The prospect is stunning: a free Wing Commander game to be available online. After last week's formal announcement by Origin Systems regarding Wing Commander: Secret Ops, GameSpot News went to Origin general manager Neil Young for additional information.

　　The idea behind Wing Commander: Secret Ops, Young told us, is simple: Special Ops was developed after much brainstorming at Origin. The question was how to follow up on the success of Wing Commander: Prophecy. Secret Ops was decided upon for two primary reasons. The first was based on philanthropy - sort of. "We wanted to do something for the user's support for the Wing Commander products," said Young. "And we wanted to give something back ."

　　The game will be available for free to anyone with a link to the Web beginning on August 24. The game engine must be downloaded first (and the user registered). Then, in weekly installments, players can download a packet of new missions that continue the game's storyline. This will go on for about eight weeks.

　　The second reason for the Origin offering is that Wing Commander: Secret Ops will be a test prototype for a new Internet-based "delivery system" of Origin's, which will, in the future, make use of the Internet extensively. Of course Origin is being mum about exactly what its plans are - but it hopes to learn much from this first exercise.

　　Wing Commander: Secret Ops will have a total of 56 missions - far more than what was included in Wing Commander: Prophecy. While the general story in Special Ops borrows extensively from Prophecy, you won't be playing the same character, and you might meet some of the other characters in the missions. Difficulty is similar to Prophecy (where the difficulty level gradually rises and dips depending on the situation).

　　Initially Wing Commander: Secret Ops will be a 40- to 50-megabyte download, with each episode pack of missions running up to a few megabytes in size. Secret Ops makes use of the Wing Commander: Prophecy engine with some small enhancements, new ships for example. With all of the new data, a regular add-on for Prophecy would just not be possible.

　　We asked Young why Origin decided to use the episodic structure? According to Young, this format is what most people can identify with. Television dramas are structured by episodes one after the other - or, for the older folks, the Saturday matinee and movie serials. Each episode of six or so missions enhances and enriches the story. Young hopes that at the end of each new "episode," players will be anticipating the next installment.

　　Young would only hint at what's in store for Wing Commander after Special Ops. A multiplayer game is apparently in the works, and future use of the new "delivery system" will be dependent on how Secret Ops will fare.

　　For a short preview be sure to check out Origin's Special Ops web site, which is up now (it requires Macromedia's Shockwave), and stay tuned to GameSpot News for more information as it occurs.