Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII

"A bit boring but it's better than the original"

I wasn't a fan of the original game. It was so-so but I'd never play it again. I was actually shocked to find out that a sequel was made as I was sure the game must have flopped. Personally I'm more of an Ace Combat guy and I'm also sick of the WWII theme. Is this one worth playing though?

It's your typical WWII plot but to be honest for a flight title the game goes outside the box so that was kind of refreshing. Just don't go into this game expecting an original plot.

Graphically the game looks much better than the last game. To be honest this might be the best looking flight game out. Well, maybe not. Ace Combat looks amazing but the undetailed grounds hurt it a little in my eyes. Blazing Angels has natural ground so everything appears to be more realistic but in the end doesn't look as good. The planes look okay but my only graphical problem is that the clouds really look bad.

The sound in the game is on par with the previous entry. The gun fire and explosions roar with life and it's actually a very nice touch. On the other hand we have a rather mediocre soundtrack and a very typical voice cast that must be used for every single WWII title.

Flying has never been this easy and I like the semi-realistic touch it has. You speed up and brake with the right stick. You turn with the left stick and I want to say you fire with the trigger buttons.

The game is made up of 15 or so missions. A decent amount and the game is much longer than the original. But that isn't always a good thing.

The game starts off with a training mission. I'm not a fan but it can be helpful. This games idea of a training mission is that after you go over the basics it forces you to do stunts. Sweet I thought until I realized a stunt is you hunting for a stunt orb in the air and touching it... Seriously, that's it?

The missions themselves are fairly varied and kept my attention for the most part. The most annoying mission for me was the 5th one I think. It had you clearing road blocks and picking someone up. It sounds easy but it really isn't and it almost feels out of place in the game.

The game also features some Xbox Live action but my Live has been acting up for the past 2 weeks so I can't give a fair assessment of the on-line aspect.

It's not that Blazing Angels 2 is a bad game. It's just a slightly above average follow up to a bad title. There is almost no fan base so I can only imagine how few people will be on Live once it's working correctly. I'd recommend the game as a rental but I don't know, it just didn't do anything for me but bore me a little.

Story - 6/10
Graphics - 7/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 4/10

Final Score - 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/08/08

Game Release: Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII (US, 09/18/07)