Retro Review: Wing Commander Privateer

My review of the 1993 classic, Wing Commander Privateer for the PC. One of the staples of the Chris Roberts library. Gives my overall impression, gameplay and whether you should pick this game up or not.
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[@vdub4utube]

My 6 years old daughter asked me the other day: What is your favorite video game dad? My answer was Wing Commander Privateer. She asked me to show it to her, but I don't have a PC anymore so I came here to YT. Thanks for the great video! I think you summed it up right, this universe brings you in and you can get "lost" in it for months without following the story line. I miss games like this.

[@EventHorizon_Alex]

I'm very happy you and your daughter enjoyed the video! It's been a game that gave me a lot of great memories when I was growing up.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw = Show her!

[@wldcrd26]

check out starfield

[@ankhmorpok1497]

I just bought RGO to feel the Privateer vibes.@@dallesamllhals9161

[@photophob]

Totally with you on the "little touches" thing in those 90s Chris Roberts games. Immersion was handled extremely well back then.

[@LSFprepper]

I think what I loved about this game is the ability to buy better ships, and the modularity of them. Being able to upgrade your weapons, run cargo. . . I know there are newer games out there but this one really tugs at the nostalgia.

[@IM-xs3uv]

Loved this game as a kid. Think I've still got the CD somewhere. Maybe even the floppy disks.

[@icecold9511]

GOG sells it legally, with Dosbox set up perfectly

[@johannessterrn9079]

Me too 😊

[@DuneRunnerEnterprises]

​@@icecold9511 Correct,but it's almost unplayable on modern hardware....

[@Notorious_MIG]

Just checking this out to reminisce and compare it to Rebel Galaxy Outlaw. Outlaw is basically the same game but modern. Definitely worth it if you're looking for that privateer experience.

[@EventHorizon_Alex]

Once life calms down I’m definitely going to try it out when I can get back into gaming again.

[@digiman76]

The most imersive game i have ever played. Loved absolutely everything. The art and sound design are amazing.

[@johnnykeener3727]

My favorite DOS game EVER!!

[@IM-xs3uv]

Agreed.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Close here too....BUT TIE Fighter Collector's Edition wins

[@docsavage4921]

Played this in 98 or so, on a Windows Pentium 90. Actually rebought it a few years later because Righteous Fire was the only playable part while the base game was uninstallable due to disk damage (Those 1990's mediums damaged very easily), so I played the series in reverse order. With Tie Fighter Collectors CD Rom Dos being my first space shooter this was never going to impress in the visuals or gameplay department, but I actually had a lot of fun with it. Running around doing random missions, random explorations, making money... and the plot. Eventually. This game is why later games like Darkstar One or the Rebel Galaxy games are all must buy for me (Yet oddly never really seem to measure up, despite being better in every way).

[@plchung]

The earlier floppy version of this game was very unforgiving. I remember I failed the main story mission in Oxford and the mission giver wont give me a 2nd chance so I didnt even know I failed permanently and the whole game just became free roaming without story haha. It was harsh but also fun to dig into manual and asking friends (no internet search back then) to find out information.

[@EventHorizon_Alex]

oh yeah, I remember the players guide actually warning me that you could break the story line if you failed the Oxford missions.

[@Xyredus]

Love this game! Played it when it first came out and still play it now. Thankfully GOG has tons of retro games to get back into. Anyone else think his voice kind of sounds like Ben Affleck? Either way this came is awesome one of the games I wish they would remaster with new graphics and so on. Would be epic!

[@GodOfPlague]

Q: What do you do for fun around here? A: Drink Some Beer! I still remember that from this game.

[@MichaelBright3000]

Played this around 1994. I spent more time playing and thinking about this game than I spent with my girlfriend at the time. I still own a boxed copy. Good game (for the time) but the last half was monotonous and the ending was forgettable. Keep in mind that during this time-frame the internet was not what it is today so sharing was disk copies from friends and if you didn't have friends who lived near you then forget it. You bought what games looked good on the box and you played them because you spent money on them and those were all you had. I did like the game though the interface could have been better. I remember problems with limited view screen space and having to DRAW the keyboard commands on strips of paper. The limited ships and upgrades were a bummer too. Over the years I've tried to return to the game or find alternatives that I have not played but not with much luck. Freelancer was supposed to be good but I've not found a copy yet. Vega Strike is too poorly written. Gemini Gold is just privateer all over again, nothing new. Privateer 2 was terrible. Flight Commander wont run. Hadn't heard of Star Crusader until the post above. Maybe I'll try it. But One game i think might be interesting is Rebel Galaxy Outlaw. It's new(ish) and looks like a spiritual successor to Privateer. So, maybe after all these years the call of unknown space may get me again...

[@Ravenfellblade]

I can't stress this enough: GET Rebel Galaxy Outlaw. It really is the modern remake of Privateer that won't ever officially happen, and it's excellent.

[@icewalker117]

So do you still have the girlfriend , or was the game the better option ??

[@longjohn84]

Freelancer is quite nice, really enjoyed it. Also played lots of hours online, don't know if there are still servers out there haha

[@ernestconcepcion531]

FREELANCER is highly playable on myabandonware dot com :)

[@jwagner4050]

A classic game... my little brother and I played this (and all the WC games) to the point of memorization. It was just so immersive. And we knew the best smuggling routes from trial and error. To this day if I tell him "damn retros" or "die by the very weapons you adore" he'll give a chuckle and reply with another Wing Commander insult. He liked the WC3 ones. "In your whiskers" LOL Good times.

[@icecold9511]

Ever do WC Saga? Very nice modern game.

[@blenrythblenryth3949]

Wing commander privateer was the very first game i ever played as a kid. Its def in my top 10 still. The amount of little details is great. Normally you see polished ships and ship insides but this you see it being kind of run down a little. And the amount of environments and other details (dmg being shown, upgrades on ships being shown) is so amazing....especially for a game from this era.

[@JaytheOstrich17]

I loved this game a lot, i can still hear the shields ping under fire! Great music and sound, very interesting base designs.

[@ScarbellyScott]

It is now 2023 and my box of Wing Commander Privateer sits on my bookshelf. You suddenly make me want to install it on an old computer right now and go privateering. Thanks for the memories!

[@goaway3717]

This was my favorite of the Wing Commander series of games. The concept of having the control to build out your ship, limited as it was, I thought was groundbreaking at the time. Freelancer pretty quickly became my favorite of the genre when it came out.

[@ankhmorpok1497]

I played the hell out of Privateer and RF but couldn't get into Freelancer. The controls were shallower and the way systems were restricted in access to under experienced players seemed artificial.

[@ShawnEnge]

I have so many fond memories of Privateer. I loved the non-military aspect of it, more like Han Solo.

[@OakwoIf]

Amazing game, iconic music and the idea of a quasi-sandbox space adventure really appealed to me.

[@MegaDeth859]

Anyone that says Elite, Wing Commander and Firefly in the 1st minute of their video deserves high five!

[@TheTranceTube]

You want to buy an Orion? I'm telling you, you do! Die by the very weapons you adore! Almost 30 years later and i still remember those lines. Such a great game, the sequel aswell

[@GregorBarclay]

My god the size of the window on the ship is absolutely insane. It’s barely 30% of the screen.

[@joe--cool]

Different ships have different cockpits. The centurion has the best canopy for dogfighting.

[@GregorBarclay]

@@joe--cool Don't get me wrong, it looks like a wonderful cockpit to have a 1990s LAN party in, but less great for the day-to-day of interstellar adventure, dogfighting or no dogfighting...

[@udirt]

and it gave us the tiny hint at the Steltek, and even if they lost their name in WC5 it is so awesome to know this long story arch. and the asteroid field chases in righteous fire! and the wonderful planet art! also the star citizen freelancer commercial was such a nod to this intro! priv was so perfect!

[@ColonelStarfire]

Holy... In 30 years, I never realized that the Steltek was actually a Nephelim ship, then I see this and it clicked. Thank you for blowing my mind first thing in the morning.

[@Delekhan]

Thanks for the great vid! A classic indeed. Played this on PC at first release when I was a teenager. SO many hours spent making cargo runs.

[@PetersonZF]

I'm a huge Wing Commander fan, and this is the only WC game on PC that I've never played. I didnt even know it existed until years later.

[@rogerlynch5279]

WELL DONE PRESENTATION OF THIS VINTAGE CLASSIC. When you look at it you can see that the more modern FREELANCER and REBEL GALAXY OUTLAW are practically an advanced WING COMMANDER PRIVATEER :) For the folks back then it must have been a dream come true because games in this fine quality were just to be found in those heavy slot machines standing around world wide in those amusement parlors. No wonder that some elder folks get all over nostalgic remembering this fine title

[@FiliusFidelis]

Wing Commander, I loved them all, except maybe Privateer 2. But the first Privateer is the one I spent the most time on. Edit, gosh how familiar the game music is considering how long it has been.

[@Hydra360ci]

yeah.... I remember that actor and when ever I see him in an actual movie... I think hey...that's the guy from Privateer 2. I get the same reaction whenever I used to see Hawk in a real B movie.

[@lordflashheart3680]

Man I loved this game, think of the titles that it has inspired since then! 👍

[@docsavage4921]

About joysticks: Back in the day I played with a Microsoft 3d pro which worked great, but had problems setting up calibration with modern gamepads under Dosbox. So what I'd recommend is using a keyboard mapper like Joy2Key, and mapping the keyboard commands to a peripheral. You may need to either disable joystick support from within Dosbox to keep the game from automatically detecting a joystick and going into the calibration routines. Or maybe plug in the device after loading up the game might bypass it.

[@apreviousseagle836]

I remember how I originally got the game: I saw a demo of a game at a Radio Shack playing on a monitor, and the graphics just completely blew away! The game sitting beside the PC was "Wing Commander: Privateer". I bought it, excited to play it.............................................and completely disappointed in the graphics: The demo in the monitor was NOT the same game. (I later found out the game demo I had seen was for a game called "The Journeyman Project - Buried in Time", which I did eventually buy as well, maybe like 3 years later when it was in the bargain bin). With that said, I did play Privateer......................................................and completely fell in love with the entire game. The ships, the look, the style, the story. It became my favorite game of all time, and was finally supplanted by Fallout 3 as my favorite game. You guys can download Privateer Gold, which is a faithful community remaster of the original.

[@joseescobar76]

Absolutely loved this game! it was way ahead its time!

[@mathewharbinson2619]

It s an old time favorite

[@arkgaharandan5881]

so ahead it should have been made in a newer engine, speaking of which rebel galaxy outlway show that game and was like "lets copy it 200% and dont bother to fix anything that was wrong with it" God i hate this game.

[@MrCatmarch]

Куча лет.... да! Мелкие хинты- тахионные пушки рулят! Крейсер килратов в одной из последних миссий вполне разрушить - ставим две установки с торпедами... крейсер медленный, вполне можно в одной плоскости его задолбать

[@volvoguy804]

Such a great review! I love this game, but it can be pretty tough in the beginning.

[@tomm1109]

This reminds me of Sundog on the Atari ST and Apple II. I'll have to check out Elite.

[@awksedgreep]

I loved this game so much. It was my intro to eve online and I've been playing eve for 16+ years.

[@Ravenfellblade]

Same callsign!

[@ianskinner1619]

Privateer was one of my favorites games of all time, that and one that was released just before it: Strike commander.. that game was brilliant and very unique, i have never seen a game since Strike that was anything like it..

[@FulguroGeek]

So star Citizen is been devellopped since 1990!

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Elite(1984)

[@Techo1329]

Epic game, played it a lot. One of my all time faves. GOAT for me has to be Speedball 2 on an Amiga 500.

[@henryluebberstedt7819]

Oh boy I was addicted to this game! The idea of a merchant adventure simulation in the Wing Commander universe was simply brilliant. The best of it: You were flying a cargo and not a combat vessel. Runnig away instead of fighting was in many cases the better choice. Any battle damage cuts in your budget. I loved that! I had high hopes for Privateer-2. Unfortunately, they took the merchant ships and the cockpits out of the game.

[@ByteSizeThoughts]

Nice overview, I fixed up a 486 so might give this one a spin! :D

[@EventHorizon_Alex]

Very much well worth it!

[@anthonykaye3292]

One of my all time favorites, it was a great game.

[@michaelsudsysutherland5353]

A worthy Elite successor that brought the concept into the 90's... As a huge Star Wars fan, who was playing TIE Fighter/X-Wing at the same time as Privateer; this helped me scratch my "Han Solo" cargo smuggler itch (and why Lucas Arts never caught on and never made a space freighter simulator... Missed opportunities...). This is certainly one of my favorite 90's games that I still go back to today. I was fortunate to have played Elite on a C64 (my Dad's), and then jump into Privateer within a few short years (once my Dad got a 486 computer with CD-ROM) to compare the two in their original environments. It's kinda a shame Privateer 2 was so forgettable... Well, at least we got Freelancer back in the early 00's!

[@katarn999]

Don't buy lasers and missiles at the beginning. It's just a waste of money. If you want to get started fast, sell your Scanner and Lasers/Missiles, then get a jumpdrive and an afterburner. Then get three cargo missions to the same place (e.g. New Detroit - you can save/load to refresh the mission roster). Then get the hell out of dodge (= Troy system) and earn money with cargo missions in the Potter quadrant (less pirates/Retro/Kilrathi)...

[@thecommodoredecker]

OMG i completely forgot this game! This was the first PC game i ever played!

[@briljin]

Damn this game brings back some memories :)

[@gabby9141954]

Love Wing Commander Privateer have it installed

[@danielbear3802]

Great games Wing commander universe. So wish they would update the full series love Mark hamill as the main character spent so much time playing all of the games

[@iareanon]

I want to play this game again I can play this game again I can't play this game as I've played it years ago

[@dallesamllhals9161]

GOG! Or I'll sell you my CDROM for ∞Credits!

[@ModdingNewbie]

@@dallesamllhals9161 LOL🤣🤣

[@gehtdichnixan3200]

totaly loved this game

[@Jahalang82]

I don’t remember which one it was on PSX but it had Mark Hammil in it but that was my absolute fave!!

[@GodOfPlague]

That could be wing commander 3 or 4 or prophecy Hamill was in all 3

[@kskeel1124]

you should do a play through

[@scotth4713]

If you don't know about Privateer Gemini Gold, you should check it out.

[@mrsasshole]

I was absolutely obsessed with this game when it came out. Couldn't guess how many hours I put into it. I vaguely recall privateer 2 coming out years later with greatly enhanced technology, but it lacked the magic of the first. Great video.

[@mitchanthony1548]

I'm hoping that in some way Starfield will be a spiritual successor to Privateer I spent so many late nights playing this ...

[@charliewaters5289]

Quite possibly the best game of all time. ABSOLUTELY the best flying game of all time.

[@Hidingfrompeople]

You can't shunt power to guns or shields specifically but when you can for example, cut your shields off, or to half, which gives more energy to your guns and afterburners. Yes, the Lucas Arts games did this better.

[@linuxrant]

You are wrong about physics. This was one of few sim shooter games that actually had full blown inertia. In manual there is a particular chapter explaining how to use afterburner, and while sliding on it, then turn and shoot at your enemy from the side and back... I still have the original manual from this game. (just as the pirvateer 2 manual). I cannot throw it out.

[@marblemunkey]

I remembered that, too. It wasn't particularly robust, but definitely was par of the strategy. I spent waaay too much time playing this in highschool.

[@DodgeThis]

I couldn't beat the alien ship in the expansion of Privateer.

[@TheStapleGunKid]

This game was such a complete masterpiece. Ever since then I've been looking for a comparable space privateer game and I've never found it. Games like Freelancer and Spacebourne are okay, but they don't even come close to this game's quality. Rebel Galaxy had the pontential, but the series ended before the games ever lived up to it. What really infuriates me is that they never made a game like this in the Star Wars universe. Just imagine a game where you could play as Han Solo during his privateer days. I'd still be find as playing with someone else in the Star Wars setting. They've made just about every type of Star Wars game ever, but never one that covered this genre.

[@atomicbear3805]

How did you get joystick inputs to work smoothly? When I try to play from GOG using dosbox, the joystick input has a huge deadzone with basically no sensitivity, no way to move/aim slowly and precisely. I have this issue with WC1 and WC2 as well. I ended up using dual missile launchers with FF missiles to kill almost every enemy, which made the game rather easy and boring.

[@0Fidel0]

You know that you can sell or buy all of one sort of goods by right-clicking instead of left clicking, right?

[@employee8449]

Thanks for the video. It's a good introduction for me, who has never played any Wing Commander game. But can you really recommend it to today's players who don't give it a large nostalgia bonus? I can easily recommend Half-Life 2 to anyone remotely interested in FPS games. But it was not only a great game at the time it was released - it still looks pretty good today, in 4k if you like. By contrast, I wouldn't recommend Jedi Knight Dark Forces II to a broader audience, even though I loved it as a kid. Of course, graphics is not everything. Gameplay is much more important. Still, I guess there is a limit to the pixel size that average players can tolerate. So what led me here in the first place? I loved the space game I-War as a kid, and I'm wondering which game I should pick to return to the genre.

[@DuneRunnerEnterprises]

One point to remember - the milita fighters,and pirate ones use the same model 8)))

[@freeculture]

you can later upgrade the radar to give you a pretty red rectangle for hostiles that lets you avoid shooting friendlies... Ah the joys of reaching that pirate base with all those asteroids in the way... 3 times in and out iirc with baddies shooting at you, of course, and then you need to deliver contraband somewhere without getting caught...

[@StoneCresent]

I briefly played the unofficial Vega Strike remake, Privateer - Gemini Gold. I recall that the missile launcher outfits could not be sold due to engine limitations at the time. The lack of player ship variety was a definite disappointment for me.

[@Hydra360ci]

yeah... i remember this game. Had ur choice of 3 ships. Fighter, Hybrid and Tanker. Think I'd always pick the Hybrid.... though don't really remember, anymore. The modernized version of this game is Egosoft's X series (starting with X3 Reunion).

[@alexhydell3608]

Mass drivers were my jam

[@benjaminnadeau7305]

So good

[@mateuszkwietowicz2470]

Still absolutely the best space sim game ever - I still love it to bits.

[@Theigzorn]

this game is also the main blueprint of wich became freelancer.

[@MDoomhammer]

i loved that game... but what really pissed me off was that with the expansion "righteous fury" you lost the steltek gun and it got replaced by the fusion gun.... you couldnt even edit t he save game as the hex address for it was replaced :( i was soo mad about that :p

[@peterhamilton7723]

The Tarsus wasn't missing a jump drive, just any system maps and flying blind was NOT a preferred outcome

[@Leavon]

Damn, Privateer was such a great game.

[@Hidingfrompeople]

When you start, scout missions are the best... JUST HOLD TAB.

[@krackerman3628]

This shit was the bomb back in the day

[@theking4mayor]

The original game had the manual on the cd in pdf format. Check your game directory.

[@Strykenine]

There has never been another game quite like this one.

[@freeculture]

Actually there are, many. Freelancer was mentioned at the end, and there is a bunch others like the X series, and there are even a couple open source ones. This one is fun but small and simple, i played it when it was launched, in real hw, no dosbox; finished the main story line too back then. It does have a few sandbox elements, but because its so small, it feels a bit pointless to continue. Star Citizen promised something like this but MMO. Eve Online would have been close, if its combat system wasn't so primitive click to shoot.

[@GhostRyderFPV]

Ummagawd, he invoked "3dFX"... A name I haven't heard since... My first _3D accelerator,_ the Voodoo. Where I got to experience my first real 3D game, embarrassingly: *Frogger 3D* sigh....

[@freeculture]

The first one i saw using a 3d gpu (voodoo2) was iirc Wing Commander Academy or such, it looked gorgeous. Had no idea there was a Frogger 3d... There was another game of an acrobatic plane with photorealistic looks, it had an annoying camera glare which looked ultra cool if you didn't mind the immersion breaking of having a lens flare when you are supposed to be there yourself...

[@Laladeduh]

It started off extremely well, the last 1/3 of the game became extremely boring. It blew chunks. Still, it must be experienced for what it is.

[@stephanemignot100]

I can't get in WC games, don't know why, too many keystrokes I guess. I play Frontier Elite II a lot though, I'm lazy retro-gaming, 2004 eMac, DosBox and a real MT32...

[@freeculture]

The games in the 90ies and 80ies use the keyboard A LOT. So you need to at least get a page from the manual and learn to use it. This is what separated computer games from console games back then, the keyboard was not for looks... Today many PC games are just console ports or at least they expect people to use it in a console, so that is why the user interface is so simple that it could be played with a controller and no keyboard. Of course many consider those type of games dumb, so take your pick.

[@ZoruaZorroark]

i never got to play it even though my dad had it, game never wanted to install correctly for one reason or another

[@adults_talking]

yes privateer was SOOOO GOOD!

[@blackcorp0001]

Needs a VR remake

[@AKatawazi2]

What joystick do you suggest?

[@dallesamllhals9161]

OLD ones!

[@Otokichi786]

I used a "cheap charlie" CH Flight Stick for Wing Commander 1&2. I did try Privateer briefly, then LucasArts X-Wing and TIE Fighter came out and I flew for The Rebel Alliance, instead.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw = thé close one nowadays? Asteroid fields got better in 2020! ;-)

[@Jebbis]

Could never get this game to work on my PC.

[@Hidingfrompeople]

This is a really good game. Still.

[@padawanmage71]

I see a LOT of Starfield in this game.

[@Carewolf]

I assume there was a Privateer II, because I remember better graphics and video.

[@PetersonZF]

There was, with 3D graphics and live action cutscenes starring Clive Owen, Christopher Walken, John Hurt and David Warner.

[@andyh8239]

I have this game, but its not compatible with anything. cant play it.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

GOG

[@sebastianm3505]

Any1 who has original game with the box set floppy disks and want to sell leave comment below

[@KLiNoTweet]

Good game with a Big But: Enemies leveled with you. A cheap mechanic I hate because you never feel truly awesome regardless of what you do.

[@freeculture]

A trend that would continue to this day...

[@orkhepaj]

this game is so garbage

[@arkgaharandan5881]

legit the worst game i ever played, the controls suck, the graphics suck, the ui sucks i had no idea had to change map without seeing someone doing it in a video, combat is absolute garbage all my shots miss because they are too slow and the sprites used for the ships are too blurry to be able to tell wtf i am looking at, ridiculous amount of grinding, randomized events that are utterly unfair on top of being super repetitive and every encounter could be deadly, completely unfair and random, battles are drawn out and take forever, its tiresome, the story goes nowhere, what story? Bumping into ships is more effective than shooting them but if you take damage the screen at the top left breaks and flashes giving anyone epilepsy. But the worst part is the mission that it gives could take place anywhere in the world map and at any time it can spawn you asteroids out of nowhere damaging your ship making it impossible to fly. No thanks, freelancer and darkstar one might be easy as hell but at least they are fcking playable.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Boooh!

[@NickPCage]

I loved this game and privateer 2 the darking.

[@Glitch0010]

@EventHorizon_Alex Elite may be the first or oldest "space sim", but it's far from the Godfather. Wing Commander is the Godfather of Space Sim/Space Opera.