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Floppyshop 2
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Floppyshop - 2.zip
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dmg-6057
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bob_rev.stp
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Text File
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1997-07-31
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6KB
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121 lines
<PICLOAD>ALL.DAJ
<PICSHOWD>032,127,080,156,016
"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.
<PICSHOWD>128,124,319,130,064
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.
<PICSHOWD>128,124,319,130,080
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.
<PICSHOWD>128,124,319,130,128
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
<PICSHOWD>000,163,032,193,080