Wing Commander 2: Vengeance of the Kilrathi

Wing Commander 2: Vengeance of the Kilrathi builds on its predecessor with a larger story, more elaborate missions, and an even stronger sense that your career as a fighter pilot is becoming rather stressful. The Kilrathi remain the principal threat, and you are sent into increasingly dangerous combat situations where careful flying matters just as much as knowing when to pull the trigger. The sequel improves the presentation and storytelling, giving the characters more personality and the campaign a stronger dramatic rhythm. Missions can involve escorting ships, intercepting enemies, defending important targets, or simply surviving encounters where the opposition appears to have received considerably more ammunition than you did. The result is a superb example of early-1990s space simulation design. It still feels tense and exciting, particularly when a routine patrol suddenly becomes an enormous firefight and your carefully preserved missiles disappear in about thirty seconds.