European Air War
- Publisher: Microprose
- Developer: Microprose
- Format: PC
- Genre: Sim
- Players: 6
- System Requirements: 200 Mhz PC, 32 MB Ram, 100 MB HD space, 4X CD
- Recommended: P2 400 Mhz, 3d accelerator, 64 Mb Ram,Force Feedback Joystick, 20 X CD, 56K modem, moxie and a mastery of physics.
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- Graphics: 7/10
- Sound: 10/10
- Control: 10/10
- Gameplay: 10/10
- Overall: 9/10
- Reviewer: Madgrad
- Reviewed On: 5.19.99
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Opening
Many many years ago, in a glaxy far far away....wait...sorry....got Star Wars on the brain. Anyway, a few years back
Microprose released the much hailed Pacific Air War, a flight sim dealing with the Pacific Theatre of operations for both
Allied and Japanese air forces. Well, time has passed, and the fans were clamoring for a sequel. Luckily, Microprose never dissapoints
its consumers, so European Air War was developed. However, a unique little twist of fate hit the game community. Due to "Saving Private Ryan"
and "The Thin Red Line", World War 2 is very "in" right now, so tons of WW2 games are being released. The market is almost saturated between the "Front" series from Talonsoft,
"Commandoes", "Close Combat","Mortyr" and the upcoming "Hidden and Dangerous". But, one area that has really been booming is the WW2 flight sim genre. There are at least four titles just released,
icluding products from Microsoft, Activision, and Jane's. So, how does EAW fare against the stiff competition? Well, each game actually has it's own merits making them buy worthy, so I'll analyze each one in a different review.
And here you though that tis lead in was going to head into a huge comparision of all those titles. Sucka.
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Graphics
Okay, I'M no graphics whore, but I have to ask what in the hell was Microprose thinking? In this day and age,
almost everyone has a decent 3d accelerator, capable of 800*600. And what do the developers do? They go and make this game
640*480 ONLY! That's right kids, throw away those SLI Vodoo 2s, cause this is all you get. The game runs on both D3D and Glide, so no matter what card you have it's quite
playable. But the low resolution hampers the game play quite a bit here. Visual identification of targets is almost impossbile, as you have to get right on top of them to see any markings.
At long ranges, aircraft just pop in to view, and they look like little line across the screen, not real aircraft. Luckily, once you get close to the aircraft, they do have a high level of detail. Your craft can
be seen from one of about 14 camera angles. I especially like the F9 camera for long flights with no one around, so I can zoom in and out of focus on my plane. Using that camera, you can create some really artistic shots against the background of the sky.
The terrain is nice, littered with houses and trees. But, I want to see more rolling hills and mountains for true accuracy. And why does the water no move? If you shoot it or a plane crashes into it, you see splashes and ripples, but at no other time does it move. It's freakish really.
The combat graphics are nice, with each gun having a different sized round and shooting effect. If the planes are hit, they will smoke, crumble, or just plain blow up. Damaged planes are easy to spot due to smoke trails, making them easy picking for almost all of the fighters. So, the graphics are workable, but I must say that Janes WW2 Fighters
won hands down in this category.
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Sound
The sound to this game is simply perfect. The roar of the engines, the drone of the heavy formations of the bombers,
the whine of bombs falling, it's all here in crystal clear sound. Everything just sounded RIGHT for this title, so it all fit together.
I am glad that there was no in game music, as that would really have ruined the experience for me. The planes exploding in mid air could have been a bit louder, but that's my only gripe.
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Control
Controlwise, think if this game as the Gran Tourismo of the skies. It's just that good. The flight model for the aircraft is very good and accurate, so no two planed fly alike.
There are ten planes for you to fly in EAW, each acting as it would in real life. A P47 may be a good ground attack figher, but in a straight dogfight, a FW190 would kick its butt.
Due to the flight modelling, you must handle each craft with care. Turns bleed speed fast and could have you plummetting out of control into the deck. Stalls are possible, so fly with care. On the more positive side for the flyer,
if you pick the right craft and use a little imagination you can pull of a series of perfectly executed moves that will shake any bandit off your tail. For my money, I pick the Supermarine Spitfire becasue it's just so nimble. Just watching it snap into a roll makes me drool.
Another facet is your craft will control differently if it is damaged. Lose an engine in a two engibe fighter, and you will be a sloooooowwww east target. Rudders, fuel line, aierlons, and many other parts of the craft can be hit, making staying in the sky a real fight.
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Gameplay
And now, the final trial: How does it play? Quite simply it is the most immersive flight sim that I have played in a long long time.
The combination of dynmaic campaigns and accurate flight model really make you think that you are there. Plus, there are so many planes in the sky at once that the horizon can often be obscured.
The sense of scale is amazing. When you first escort a bombing raid you will know the feeling the first time a volley of flak goes into the ait. The flack at times is so dense that the lead planes can be obscured. It's scary.
Almost every aspect of flight is accuaretly modeled including the dreaded stall or spin. I'll be damned if I can get out of those half of the time. And the bombing runs are so accurate tha tin order to get your load anywhere near the target, you better know your physics.
I do have a few gripes though. Bombers are WAY too easy to take down in this game. One quick bank across a wing, and the thing just plummets. It's too easy. And at times the AI of the fighters sucks, as kills are a bit easy to get. But all in all, you will be hard pressed to find a deeper, more accurate, and more fun WW2 sim on the market today.
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Overall
What more do you want? An excellent flight sim that excles in all areas except for it's graphics definitely warrants a buy in my book.
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