At the event, we were informed that the game will be coming to the Xbox 360, PC, but not the PS3 (for the time being, anyway). In any case, the original Blazing Angels tried to be realistic representation of WWII, with scenarios that tried to mirror what actually happened during the war. It seems that the developers are trying to have more fun this time around, with Secret Missions taking a more fictitious approach for the game.
Take to the skies.
What this essentially means, is that the game will look at the “secret” side of the war. So you will be seeing aircraft that looks much more advanced than it ought to be for something from the 1940’s. Basically, there will be US and German experimental and prototype aircraft vying for supremacy in the sky. The core gameplay itself seems like it has remained relatively untouched. Despite the fact that the original game suffered from being a bit on the mundane side, the actual core gameplay was good and solid. We’re assuming though, that the slight lack of smoothness relates to the fact that the game is still undergoing fine-tuning in development.
In order to add a bit more substance to the missions, the game has had a points system incorporated into it. Every time you shoot down an enemy or complete an objective, you will now earn some points. These will be displayed in the upper right-hand corner. Points can also be earned by fancy flying, for example, by flying under a bridge. In order to complete some missions, it seems that a certain amount of points will be required but from what we saw, the game will cater the players with enough point scoring opportunities.
These points will then be used to buy upgrades. The upgrades come in three categories: weapons, aircraft and squad. Now you will be able to bulk up your weapons, speed up you aircraft and improve the efficiency of your squad. This may turn out to be quite necessary, as some weapons look like they will start to have ammo limits. There seems to have been a few other additions and upgrades to the interface and the game in general but none were highlighted to us.
The thing that worries us though is that, despite the new points system and “fun” premise, the game will still be lacking that endearing aspect that was missing from the original. We can only shoot down so many parachutes and brain-dead enemies before getting bored. Also, while we are confident that the final controls will be more finely tuned than they are right now, an option to slow down the reticule to make it more accurate will be welcome.
The planes aren't so secret anymore..
One aspect of the game that has undergone an obvious improvement is the visual presentation. The aircraft look even more detailed than they did before, but the biggest difference is in the density of buildings and other structures in the environments. Furthermore, the natural environment looks, well, much more natural, instead of looking like a bunch of misshaped and discoloured polygons. Not to mention the fairly nice sunsets as well.
Overall, if you're after a flight game on your 360, then the only game you've got to look forward to is Blazing Angels: Secret Missions. We’re happy to see the developers take a more creative approach to the concept of WWII dog fighting. However, unless the objectives and gameplay get an upgrade in the endearing stakes, the game will probably end up being nothing more than a slight expansion on the original. Still, at least it plays well.
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