Review: Freedom Wings
Score: 66
As regular readers may know, I'm a sucker for flight simulators and the screenshots on the back of Freedom Wings hinted at a full WWII fighter experience.... I didn't quite get what I bargained for, but I had some fun along the way....
It probably goes without saying that because this is a Nintendo DS game and not a PC one, there's no way that a full flight simulator would be released (though see my F18 review). So, rather than being given missions and then being allowed to fly them how you like, this is more of a 'follow the story and tap the screen at the right time' game.
This does make the game easier for most people but unfortunately will frustrate anybody who actually wants to play the game, i.e. a flight sim fan. Take offs and landings are all automatic, opponent 'pirate' aircraft are spotted using radar and then targetted automatically, even the dog-fighting is automatic, by default. So one tap on the screen and then you sit back and watch..... Zzzz........
All is not totally lost though, because a) there's a manual mode - it's not very realistic in terms of flight model, but at least you can fly on your own, performing outrageous manoeuvres and generally throwing your plane around the sky, and b) because Freedom Wings is not bad to look at. Underneath the simplistic gameplay, there's a decent 3D engine waiting to get out, with a good frame rate, almost adequate ground detail and very nice explosions.
The dual screens of the DS and DS Lite are used fairly well - after all, flight sims are notorious for the amount of information they need to throw at you, and there's plenty of colour and action.
The aim of the game is to keep winning dogfights, amassing 'points' and cash and upgrading your plane. This works well enough and the single-cartridge multi-player mode lets you while away an hour or two with some DS friends without having to dip into your pocket again.
There's enough here for a fan of flight sims to appreciate - for a short while at least, though the unrealistic flight mode means that Freedom Wings ultimately fails to live up to its early promise.