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 Post subject: Wii - Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:16 pm 
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Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 11:51 pm
Posts: 18622
Location: Bradford, UK
XBL Gamertag: Blokeh
PSN ID: Blokeh
Steam ID: Blokeh
Wii system code: 2445-8086-3386-0718
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Nintendo Wii
1 player


We all knew that with the emergence of motion sensitive controllers as spot-on as the Wii's, there would be a flood of driving/flying games that promised they would "use the Wiimote to it's limits" and promised "the ultimate driving/flying experience". Well, so far we have about half a dozen driving games - only one of which is any good - and now we have 3 flying games. We've already played - and loved - Heatseeker, we haven't yet tried Wing Island, and we've spent the best part of today playing this one: Blazing Angels.

Set around some minor scuffle that some little towns had in 1939, you take on the role of an American air force pilot who wanted to get into the action early rather than wait for the Japs to blow up half of Hawaii before finally getting in on things. Sent over to England for some training, you team up with a few other US likeminded servicemen and go through the motions of learning to fly before moving onto some serious action.

While certainly not an original game (this is an Xbox/PS2/360/every other console ever port) it uses the Wiimote in a more intuitive manner than Heatseeker does. Rather than use the Wiimote to "aim" in the direction you want to go in, you actually tilt the controller for your banking, diving, climbing, etc - an option you can use in the other plane sim but which is notoriously difficult to use. In Blazing Angels flying is a joy to behold, with every tilt making your plane bank, climb, dive and twist as you command. You can use either the good old Wiimote and Nunchuk together using the c-stick for throttle and Wiimote to control your plane, or just the Wiimote itself held like a steering wheel. Either way works more or less the same.

Combat missions are set in various parts of Europe and despite the Wii having some criticism about it's graphics power, these areas look absolutely stunning. I have never seen London look so appealing in my life - sure I was skimming above the Thames at breakneck speed pumping copious amounts of lead into German bombers, but every chance I could I'd slow down to take it all in. The designers have obviously spent a LOT of time on making this look good, and it shows! It also shows in how bad the air combat is.

As I said before, flying is a joy. When it's just you and the open air you can fly all you want. But if you're getting taken from behind by some big German fella (stop giggling at the back) then making drastic turns is not an option, as the game doesn't seem to recognise such swift movements. I'm not sure if it's both my Wiimotes or the game, but many times I found myself shaking the controller to get my plane to bank, with no luck. And when the enemy planes are far more manouverable than yours, you might as well just not bother playing, especially when a quick look at the radar shows enemy planes making gravity-defying U-turns and you're taking half of Switzerland just to turn 90 degrees.

Sound-wise, all the planes have unique sounds, but they all sound like a couple of angry bees in a Pringles tube, but as these are WWII planes that's pretty much what they sound like. Gunfire has a particularly nice, beefy, bassy sound to it and you'll often find yourself firing off a few rounds just for the hell of it. The music's not bad either, building up tension when it should and also relieving you when you've completed a mission.

There's an awful lot to see and do in this game, as well as a multitude of unlockable Japanese, German, British and American planes, and it really does look and sound amazing. But none of this detracts from the fact that the controls are poor, the enemy planes are ALWAYS more manouverable than you are, but if you ever want to see a 45-tonne bomber turn 180 degrees on itself before you get blown out of the sky for flying too slowly then this is the game for you.


Ratings
Graphics: B
Sounds: B
Gameplay: C
Replayability: D

Overall score: C

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