Secret Weapons Over Normandy

"An excellent budget title with great production values"

WWII has long been a source of inspiration for games, and those games have run the gamut of amazing to flat out awful. Whether it was poor production values, formulaic storyline, or shoddy gameplay, far too many sub par WWII themed games have helped slow the output of titles in that amazing era. Secret Weapons Over Normandy, on the other hand, offers great production values, a fairly interesting storyline, and some superb gameplay.

Presentation (8/10): This game just FEELS like WWII, from the opening cinema to the very end. You follow the life of an up and coming fighter pilot sent overseas to join a secret organization comprised of Allied forces to halt the advance of the Axis powers, and this game makes every effort to put you in his shoes. Each mission opens with a page of his journal, accompanied by solid voice over, then it cuts to a montage of stock footage that helps further the atmosphere of the game. Music is understated and appropriate, rising and falling in the right places. There aren't many cutscenes, and what is there is done with the game engine, but a game like this doesn't need anything spectacular.

Gameplay (8/10): The controls for this game comes in two options; arcade and classic. Arcade is fun and accessible for beginner fliers, and Classic leans a bit more towards the realistic flight sim fans out there. Still, this engine is an updated XWing/TIE Fighter clone, so don't expect to worry about air pressure, reading meters, or flight angles. This is a simplified flier with a lot of shooting elements. However, there is a suprising amount of gameplay to be had. You have a wide variety of planes and weapons, each of which can be looked over in your hangar, and the range of missions is very nice and evenly paced. Historians may cringe at some of the inconsistencies, but your everyday gamer isn't going to worry about fighting the Japanese in one mission then the Germans in the next. (Especially if you factor in that there are months of time between each mission) There are a couple of air turret missions, in which you must defend bases with an AA gun, and these are quite fun if not particularly challenging. You can also fly under a B17 and work the turret underneath, but it's basically a rail shooter without much variety. Before each mission you're given a chance to "train", in which you're given a few missions that are similar to the main mission. It's not like training in other games, these are actual missions where you can die and shoot down enemies (at least after the first few). Plus, you unlock other planes by doing these, and earn upgrades.

Missions vary from sabotage to rescue to escort to all out dogfights. Needless to say, there's a great variety. Some are exceptionally challenging with a seemingly endless supply of enemies, but luckily the game gives you a fair amount of help; enemies have a red icon that tells you where to aim, even when they're moving, and you're given a "Time Control" button in which you can slow down as much as you like, or speed up, which is great when you have to fly a good distance. Your ship can take a remarkable amount of damage, but if there's a nearby airport you can land to fix your ride up and restock your missiles, bombs, or torpedoes. This game is ideal for everyone, from beginners to experts.

Replayability (7/10): With the many unlockables you earn throughout the game, there's quite a bit to do here. You can also go back and redo any mission you desire to earn those extra stripes and honors. There are a couple of Lucasarts' secret prizes in there, and they're quite fun.

Multiplayer (6/10): Despite it's 1-2 player options, the 2 player coop isn't all that great. You're given some bare bones missions without many objectives, and they're nowhere nearly as interesting as the 1 player campaign. Dogfighting is good as well, you can take up some wingmen and go against a buddy, but again, the options just feel limited here. Online would've been ideal, but the two player option here is more than serviceable.

Tilt (9/10): Despite its flaws, I loved playing this game. It's fast, action packed, and very fun. The use of the lock on camera (which lets you keep a targeted enemy always centered on your screen no matter where it is) is just a brilliant addition to these types of games. It allows for some truly cinematic moments, like launching a torpedo from far away and banking over a battleship just as the torpedo connects, splitting it in two. It's just cool, and it looks great in action. I wish there were a bit more super hectic fights, but I think this game is properly balanced in terms of difficulty and enemy ratio. As its price has dipped to around $20, I highly recommend this game to any fan of WWII era games or flight shooters in general.

Hey, this is a new format I'm trying for reviews, combining sound and graphics in one category and giving multiplayer it's own rating. Hope you like it!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/22/04