of the basic communications (insults, cries for help, death scenes, etc) are repeated throughout the game, but there is at least one long speech in each episode that moves the story along.

Some of the game's missions rank alongside the best I have ever played in a flight sim, while others become tiresome quickly. I think that a mission's appeal is linked to how original it is, when it takes place in the game and what it is you have to do. Flying simple patrol missions becomes boring in later episodes, for example.

Overall, Secret Ops is good for a free game. I really can't say that it would hold up if it were released as a full priced retail game, since people expect a bit more for their money. They say "you get what you pay for." Since the only real cost associated with Wing Commander: Secret Ops is the time needed to download it, you do get more than you pay for, but only a little. Still, if you're a fan of the series, it's worth playing.

System Requirements: Pentium 166 without a 3D accelerator, Pentium 133 with a 3D accelerator (Direct3d or 3Dfx Compatible), 32 MB RAM, DirectX compatible soundcard, Windows 95, and 150 MB of disk space.

Tested on a: Intel Pentium II 400, 128 MB RAM, 20X CD-ROM, Sound Blaster PCI 128, ATI XPert@Play AGP, a Microsoft mouse, a Gravis joystick, DirectX 5a/6, optional Speech Pack, and Windows 98.