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> Results: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
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Mild LanguageGamerDad found minor curse words Violence:Aircraft shoot, they soar, they explode, they crash. Climb behind the cockpit of more than 50 authentic World War II aircraft, including the famous P-51 Mustang and British Spitfire, in Ubisoft's "Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII." This intense historical action game doesn't soar as high as it should. Developed by Ubisoft's Romanian studio, "Blazing Angels," named after the fictitious squadron you command, lets players assume the role of an ace pilot who must take on the Germans and Japanese in missions that range from Berlin and London to the North African desert to the Battle of Midway and Hawaii's Pearl Harbor. The PlayStation 3 (PS3) version also includes two exclusive missions -- North Sea and New Georgia Island in the Pacific -- along with 11 new aircraft, such as the Boulton Paul Defiant and De Havilland Mosquito. Mission objectives vary, but most involve listening to a briefing of the situation, assigning orders to your squad mates (by tapping the four-way D-pad in a given direction), locking onto targets in the unfriendly skies, and of course, blasting the enemy into oblivion. Other missions involve taking photographs of activity on the ground or bombing runs. Supporting up to 16 players, multiplayer modes include: Onslaught (players must shoot down as many planes as possible in a predetermined time limit); Kamikaze (destroy wave after wave of kamikaze fighters before they hit your base); and Historical Battles, where you can play some of the solo campaign missions cooperatively with a friend online or beside you on the same TV (via split-screen). Owners will also find a bonus squadron-based multiplayer game, dubbed Base Assault, not found in other versions of "Blazing Angels." While the graphics are indisputably gorgeous, one clear problem (experienced right from the game's introductory tutorial missions in Scotland), is poor frame rates that cause the action to slow down to a crawl whenever there's a lot of planes or tanks onscreen at the same time. This not only takes away from the all-important suspension of disbelief, but those who shelled out up to $600 for a next gen console will likely be disappointed in the occasionally choppy performance in this game. Another problem with "Blazing Angels" is the somewhat repetitive and easy single-player missions. Despite the fact gamers can play through more than 20 chapters in the main campaign ﾖ and unlock three additional solo game modes ﾖ the lack of variety in the objectives and simplified artificial intelligence means you're likely to get bored after a couple of sittings. It's too bad "Blazing Angels" suffers from these shortcomings, as its stellar graphics and many solo and multiplayer game modes barely lift this game up from hovering around mediocrity. That said war buffs or flight enthusiasts may want to get their wings by renting this game for the weekend.  
Aircraft fly, they shoot, they explode! That's the violence here. It's not like you can strafe little people on the ground or shoot parachutes out of the air. The game is semi-historical and the aircraft are lovingly rendered, which could very well inspire an interest in WWII aircraft or interest in the war itself. At least it could lead to some interesting discussions, or shared viewings of the History channel. The language is fairly mild, mainly people cursing into the radio as they run into trouble. Nothing shocking, just "hells" and "damns."
Other Platforms PS3: 2 Extra Missions Xbox360: Older, easy to find Used. PC: $10 cheaper at the time of this writing Kid Factor by Andrew Bub This review edited by Andrew Bub Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII |
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