Stunning visuals with overall fun.
I purchased the collectors game which comes with the flight stick throttle quadrant combo controller. The controller makes a huge difference. For example when you want to do a special maneuver such as the High G turn you would normally have to hold down 3 or 4 buttons with the normal console controller but with the flight stick combo controller its just a single button. This lets your other fingers stay free to switch weapons, cycle through targets and fire a missile up someones tail pipe in addition to change speed with your arm on the throttle quadrant. I have seen plenty of videos of players flying without this fancy controller and they do a great job but the simplified controls on the controller and the sense you get of having your hands around a flight stick and throttle quadrant are tough to beat. This game has some of the best visuals I have ever seen in a flight game. I have flown my share of flight sims from Lockon, Flaming Cliffs, Janes Flight Sims and all the way back to Falcon 3.0 Technology has changed and the 360 is no slouch for outstanding visuals so trust me that this game looks amazing. In one mission involving a fortress on top of cliffs the fortress and cliffs looked so good that I was aww struck. This mission had a great feeling of being there. The smoke from all the hits against the fortress stayed and drifted with the wind so after a while it was like a large fire had occurred and the fortress was obscured in smoke. These are little touches in detail that make this game great. The game has a wonderful balance between being a flight simulator and a flight arcade. I have to give the developers credit for finding that fine line as I used to be a big sim fan so I understand flight dynamics and trading energy but on the flip side I love arcade style flying because its just so much more fun. You can use flight dynamics if you want and this will probably make you one of those harder pilots to shoot down online but if you dont know how a plane flies and dont care to find out you can still jump right in and switch to Novice and go turn and burn without a care. Its nice to have a missile miss or they become one hit one kill with no aim weapons. In this game you will need to get a good line on your opponent to hit them with a missile. This doesnt mean that missiles always miss but does mean you have to line up your shot and not just spam missiles into the air. I like this a lot as numerous times I have launched a lot of missiles at someone and they just out turn them then I think "Thank goodness I can dodge a missile and have a real fight on my hands". This forces some skill into the equation for dog fights and is a welcome change. I haven't tried the online mode yet but I am sure one or two planes will become the dominant choice online. Hopefully we will see some more down-loadable content or the ability to custom paint your planes. As mentioned in plenty of other reviews the cut-scene dialog and voice acting is pretty bad but I really like the stories attempt as it adds character to the game. If you can overlook the voice acting and admire the story even if it is light then I think you will enjoy the campaign even more. We all know you will skip the scenes your second time through anyway so might as well grin and bear it the first time. After all the graphics are really good.
Unlockable content is done well in this game. You can buy and sell planes and weapons which I think adds a nice campaign twist. You will be forced into thinking "Should I buy that special weapon for my wing man or hold onto the cash in case a new fighter unlocks the next mission". These little things really make it fun. There was an old saying I came across a long time ago in a flight sim and I wish I could give the game credit but here it is.
"There are two types of aircraft. Fighters and targets". I always loved that saying but in this game its not necessarily true. Everything is a target from aircraft, bombers, super airships, tanks, buildings, aa guns, towers and my favorite, navy ships. I dont know why but I love attacking navy ships when in a flight game. There is something fun about that nice chunky explosion you get when tagging a ship. But to add to my excitement this game will have radio chatter that says things like, "Destroyer hit she's going down" and "Direct hit on the cruiser shes headed for the bottom". These little radio confirmations also relate to missiles on your tail to your wing mans inability to hit the broad side of a barn but again this is another wonderful little touch that makes this game great.
My only complaints from being an air jockey for so many years is the inability to put a prefix before your name for a squadron designation. In the flight game world being able to identify your squadron is paramount. Hopefully something like this can be made available.
Great job to the developers for getting it right and that means tons of fun for us.
A must buy!