Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII

"A good game that falls just short of greatness"

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII is an excellent game, but there are just a few things that stop it from being great. While not as huge or detailed as Oblivion, it deserves at least a thought in a gamers mind.

You start off as the new rookie pilot. The training mission is helpful and explains the controls nicely. As you beat missions in the campaign you unlock new planes to be used in different modes. You also go up in rank, though it doesn't affect anything.

Graphics: 5

The graphics are NOT the main selling point. The environments are simply awful. The planes are marginally better. It is obvious that there wasn't much time put into them. The same patterns are repeated over and over. It is really kind of sad, the 360 has so much power to tap into.

Sound: 8

The plane effects are excellent, they sound like real planes flying. The weapons sound great and all other effects are really great. The music is okay, you won't really notice it very much. The only reason the sound is not a ten is the voice acting. While the characters have some good lines of dialogue in the story, the speech while fighting gets old and repetitive very fast. The enemy voice acting is nearly unbearable.

Gameplay: 9

Blazing Angels has excellent gameplay. It isn't on par with some of the great flight simulators of the pc, but with the fairly limited game selection for flight fans on the 360, it's a must have. The story line is your fairly basic WWII plot line. You start in a training mission and then move onto Britain, North Africa, Pearl Harbor, The pacific, and finally, Germany. Throughout the game you do the fairly standard objectives for a military flight game. i.e. Escort the bombers, destroy the airfield, clear the skies, bomb the plant. On occasion you are called upon to perform other objectives like photographing camps. The controls are simple to learn but difficult to master. The follow camera is an excellent example of this. Firing your gun is still the right trigger but secondary fire is used by clicking the right thumbstick. While strange at first, I have found this to be very comfortable.

Overall: 7

A high seven, but a seven. The game had true potential, some of the execution just wasn't there. Examples are the poor enemy voice acting, and the lack of an in-cockpit view. While the campaign is rather short, there are three different modes you can play, Ace Dual, which is a one on one battle with an enemy flying a plane of the same model. Arcade is three waves of enemy's that you have to kill. Mini-campaigns are six unrelated missions where you either bomb or dogfight. Ace duals unlock an " ace paint job". Arcade victory's upgrade the plane you fought with, and bombing and dogfight mini-campaigns upgrade your bombs and guns respectively. Overall a good game that had some flaws. Worth a rent for sure, but play before you buy. It might not be for you.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/06