Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII is like that dinner guest you’re looking forward to seeing who manages to say something awkward five minutes into the visit and never really recovers. The concept alone is what really grabbed me as I tend to love anything WWII based, especially when they involve planes. However, I’ve had to rely mostly on PC games to get my fix -- making Blazing Angels such an exciting and promising prospect. Unfortunately, the promise doesn’t quite match up to the final product.

Blazing Angels’ visuals are what makes the game and are probably its best feature. All of the planes are finely detailed, right down to exhaust firing up when you speed up and working wing-flaps and rudders. Unfortunately, you’re likely to only see these details on your own plane since a majority of the enemy planes you’ll encounter show up as small specks highlighted by a blinking red box. And, in the event you’re close enough to actually see details on enemy planes, they’re probably spiraling to the ground in flames. The same can be said for level details. Most of what you’ll see is accurately detailed, including notable landmarks like Big Ben, Parliament and the Eiffel Tower, but if you’re able to notice the small details, you’ve probably just crashed into it.

Visuals also factor into the gameplay. The only visual indicator of your plane’s condition is how much smoke and flame is coming from it. Sometimes the smoke can become so thick that you’re unable to see what’s going on around you. Also, if you point your plane’s nose to the sun you’re temporarily blinded – which is a pretty cool effect that can make for some good tactics if used right.

Sound is decent, though it doesn’t quite match up to the high standards set by the visuals. Music is going for that epic feel that most WWII games feature though it never quite arrives. Engine noise and gunfire are weaker than you’d expect and lack any real “power”. Then there’s the voice work, which is generally good, though it is ruined by overly cliched, stereotypical characters and phrases that are repeated way too often. This is especially noticeable in a reconnaissance mission that has you finding the location of German encampments based on radio broadcasts, which are the same two-minute conversation on a continuous loop.

Blazing Angels is marred by two main problems: a lack of focus and unbalanced gameplay.

The only real “story” you’ll ever get is that you’re an American volunteer flying with the British Airforce. You eventually fall into a squadron made up of other volunteer pilots, forming the Blazing Angels. From here it falls into a trap that most good WWII-based games manage to avoid. Rather than focus on one or two major campaigns, it tries to squeeze in every major battle from the war. The game opens with the evacuation of Dunkirk and bombing of London, then jumps over to North Africa, then Pearl Harbor then on to locations like Paris and Midway. This would have worked if the game followed different squadrons (maybe something like “Victory at Sea”), but instead it feels a bit forced. Except for the war going on, there isn’t much of a story tying everything together. There are a few attempts to build your squadron’s personalities, though any character development relies more on overly-used clichés and never goes anywhere.

At its core, Blazing Angels is an arcade shooter and takes more of a "Pearl Harbor" approach rather than "Tora! Tora! Tora!". You never run out of ammo, torpedoes, rockets and bombs and you can fly really close to the ground, even while inverted. If you’ve got the skills, you can even fly under the Eiffel Tower. A few simulation mechanics (like stall) find there way into the game, but the overall focus is essentially to just shoot everything you can.

On the plus side, there’s a lot of variety in missions, so there’s always something different to do. At the same time, things tend to become repetitive since every mission essentially breaks down to the same basic mechanics. If you’re not zooming in for an aerial photo, you’re bombing or torpedoing something using the same mechanic. On top of that, most of your time is spent shooting down wave after wave of enemy fighters.

Although the single-player side leaves much to be desired, the included multiplayer modes offer a little more bang for your buck. Both Co-op and competitive games are available, including Dogfight, Seek and Destroy (which has players seeing who can shoot down the most targets) and Aces High (which pits one player against everyone else). While standard dogfights can get a bit repetitive, the other modes are enjoyable and should keep you entertained.

Blazing Angels constantly wavers between easy and cheap. Most of the time you shouldn’t have too much of a problem completing mission tasks given some issues with balance. Even with these issues, there are a few mission goals that seem a little too rigid, such as a Midway mission that has you protecting an airstrip from Japanese bombers. Somehow or another, one bomber always seemed to slip through and damage the airstrip, even when the entire bomber wing had been wiped out by my squad.

Overall, the controls are tight and responsive. Steering is handled with the left analog stick while the right acts as a throttle. However, except for take-offs and landings, you won’t have to use the stick too much unless you’re rushing to meet a certain objective. The coolest function is the chase camera, which locks the camera on whoever you’re currently targeting. This allows you to perform maneuvers while keeping an eye on your target. Using the chase camera does become a bit disorienting and can lead to crashes if you’re not careful – so while its useful, it is far from perfect.

Each of your squadron mates has their own abilities that are activated using the D-pad, most of which feel really unbalanced. Frank can be ordered to perform a frenzy attack that sends him after enemy planes. The thing is that Frank is never shot down while performing this move, even though he really should be – so the balance is completely thrown off. Of course, your near infinite health doesn’t help matters much either.

Whenever your plane begins to sputter from taking too much damage you can call on Joe, your trusty Southern mechanic. Rather than having Joe simply repair your plane, you have to go through a series of button combinations. If you get it right (which is sort of hard to screw up), your plane is repaired. The actual mechanics behind plane repairs is pretty cool, but it throws everything out of whack. The only restriction is that you have to wait for Joe’s meter to recharge before using the ability again. There’s no limit to how many times you can switch to your secondary fuel line or put out a fire in your cockpit.

Tom is the last superman on your team. His special ability allows him to somehow taunt enemy planes into attacking him rather than you. The thing is that no one is ever shot down, so it is a no-risk solution for when you’re under fire. When using all three abilities, the only way you can die is by crashing or some cheap mission parameter like the aforementioned Midway issue.

Were it not for the lack of flight games on consoles, Blazing Angels might be something to pass on. However, if you’re a fan of the genre, Blazing Angels makes a good rental at the very least and a purchase only if you’re dying for online dogfights.