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Wrap

Text File | 2001-02-10 | 7.1 KB | 190 lines

B∙⓪A°⓪TTLEH∙⓪A°⓪WKS U.S. GOLD ($49.95) Battle Hawks 1942, attempts to re-enact the Pacific battles which raged between the in♪ vading Japanese and United States naval forces. At the dawn of 1942 the Japanese navy dominated the Pacific and perpetrated a series of stunning victories, including the sinking of five battleshiups of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. As the Japanese increased their Pacific territory, U.S. forces were forced to retaliate after Pearl Harbour, but the devastating attack on the fleet and a squadron of antiquated Brewster fighter planes, unof♪ ficially nicknamed 'flying coffins', as well as Vindicators, or 'Vibrator' to the crew, they could do little to thwart the might of the Japanese. Battle Hawks simulates the four epic naval clashes of 1942 which would deter♪ mine the turning point of the war: the Battle of the Coral Sea; Midway; Eastern Solomons; and finally, Santa Cruz, Admiral Yamamato's Waterloo.② ³Before clambering into the cockpit there are decisions to be made, such as, aircraft weaponry configuration and mission selection. The screen shows a Wildcat on the deck of a carrier with a menu where you can arm the training and five active duty missions. Historically, the first Pacific battle was the Coral Sea, 'a duel of the flat-tops' the first time a naval battle was fought entirely with air power. Although the U.S. fleet lost more ships, a Japanese ◆invasion was pre④ vented. In the battle of the Coral Sea you can choose which side to fight on. For the U.S. you can pilot a dauntless from U.S. Lexington and dive- bomb the Shoho car♪ rier, scramble into an F4F Wildcat in an at♪ tack on the Shokaku or defend Lexington or Yorktown against a dive bomb attack. The alternative is to turncoat and fly a Japanese Zero fighter to intercept the U.S. attack or dive-bomb Yorktown or Lexington in a Val bomber.② ³Patriotism overcame curiosity and I found myself at altitude in the cramped cockpit of a Dauntless in a dive-bomb attack on the already damaged and burning carrier, Shoho. There is no takeoff procedure and you are literally hurled into conflict. The conventional cockpit instrumentation comprises, an altimeter, compass, pitch/bank and climb/dive indicators as well as airspeed and RPM gauges. The mouse simulates the yoke with back and forth movements raising and lower♪ ing the nose and left adn right for banking the aircraft. Weaponry consists of fore and rear- mounted machine guns and a single warhead. 10,000 feet below, the Shoho burns and smokes like a giant flare on the water and your squadron leader suddenly drops like a hawk to dive-bomb the stricken ship. With the smoke billowing like a guiding beacon, pushing the mouse/yoke forwards sends the plane into a dive. The Shoho explodes into flames, but miraculously a survivor mans the great guns sending a volley of fire thumping into the fuselage. At 7000 feet and in a 70% dive, there's no pulling out, and tapping the 'F' key opens the dive flaps to speed up your descent. The aircraft sustains more hits, and at 2000 feet clicking the right-hand mouse button releases the warhead. Quickly pulling back on the mouse sends the battle-torn Dauntless into a faltering ascent and the spluttering engine warns of imminent stall. Tapping the '2' key reveals a rear view as the single bomb smashes into the Shoho. Suddenly, the Dauntless begins to spiral down ... sky ... sea ... sky ... sea. Quickly pressing the 'J' key, you clear the cockpit and parachute to safety.② ³The most famous Pacific conflict was un♪ doubtedly Midway and for this there are seven scenarios, although I felt compelled to defend Yorktown from the yellow navy.② The U.S. flagship has suf♪ fered a disabling Val attack and a follow-up assault from Kate torpedo bombers will sink her. Piloting a Wildcat, the task is to intercept the attack and pick off the Kates. Yorktown lies smoking below and a pack of Vals darken the horizon. The Wildcat is fast if a little cumber♪ some, but far less vulnerable to stall. The best tactic is to climb above the enemy, use the speed of descent to attack and retreat and then repeat the manoeuvre. The Japanese squadron is massive, and historically the valiant Wildcats were defeated and Yorktown was sunk- this is your chance to rewrite history.② '''Do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give the signal.' Reassuring words from General Eisenhower on the eve of the Battle of Santa Cruz, (Oct 26-27 1942)'' I'm still rather undecided about Battlehawks. It is neither a dedicated flight simulation, inthe mould of Gunship or Falcon, nor is it a straightforward shoot'em-up. The closest thing that I can com♪ pare Battlehawks with is Night Raider. The game's presentation is exceptional, the numerous options are easily selected and the gameplay both challenging and ex♪ citing. The sound is adequate, con♪ sisting, for the most part, of the engine's low hum. The graphics whilst being a little blocky, move nicely and create a good impression. Overall, Battlehawks is most definitely a good game, one with which the player will become more adept the more he plays.② Although it takes a while to initialize the program, thanks to ages of un♪ neccesary disk-swapping, Bat♪ tlehawks is a playable little game. I think the thing I liked was that, not only could you tackle difficult mis♪ sions, but you don't have to worry about silly things like running out of ammo, thanks to the game's many op♪ tions. The graphics are chunky but effective, and the sound is the typical droning noise that accompanies this style of game. If you want a flight sim that doesn't require too much think♪ ing, I recommend you take a look at this. It won't appeal to fans of Mirrorsoft's state-of-the-art Falcon, but it do nicely for a simpleton like me.② Battlehawks is an aircraft simulation of sorts, but the emphasis is very much placed on out'n'out assault and shoot'em-up rather than painstaking simulation. Perhaps this because the aircraft in question were basic and there was literally no time to waggle flaps and check wind speed. But the game doesn't suffer for its lack of flight protocol and can be best described as a fringe simulation with non-stop action - the sort of game that ol' blood 'n' guts', General Patton, would have approved of. I particularly like the chance of experiencing the war from both sides. My only criticism is the lack of variety in game-play.② Piloting a Dauntless you take off from Yorktown and head towards the already damaged Japanese carrier Shoho - objective to sink her. At 12000 feet, you see smoke billowing from Shoho like a giant beacon. Pushing forward on the yoke, the Dauntless goes into a rapid dive. 10,000 ... 9,000 ... 8,000 - miraculously, a survivor mans the Shoho's guns and shells thud into the Dauntless fuselage. A click of the right-hand mouse button drops the warhead and pulling back on the yoke takes the aircraft into a climb.