…And everything is right with the world.

Good Old Games is currently pumping out a slew of classic EA games, especially those created by Richard Garriot‘s Origin Systems. We’ve already seen the release of such games as the Ultima series, and one of my personal favourites NOX, created by the now defunct Westwood Studios.

It seems GOG have no intention of stopping, and announced today the release of Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger, considered one of the best PC space sim FMV games of the 90′s. It is definitely worth a download, if only to see how FMV games were done right.

New release: Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger

Welcome to the new era of CD-ROM games! There’s an insane amount of space, so what to do with it? Oh I have an idea, let’s take top-tier actors (Mark Hamill, Jason Bernard, Thomas Wilson) throw them into the great Wing Commander universe, develop a new engine, write an even more epic story and voila: you have Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger! We’ve added this classic title to GOG.com today, available for only $5.99!

You are Luke–er–I mean Col. Christopher “Maverick” Blair (played by Mark Hamill). After the destruction of Concordia, you are transferred to an old space ship carrier the TCS Victory, by the order of Admiral Tolwyn. Your mission is to destroy the catlike Kilrathi for good and ensure the survival of humanity. Without delving into spoilers, you are up for yet another episode of this epic struggle between two star nations battling for dominance–and survival. Enter into the life of Maverick, talk to your wingmen on the ship and in outer space, or pursue a romantic relationship with a fellow pilot dancing on the razor’s edge.

With the budget of an A-grade Hollywood movie, Wing Commander 3 incorporates FMVs on a whole new level, with more than 3 hours of cinematic storytelling. They’re not there only for your viewing pleasure: you get to live the life of a Confederation ace pilot in dynamic cinematic style. Time-constrained decisions, vast dialogue options, and plot-critical conversations all occur on film during your time aboard the TCS Victory. Apart from the flashy movies, Wing Commander 3 has a whole new space combat engine. Sprites are so early 90’s, and now it’s all about polygons. Behold the colossal battle ships in their full glory, you can even fly into a dreadnought hangar and shoot it from inside out!

Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger flies up to a whole new orbital with new graphics, new FMVs and, one of the best epic war plots in the history of entertainment are the ingredients for space-sim success.

Special thanks for all the great goodies we managed to get with this release goes to Ben Lesnick from Wing Commander News. You’re the man, Ben!