Volume 48, No. 12, July 13, 2006

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of World War II
XBOX 369 MA 15+

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of World War II

THE game: You play the role of a squadron leader in Blazing Angels: Squadrons of World War II, an American pilot helping out the British against the dreaded Axis. Bomb targets, dogfight and defend your forces in a variety of WWII planes.

The play: You’ll start off with basic training, but that won’t last too long and soon you’re at one of the many stopovers in your quest to defeat the Axis. You have three squadron buddies to whom you can give basic orders and who can help you out for some missions. Pearl Harbour, North Africa and Midway are all along the journey, and you’ll be constantly mixing dogfighting and bombing to keep the interest levels up. Torpedo runs against enemy cruisers and carriers is quite good sport. The actual flying isn’t difficult, and while you can get shot down and fly into the ground, generally you have to be doing something extraordinary to become a statistic. But the real thrill of the game comes online with up to 16 planes in one multiplayer match. There are some great team games in this section.

The terrain: The scenery is nothing to get excited about although the aircraft modelling is great.

The experience: This isn’t a difficult flight simulator, but it’s a good basic flying game with plenty of Jerries to tally and shoot down.

– SQNLDR Nick Hogan

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