Secret Weapons Over Normandy

"Not your average WW2 flight sim"

So there I am sitting on my PC and I see the trailer for Secret Weapons Over Normandy and after watching it I said to myself I have to get this game. So I get the game and start to play it and I notice that the plane turned way to fast and it was very loose. I said to myself ''What kind of flight sim is this????'' It handled more like a first person shooter. I was just about to blow my top because I lost $50 but I decided to play a little and before I knew it I was strangely hooked. Anyway I broke down my review into five parts.

Graphics((((((9/10)))))))

Graphically the game shines as do most of the modern flight sims. Everything from smoke to fire are highly detailed. Landscape and clouds are graphically beautiful but you can tell it is of Flight sim quality. Planes and such including boats, tanks, AA guns, torpedoes are all beautiful and you will enjoy destroying the enemy in this game.

Story((((((10/10))))))

Wow this is where it get good. Even though the story jumps around a lot it is what makes this game interesting. Also most of the pilots that you will be flying with are the actual names of famous aces who flew during the war. Also this game takes place in Europe and in the eastern Pacific.

Controls(((((((5/10)))))))

Aw, this is where a perfect game get ruined. One very important downfall for this game is it's really bad controls for the PC. It did better on the PS2 and Xbox but when it came to PC it really does feel right. The planes turn way to fast and it is very hard to follow people in dog fights. Also if you have a Force feedback 2 you will lose all tension what-so ever and your joystick will feel really loose.

Fun-Factor/addiction level((((((9/10))))))

Once you get a hang of the controls and you just get used to the game in general you probably will not leave your computer for several hours because this game can be very addicting. Missions are a challenge to anyone even those veteran flight gamers because you have to do different things like man an AA gun, or bomb an aircraft carrier. Basically a lot of defend this and destroy that kinds of missions.

Buy/sell/replay value(((((((7/10)))))))

Well right now $50 is a little too much for this game but I guess if it went down to $30, sure buy it. I liked it mostly because of the variety of missions and the really large selection of weapons and cool planes. No online play but that's ok because the AI in this game rocks and will provide hours of fun.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/14/03