Heroes of the Pacific

"If you looking for some good online air to air action before the 360 hits, this is it."

For some time now, Xbox owners have wanted something that has not been addressed until recently, a good (online) flight game. Crimsons Skies did the job well for a while, and games like Airforce Delta Storm and Secret Weapons Over Normandy were decent enough, but not online. Now, it seems, with the next generation of consoles looming, developers are addressing the issue with games like Blazing Angels (Xbox/PS2) and World Airforce (Xbox 360). But first, is UbiSofts unpromoted title Heroes of the Pacific. An underdog title that is an instant (sleeper) hit.

Graphics-9.0: One of “Heroes” strong points, is it's graphics, graphics which easily, in my opinion, beat out any console flight game out there, including my favorite Ace Combat series, Crimson Skies, and the flawed Airforce Delta Storm. Heroes of the Pacific makes it mark bluntly with rolling, shining seas, glimmering steel, lush foliage, and smoking craters, all with a massive amount of planes onscreen. The first thing of those you'll notice is the ocean, (which is pretty obvious considering it takes place in the World War 2 Pacific Theatre). The ocean is beautifully realistic and foaming, and firing on low level planes, with the bullets hitting the sea, and watching the plane explode into it is a site to behold. The bomb effects are also nice, and destroying something leaves it smoking for the rest of the game.

The Aircraft look equally impressive, with shining bodies that reflect light and parts that break apart and explode when your shot down. The foliage and mountains are well constructing, and there is a real sense of speed flying over trees, buildings, and mountains at 40 feet. The presentation fits the game as well, and anyone who has played Combat Flight Simulator should be familiar with the styling. Oh, and did I mention the clouds? Which can range from dark and stormy to big fluffy and pillow looking, making them easily the best, or at least, most realistic looking clouds I've seen in such a game. On the downside, the cockpits could be rendered better and there are no floating cameras, but this is made up for with a variety of camera angles. Also, the framerate occasionally drops when dog fighting through the clouds.

Sound-8.5: Sound has always been a problem with flight games, to many have had planes and/or weapons sound the same. Not so with Heroes. All the planes sound unique, even down to upgraded models, and the Whrrrrrr of you plane screaming through the air in a dive from 4500 feet is fun (when you don't slam into the ground or a mountainside.) This missile and gun sounds are recorded accurately, and there is nothing that will put you in more sheer terror then having the flag in your possession and hearing the pings of bullets off your fuselage and the sound of flak exploding around you. Even the sound of bombs falling or the sound of the torpedo propeller spinning before it hits the water is just another little touch that goes a long way. Downsides are, the wingman chatter was clearly an afterthought. It's not that its bad voice acting really, it just doesn't fit right.

Gameplay-8.0: Gameplay is something that is different, but not so much in other areas. In other words, people who played Crimsons Skies should get a good feel for it early on. The controls are hard to master at first, but once you get through training it should not be a huge problem and they will soon feel fluid. Missions can be downright difficult, even on the easiest setting, so much so that this game has been labeled “The Ninja Gaiden of flight games”, though not by me. The missions are varied though, and will take you throughout the Pacific theatre, and it never feels like you just shoot anything, as you have to prioritize enemies and closely watch you allies. You'll do everything from dive-bombing destroyers to shooting down bombers and kamikazes, all in a single mission. And though you may have to repeat a mission due to difficulty, it never lacks fun or gets stale. One thing fans of Crimson Skies will find familiar is war power, whereby you can get a boost of power for a short time while flying, which can help when flying between objectives. Additionally, powerups for online play, which can be turned on or off, are also available. Everything from Super War speed, to being bullet proof, mega guns, and even slowing every other plane down are there.

Features and Replay Value-8.0: It seems that the developers tried to go a long way for offline replay value. Besides the missions, which you can replay individually at any time, there are also unlockable historical missions and a simple quick combat option. The variety of planes in the game is outstanding, even though they may not be well balanced. Besides unlocking normal planes from the Pacific theatre, like the Corsair and Zero (and all versions thereof), you can also unlock planes form the European theatre like the FW-190, ME262, P-51, and the Yak 3. The added wingmen controls seem an afterthought considering you won't have wingmen as often as in say, Ace Combat 5, but despite it clearly being thrown in last minute, it can still be useful. The multiplayer, though allot of fun, could easily be added to. There are enough modes of play, though not as much as Crimson Skies, but it just seems empty considering the variety of single player choices. I also don't see the purpose of having to reset a room after each game.

Overall (not an average)-8.5: Though a great looking arcade flight game that has a well done single player area, there are areas, particular multiplayer, that could have been added to. Despite this, if you looking for some good online air to air action before the 360 hits, this is it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/07/05