Picture from the website Secret Weapons Over Normandy

Secret planes, past myths
This edition's games give you the chance to soar over WW2 battlefields in the high-tech warplanes of the era and command legions of the faithful as a mythological god. Fly your way through WW2 in some of the most advanced weapons of the war in Secret Weapons Over Normandy.

Secret Weapons Over Normandy
Publisher: Lucas Arts
http://www.lucasarts.com/products/normandy/index.html
I've got to admit to being highly skeptical of Secret Weapons Over Normandy (SWON) when it first arrived.

Being a long-time PC flight sim player, the thought of a console flight simulator sent shudders through me.

Having lost hours of my life to the original Lucas Arts Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe and the complete X-Wing/Tie Fighter series, the game's parentage was well established but still the doubts persisted.

When the first screenshots of the game hit the internet almost 12-months ago, like many, I was disappointed with what I saw.

Despite protestations that the images were from early development I was not convinced of the viability of SWON. Thankfully my fears were fully unfounded.

To begin, SWON is not a flight sim and does not aim to be. Instead it is an excellent aircraft-based shooter with a great storyline to keep players hooked and enough diversity to make coming back to the game a real pleasure.

The game can be played from a tail-chase view or from a cockpit-like pilot's position as well as a top-down bombardier's view.

I have played 98 per cent of the game from the tail-chase position and thoroughly enjoyed all the dogfighting, bombing and strafing on offer.

As the game progresses new aircraft are unlocked (or liberated from the Germans) and several of the fantastic weapon systems developed by Germany come into play. Launching the world's first guided missiles or steerable torpedoes in a game set in the mid '40s gives some insight to the ingenuity of the German weapons program.

The game offers several flight models, but to be honest, is best played on the arcade setting if you are using the normal XBox controller. The advanced flight models might be more accessible if you have invested in something like the Thrustmaster Afterburner flight control system.

On XBox Live there are now several Aussie pilots willing to duke it out in online dogfights and, provided you have a good connection, there does not seem to be any of the lag problems usually associated with simulation games.

SWON is one of my favourite XBox games so far and, much to my wife's dismay, it has dominated the TV viewing lately. It is also available for PC.

Expand upon the original myth and conquer the high-seas as the Atlanteans in The Titans Expansion. Picture from the website

Age of Mythology: The Titans Expansion
Publisher: Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/games/titans/
Age of Mythology is considered one of the standout games within the extremely diverse real-time strategy genre, so it is little wonder that an expansion pack has been released.

For those unfamiliar with Age of Mythology, Ensemble Studios took the now-standard forage, build then attack scheme of the RTS style and threw in an amazing variable - god-like power.

Based around Greek, Norse and Egyptian mythology, players could unleash the hell-storm of Hades in addition to hacking, slashing and bludgeoning their war through countless foes.

The Titans Expansion adds a complete new race to the game - the Atlanteans - and several new heroes to take the fight to a new level. As the name suggests, the expansion focuses on the supreme beings of the mythological beliefs. Three new gods - Gaia, Kronos and Oranos, are supported by several heroes such as Helios, the Titan god of the sun and Leto, the Titan goddess of the unseen. Each hero can draw on special myth units to assist in a player's quest to thwart the powers of evil.

The additional single-player campaign is as good as that offered in the original - the expansion is definitely not a rush-job to capitalise on the parent game's popularity.

The Atlantean race is diverse enough from the three offered in the original to make the single-player game challenging and renew interest in multi-player battles. The Atlanteans, with their natural affinity for water, are strong in naval assets and the ability to grant any unit hero-powers can be used as a great tactical advantage when there is a requirement for rapid building or resource collection.

All up, The Titans Expansion is a great example of how an expansion package should be released and well worth it for those who enjoyed the original.

A player must own Age Of Mythology to play The Titans Expansion, but Microsoft has recently released a box set for those who would like to start from the very beginning.

Competition
We have a copy of Age of Mythology: The Titans Expansion (PC) and Secret Weapons over Normandy (XBox) up for grabs this edition.

Entries should be e-mailed to ADFgamesmen@telstra.com with the name of the game you would like to win in the subject line.

Only one entry per person - subsequent entries will be discarded.

Please include your full name and mailing address in the e-mail or your entry won't be accepted.

.