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Secret Weapons Over Normandy
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Graphics & Sound:
There's something about WWII that draws the collective psyche of America. Tom Brokaw called it 'The Greatest Generation'; a group of people who fought valiantly through the hardships of war and showed strength and unity unmatched by any other generation. As a nation we not only think of them as our fathers, grandfathers, sons and daughters, but as heroes. People who were willing to give their lives for the defense and well being of our country. This feeling has translated into both books and movies and is slowly working its way into video games. In a departure from other recent WWII based games, Secret Weapons Over Normandy takes to the skies and portrays the exciting life of an Air Force Flyboy at the height of the war. Secret Weapons manages to capture the look and feel of the WWII era. Still photos and new reels help to set up the era and do an excellent job of getting you into the game. Planes look fantastic and show off some really great details, such as individual plane markings or weapon add-ons. Even some of the prototype planes, most of which are usually only seen as photographs or drawings, look like real working aircraft and fit in with the vintage stuff. Little details like fire and smoke billowing out of engines (when you take too much damage) really help to sell the feel of the game. There are a few kinks in the system that keep the game from reaching the heights of games like the Medal of Honor series. Environmental detail is low, static and boring. Things like trees and buildings are more window dressing than anything else. In fact, there are times where you can actually fly your plane through trees as it they weren't there. The biggest issue with the game is the lack of speed present in the game. Granted these aren't modern jets, but you'd be hard pressed to tell between a plane flying at full throttle and one that's not. The only real clue you get that you're flying fast is that your engine sounds like it's going fast. Lucasarts did a good thing by bringing Michael Glacchino, the composer behind the Medal of Honor soundtracks, aboard to compose the game's score. The music is excellent and feels as epic as WWII. This soundtrack is complemented by an excellent voice cast. Although the game lacks any sort of rendered cut scenes between missions (at least those involving people walking around and conversing), the voice cast does a great job of getting you to actually care about the characters. At the risk of sounding sentimental, I really got to like the characters over the course of the game. The voice work is also taken a step further by including radio chatter during missions. Most of the time chatter is limited to complements and orders from your squadron, but there are times where other pilots will taunt you (the stuff with the Flying Tigers is classic) and enemy pilots will curse you (in both Japanese and German no less). If you listen carefully you'll even hear a few Star Wars lines thrown in. This is a Lucasarts game after all. |
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Gameplay:
It is hard to make a flight sim for the consoles, or at least one that manages to sell well. This means that when you do make one, it better deliver something special. Secret Weapons Over Normandy manages to bring a unique experience to consoles, but one that doesn't have quite the impact as one would like. Secret Weapons comes from a pedigree of top notch flight sims, including the much vaunted TIE Fighter and X-Wing series from the PC. You take the role of James Chase, a pilot who was drummed out of the U.S. Air Force and eventually joined one of the volunteer squadrons in the British Air Force. After proving himself, James is invited to join Battle Hawks -- an elite fighter squadron started under a mandate by Winston Churchill to carry out select missions during the war. After joining the Hawks, you will travel the world and participate in battles on every front of the battle, including the Battle of Midway and operations in Northern Europe. History fans, especially those who are WWII buffs, are likely to go nuts over the game's historical settings. This can be taken in one of two ways. The framework of the game's missions is taken directly from history. Certain battles take place when they are supposed to and in the correct manner. Yet, there are also times when the game takes some liberties with history and alters them to fit the game's plot. You'll also join and fight alongside squadrons like the Flying Tigers and take control of ground (and ship) based Anti Aircraft guns. The game's story is excellent, but is a little drawn out and slow moving. It is pretty clear that some missions are in place just to take up time and really have no bearing in the overall campaign (or campaigns as the case would be). The Single-player mode also offers a Challenge mode, where you have to complete certain objectives. Progressing through each mission unlocks new planes and weapons for you to use in later missions. These include over 20 aircraft, including the Supermarine Spitfire, Japanese Zero, Lockheed P-38 'Lightning' and P-51 'Mustang'. Performing well in missions also nets you upgrade requisitions, which allow you to upgrade the armor, engine, ammo and other aspects of the planes in your hangar. Completing all the Secondary mission objectives get you extra requisitions as well as medals (which are mostly for show). In addition to plane upgrades, you can also choose to equip your craft with secondary weapons, like bombs, rockets and cannons. Selection of these weapons should not be taken lightly since they can help determine the outcome of a mission. You can also unlock craft to use in the Instant Action and Two-Player modes. Instant Action allows you to hone your dog fighting skills in a controlled environment. Two-Players can take part in Versus Instant Action, which pits players against each other in dogfights or Challenge Missions. As an added bonus for Star Wars fans, completing the 15 main missions and 21 challenges will unlock a TIE Fighter and X-Wing for use in Instant Action modes. Although Secret Weapons is compatible with Xbox Live, this is limited to downloadable content. The lack of online multiplayer is a real shame in my book. The appeal of online dog fighting is just too good a prospect to pass up. Downloadable content is already available, which includes the Curtis P-40 'Warhawk' and Vought F4U Corsair. |
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Difficulty:
Secret Weapons Over Normandy walks a fine line between too hard and too easy. The game does a nice job of getting you used to the various planes and weapon options early on by restricting your options. As you progress through the game, you'll obtain more freedom in your choices. There's always a recommended plane and weapon, but you are free to use one of your other planes. However, there are times, such as the Battle of Midway or specific parts in a mission, where you are required to use a specific plane. Enemy fighter A.I. is good, but not the brightest in the bunch. Much like the old X-Wing computer games, you can shoot at an enemy fighter and it will stay in formation instead of breaking off. This makes taking out some squadrons really easy -- especially those on bombing runs. Enemy planes also have a love of playing chicken with your plane, making it easy to get off a few easy rounds. Mission objectives do offer some nice challenges. Elite squadrons, like the German Nemesis, manage to put up good fights. Although I enjoyed the air combat, I did find it to be rather easy since instead of targeting another plane with a marker, you are given the 'lead' to aim at. This takes some of the challenge out of dog fighting since you are not trying to figure out your shots and outfox the other pilot, but instead just matching the blue circle to the red one.
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Game Mechanics:
The hardest thing about bringing a flight sim to consoles, and I imagine a reason why we don't see more, is applying a control scheme that works. Secret Weapons Over Normandy does a good job of not only adapting a nice setup, but also gives gamers the option between a more 'hardcore' sim setup and an arcade-like one. The left thumb controls lets you roll, dive and climb while the right stick controls your air speed. When using the 'Advanced' setup, pressing left or right on the right thumb stick also controls your rudder. This option is recommended, even if you're looking for an arcade setup, since it gives you better control over your plane. The X and A buttons allow you to cycle between ground and air targets (respectively) and the Y button and Right Trigger control your weapons systems. Even though the game is labeled as a sim -- craft control seems to take more from the Hollywood aerial combat (such as the stuff seen in Pearl Harbor) rather than real life craft. Some of the moves you are able to pull off, such as the low-flight acrobatics wouldn't be a good idea to pull off in the game's vintage planes. A few sim elements, such as your plane choking when you're flying upside down, do make it into the game to offset the stuff. Like the game's history, it's not completely accurate, but manages to make the game fun. In another interesting twist, Secret Weapons also features a Reflex Time button (black button). This mode puts the action into Bullet time so you can get off a few extra hits or target better. Personally, I saw this feature as a waste and rarely used it other than to watch enemy planes slowly erupt in flames after a particularly tough dogfight. In a take from the Rogue Squadron games, pressing the D-pad issues orders to your squadron. Pressing down on the D-pad also lowers your landing gear for when you have to land. A few flight sticks, like the Adrenaline Stick from Saitek, have recently hit the market. As much as I would like to recommend using the stick for the game, the Crimson Skies slanted (okay - the stick is made for that particular game) stick doesn't work well with the system. This is due to the lack of customizable button setups in the game. It may not be a perfect example of a flight sim, but Secret Weapons Over Normandy still manages to provide an exciting experience. |
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-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker |
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