Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn

The Wing Commander franchise has been badly neglected by EA over the past decade, but a group of dedicated fans just completed a 10-year labor of love to bring it back. Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn is based on the open-sourced FreeSpace 2 engine, so it's not a mod but a full, stand-alone game that you can download and play for free.

Wing Commander Saga, "The Darkest Dawn" * begins right before Wing Commander 3 and concludes with the ending of the Terran-Kilrathi War (whether or not the Terrans win depends on you).

It has been six months since the Battle of Earth, and inspite of new fighters, carriers, and technology joining the Fleet, the war effort is not going well. Everyday, more news of fresh defeats and losses make their way around the Confederation Forward Fleet, who have to face the possibility that they will not be the ultimate victors.

You are based on the TCS Hermes, one of the handful of large carriers left on the front line. You play the role of Second Lieutenant David Markham, a pilot recently transferred to the Hermes.

Markham is no different from the other young idealistic rookies who are determined to make a name for themselves. Already having your metal tested and your outlook hardened by your time on the Wellington, you still dream of flying heroic strike missions deep into the heart of the Kilrathi Empire, finally bringing this decades long conflict to an end.

But all hopes and dreams are squashed by the burden of reality. In every system, the Confederation forces are badly outnumbered and outgunned. For every Kilrathi fighter and warship destroyed, 10 others takes their place. Comms from HQ order the abandonment of civilian colonies which the Confederation no longer has any strength to defend. The retreat is downward spiral leading to the final stand at Earth. It won't be very long till Markham experiences what the true nature War really is ...

• Epic Storyline that complements, not contradict, the events portrayed by the Wing Commander 3 game and novel.
• Presence of other Confederation carrier battle groups and fighter squadrons gives large-scale “teamwork” environment – the Hermes does not fight the war alone
• Over nine hours of voice dialogue.
• Approximately 70 cut scenes for a total of about 90 minutes of pre-rendered footage (not counting in-flight communications and command briefings).
• Over 60 voice actors, some of whom are actual professionals.
• 221 voice acting roles.
• 55 missions.
• Achievements (mission performance is evaluated and rewarded)
• 90 models created for Saga.
• Download size of 3-4GB with an installation size of 8-9 GB
• The computer game which supplies the background world in which Wing Commander Saga is set is the all-time bestseller. We believe that familiarity with either one of the games (Wing Commander 1-4) or one of the novels (preferably End Run, Fleet Action, The Heart of the Tiger) will intensify enjoyment of the Wing Commander Saga.

download free Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn