Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers and Jets
Score: 100% ESRB: Not Rated Publisher: Trisynergy Developer: Shockwave Productions Inc. Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 32 Genre: Flight
Graphics & Sound: Coming off their latest Flight Simulator expansion, Shockwave Productions is now giving players even more WWII goodness with Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers and Jets. The expansion picks up exactly where Firepower left off in delivering one of the best WWII flight experiences around. Both outside and in, the planes in Wings of Power look simply amazing. Cockpits are fully realized and complete with every little dial, switch, knob and stick you could ever want. Best of all, they all work and show you accurate readings as to what is going on. Plane hulls are just as detailed as the insides and even feature little details like designation numbers and the requisite poster gal on the side of the plane. Sound is about as realistic as it comes. Engine noise sounds great and has that nice “oomph” you want to hear. If you want a realistic look and feel, look no further.
Gameplay: I am a big fan of WWII flight games, and WWII history in general, so Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers and Jets appealed to me from the start. As a big fan of Firepower, I was excited to see that Wings of Power delivered just as authentic an experience. Wings of Power uses Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 as its core gameplay model, so make sure you pick that up as well before checking out Wings of Power. While the idea of purchasing another game to compliment this one may turn off a few players, trust me -- its well worth the price. Included are 50 new missions in which you have to pilot some of WWII's heaviest under realistic conditions. New planes include the B17G "Flying Fortress", B29A "Super Fortress" (the most famous of which is the Enola Gay, which dropped the bomb on Hiroshima), B24J "Liberator", Ar234 "Blitz Bomber", He162 "Salamander" as well as a few others, such as the jet technology employed by Germany during the war. Similar to Firepower, WWII air-combat vets were brought onboard to help bring as much authenticity as possible to the game. The result is historical accuracy that should appeal to history buffs and gamers alike.
Difficulty: Although I love flight games, I would never call myself a flight simulator buff. Give me an arcade setup, and I can handle it, but when I have to deal with knobs, gauges and everything else, I tend to find myself on the ground more than in the air. The real beauty of Wings of Power: WWII Bombers and Jets is that the game can be set up to appeal to both the hardcore flight-stick jockeys as well as the more casual pilots like myself. Mission layouts are fun and keep you coming back for more, even in some of the more difficult missions.
Game Mechanics: For more casual players, Wings of Power: WWII Bombers and Jets may take a little getting used to. Plane set ups and handling are about as real as they come, which means you can't pull off some maneuvers in these planes (regardless of what Hollywood has shown). Trying to pull off spins and other tricks will usually result in stalls and other plane problems. As previously mentioned, the game can be set up to allow more casual players to enjoy the game without having to worry about every little detail. The fact that anyone can pick up and play the game really helped to put the game over the top. Bottom line, if you're a fan of either WWII-based or just flight games in general, Wings of Power: WWII Bombers and Jets (as well as any of Shockwave's previous Flight Simulator expansions) is well worth the price. History nuts will absolutely love the game's History Channel-like attention to detail, while plane nuts will love the attention to detail that oozes from the game. Highly recommended.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Minimum System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/2K/XP, 600 MHz Processor, 128 MB RAM, 32 MB Video Card, 12X CD-ROM Drive, DirectX Compatible Sound Card MS Flight Simulator 2004   Test System: Windows XP; Pentium 4 1.7 GHz; Radeon 9100 128 MB; 40 Gig HD; 640 MB RAM, MS Flight Simulator 2004
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