The Penultimate Air Combat Game I have been an Air Combat Game Fan ever since I first "flew" in a Sopwith Camel doing battle with the Red Baron in a game called Knights of the Sky. I literally played for hundreds of hours. I went from a modest campaign record of 78 planes to 1000 kills as I sharpened my skills. Other games followed such as the "Aces" series. None ever can approach the fantastic experience of playing Air Warrior II. The structure of the games is in a word, PERFECT! From training flights to "Instant Combat Scenarios, to specific missions to entire campaigns, my "flights of fancy" are exciting each and every time. You can fly all the great combat aircraft from W.W.I to Korea. You can choose to fly on the side of the Allies or on the German/Japanese/North Koreans. Although you can use a mouse or keyboard, you definitely will get more out of the game with a joystick. Air Warrior II features state-of-the-art graphics design. Like it's predecessors, the "enemy" is always depicted as dots on the horizon. As you get in range, the difference becomes apparent. The FW190 or the ME 109 looks like the actual plane, not just a rough likeness. Even the paint detail is accurate! In addition, you face various model series of the FW or ME's. Bullet or cannon strikes have the effect they did in actual combat. If you hit an engine, you get a smoker. The Smoker can't fly as quickly and you can easily pick him off for a kill. The flight maneuvers are also realistic. This is the closest thing to flying the actual plane I have ever seen. The opening scene is the airfield. You can choose to fly an instant action scenario. This puts you in combat with an opposing enemy right away. Or you can go to the hangar to choose a single game against the computer or fly interactively. More on that later. Once you select "fly a Mission, you are taken to the operations room. From here you can choose aircraft information, take a check ride, or learn about the particular characteristics of the plane you will be flying or the planes you will be flying against. Learning the characteristics of your plane and the enemy's plane will give you a chance to survive your first few critical missions and gain the maximum advantage in a combat situation. Knowing the limitation of the opponents plane will make you an ACE in no time at all. Once you select a "Theater of Operations" such as WW1 WW/Europe or W.W.II/Pacific or Korea and have chosen to fly on the Allied or Axis Side, you can either choose a single mission or enter a campaign. A single mission will pit you against the enemy under a given situation. The campaign starts out in the beginning of the conflict and progress through the conflict in which you take part in actual missions flew during that conflict in a date progressive order. You start with a Spitfire Mark 1. Against the German Messerschmitt or Focke Wulf, you will really be at a disadvantage. As the war progresses you will fly another model of the Spit and progress to the P-47, somewhat better but still lacking the performance of the German equipment. When you get to the P51-D you will be flying an air superiority fighter. Now you have the power to deal the Luftwaffe pilots a different hand. If you select the mission or campaign, you will then go to the briefing room for information on the mission, the planes you will lead, and the route you will take as well as your accompanying aircraft. Hit fly the mission and you are on your way. Some missions commence in the air and in others you start the engine, rev the throttle and take off. You can check your progress on the flight map. Each leg of your mission is called a waypoint. You must pass through the waypoint before you progress to the next waypoint. You use the compass and the altimeter to keep your plane at the proper attitude and on course. Also, if you climb too suddenly, you will stall and your nose will drop. If you don't correct soon enough you go into a spin and unless you know how to recover (sometimes you can't) it's TAPS for you. Paying attention to the Climb indicator in the cockpit will allow you to climb without stalling. The artificial horizon will keep you at the proper attitude for level flight or show you the angle your plane is on. The cockpit controls show you the ammunition available as well as the fuel you have remaining. Cockpit realism is superb! Your gunsight can be changed for various ranges of target aircraft. If your plane is hit by enemy gunfire you will hear the hits and feel the results. Dive or turn to avoid further hits. If you take enough of them the screen "Reds Out" and you are a statistic! Landing is really critical. You must come in at the proper speed and don't forget to lower your wheels. I did this a couple of times and survived the ditching. If your mission was a bust and you got shot down, you can re-fly the mission as many times as you desire to do so. Unless it was a total disaster, you can move on to the next mission instead. You rack up victories and points as you complete each mission. You can re-fly your campaigns to improve you overall performance and see how you've progressed as a top gun. If you want to fly against real opponents, you can fly against opponents by modem. Some service providers such as Earthlink, have players who will fly against you. A modest charge is made to use this service but you get to fly against a broad ranges of opponents with varying levels of skill. This game offers hundreds of missions and in my opinion is the best aerial combat program in the known computer world. Almost every major plane in the real wars they fought in is available for you to fly. At less than $50.00 it is a must have program for anyone who loves the challenge of aerial warfare. I look forward to reviewing the other games Interactive Magic publishes. You can purchase the program directly by visiting the Interactive Magic Site at: You will also find a message board on their web site which will provide you with support, help and tips. Last Upadted 04/25/2007
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