Floppyshop 2/Floppyshop - 2.zip/Floppyshop - 2.iso/diskmags/5791-.end/dmg-6057/stp/bob_rev.stp/bob_rev.stp

Text File | 1997-07-31 | 6KB | 121 lines

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                       "BATTLE OF BRITAIN" BY LUCASFILMS
                            Game Review By Paul Varn

Those familiar with the Lucasfilm game Battlehawks, will have a good  idea what
this  WW II re-creation is like.  Based on the battle for  conquest of the  sky
over  southern  England  early  in the war,  German  and   British  forces  are
represented by the most famous and numerous craft  used in that battle.  Again,
historical and mechanical detail are  given minute attention with several added
in addition to those in  Battlehawks.

First,  there are more types of craft with custom gauges and controls  for each
type  of  craft.  In addition to the flight characteristics and   armament  for
each,  you  have to learn the instrumentation that  is unique to the  aircraft.
For the RAF, there is the Spitfire and  Hurricane fighters which did 95% of the
fighting for the British  during that battle. The German forces are represented
by  six craft  and their variations.  One of the treats here is that  three  of
them   are  medium  bombers that have multiple  gun  turrets.  You  can  toggle
between these guns while your plane is in auto-pilot and take pot  shots at the
attacking fighters.  Or,  place any or all of the turrets  in auto-fire so  you
can  concentrate  on  piloting or bombing (with   appropriate  level  bombsight
included of course). Affects such as  flack, explosions, and air frame hits are
even more detailed than  before,  enhancing the realism. The 3-D camera re-play
feature is  retained and enhanced with full control given over to the mouse and
well placed,  implemented icon controls.  I have to give the programmer   extra
credit  as this kind of interface has been the failing of many   would-be  good
games,  but  works very well here.  Dramatic "films" can  be saved to disk  and
played at will, even on other machines.

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GAME PLAY

There are four basic modes of play.  Pre-programmed historical  situations  re-
enact a particular battle.  There are many to choose  from. There are also non-
destructive training scenarios.  The meat  of the game is in the campaign area.
Here,  using  a map of the region  you re-create the whole three to four  month
conflict and try to  duplicate the successes and correct the historical errors.
As  a   guide,  the nearly 200 page manual is half devoted to  an  entertaining
overview packed with photos,  quotes,  and eye witness accounts.  In  addition,
you can create your own battles with a builder program that  puts every  detail
at  your  control.  This may be a creative way for  friends  to  challenge  one
another and provide increased variety (of  which there is no lack).

An  aspect of roll playing exists as well.  You create pilots and crews   which
you select for the various planes in the group you are flying  with.  Not  only
the  pilot/crew  in your plane,  but the others you've  chosen for  the  planes
flying with you benefit (and possibly  advance) from current mission successes.
As these crews gain  experience and promotion, they can be relied on to fulfill
combat  objectives (and are missed more when lost to enemy action).

Air  and  ground targets abound which  include  radar,  factories,   airfields,
ships,  and  more.  Some  missions may involve ground strikes  and  escort  for
bombers.  You can direct the flight paths of the craft  from take-off,  mission
objective,  to landing by setting up way points  that include altitude.  Up  to
four mission objectives can be pursued  simultaneously.  In the campaign  game,
other  similar  targets  are  attacked by friendly aircraft  who's  success  is
dependant upon yours.  A successful mission will not only promote the surviving
pilot  crews but inflict damage far beyond what your one strike would.

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INTERFACE AND DISKS

As in Battlehawks,  complex action can greatly reduce the scrolling  smoothness
and response.  Possibly even more so here. A useful  addition is the ability to
select the amount of ground detail (which  really isn't much to begin with) and
speed  things  up  when the going  gets real  rough.  Mouse  and  joystick  are
implemented.  I liked the  mouse better although like most games of this  kind,
it's  a little too  sensitive.  The joystick is way too  sluggish.  The  manual
mentions  a   joystick adjustment feature which doesn't seem to  exist  in  the
European  ST  version  I own.  The controls are easy to  learn  and  most   are
identical  to  Battlehawks.  Unlike  Battlehawks,  take  off  and   landing  is
implemented  adding  realism although not always necessary to   accomplish  for
successful game play. The game comes on two double  sided disks labeled 1,2 and
3,4 respectively. They are not copy  protected and will install on hard drives.
When  played from floppies,   (as I have to do) swapping disks is frequent  and
tedious  (not to  mention SLOWWWW).  In addition,  the file search and  sorting
routines   associated  with  pilot/crew  management  cause  up  to  30   second
additional   delays  when  there are more than 15 or  so  created.  A  possible
solution   for  floppy  users might be to keep smaller  numbers  of  pilots  on
separate disks.

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GRAPHICS AND FINAL COMMENTS

Again,  as in Battlehawks, the aircraft images (I assume digitized from  photos
of models) are superb.  Computer adversaries are intelligent  and  crafty,  the
battles fast and furious.  Time can be accelerated to  absorb lapsing  moments.
Alternate  views containing your own aircraft  details are held in ram but  may
take up to 4 seconds to display which  has caused some impatience for me.

If historical air combat simulation appeals to you,  this game packs a  lot  of
entertainment power.

PV
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