Shame I never played it when it was current, I was mostly into X-Wing and TIE Fighter so not many characters. Oddly I don't ever recall seeing it in stores when I used to browse for PC games I couldn't afford or run, but I did borrow WC1 from a class mate and found the manual pretty damn cool.
I guess I might as well plod on with Wing Commander for now, after 2 I have to knock off 3 (which I also tried playing with a mouse and keyboard...I am full of unwise decisions) then 4.