Home > Consumer Reviews > Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII

I got this game a week or two ago and wanted to share my endorsement of it. I have very fond memories of Sierra's Red Baron games on the PC and Mac, and the WWII dogfighting action of Blazing Angels strikes the same chord. I haven't gotten terrifically far in the missions -- 5 or so -- but with one exception (the sandstorm level, which is apparently the worst of the bunch by far based on forum posters' complaints) they're fun and present a good amount of challenge.

There are several non-campaign modes. One-on-one dogfights with an "ace" flying the same plane (chosen from all those you've unlocked) pit you against a fairly tough opponent. I've found the difficulty to depend a lot on the kind of plane, though -- the ace dogfight for the very first plane is pretty tough because the weapons are underpowered, but I had other fights that were over in the first 15 seconds. There's an "arcade" mode that pits you against waves of less-challenging opponents. And then there are little "mini-campaigns" which are like one-off versions of the campaign missions (haven't tried them yet).

Then there's multiplayer. I was initially annoyed because I read on Amazon that you could play with up to 16 players online, but there's no mention of this in the game or on the box. From what I've read, Nintendo is starting up its online play service in June, with a Pokemon title as the big launch hoohah, so hopefully Blazing Angels will be updated at that point for online play. Without online, there's still very satisfying 2-player split-screen play, both versus and co-op.

Now, the question for all Wii titles -- how are the controls?
Basically, I like them a lot. Several control schemes are available, and they vary along a couple of axes. First, you've got the choice between arcade-style and simulation-style. Arcade-style makes it sort of simpler to turn, but you can't do barrel rolls; I strongly recommend using simulation and never looking back. There are several different control configurations. There's a single-controller config (no nunchuck), a "classic" config (with nunchuck) which doesn't use motion sensitivity, and the default style which uses both controllers and tilt sensitivity for pitch and roll. You can have the tilt sensitivity on either the remote or the nunchuck (I think the default was the nunchuck, but I liked the remote more).

I did most of my initial play with the wiimote-sensitive version of the default scheme. I really like the feel of turning the remote around in the air to control the plane. Takes some getting used to, but there's a nice nimble feel to it once you do. However, there were certain things that really nagged at me about this control scheme. In particular, the targeting controls are very poorly placed. The analog stick on the nunchuck is used for throttle (up and down), but left and right on the same stick are used to select targets. This is a horrible thing because you're constantly using the throttle during fights, and it's extremely easy to let the stick slip to the side and lose your target. Holding the A button makes the camera track your current target, which makes fighting a *lot* easier, but this advantage is lost if you're constantly switching targets.

Fortunately, it turns out that the dark horse -- the single controller with no nunchuck -- is a vastly superior control configuration. I wound up trying this during multiplayer and can confidently say I'll never switch back. It has the same basic flight feel as the default -- better, actually; there's something very natural about holding a horizontal controller and tilting it around, sort of Excite Truck style, in the way that one might when getting a little excited about a game with no motion sensor controllers at all. The big advantage, though, is that the less-commonly-used functions are out of the way. The B button
(trigger) is used as a shift button to enable these lesser-used functions. It just works a whole lot better, and you don't have to fuss with the nunchuck -- love it!

So... yeah. Fun game if you like flying around and shooting down Nazis.
And who doesn't?

in Blazing Angels you play the part of a WWII pilot and guide him through his war experience, through training and in several missions in key battles during the war. While the game makes innovative use of the Wii's control system, the game falls short in graphics and lacks a real addictive element to draw in the average gamer.

Audience: I thought, with the Wii's control system, that this game would be a blast for anyone, but I was at least partially mistaken. I'm not a flight sim fan, and it turns out the game couldn't really capture my attention for very long despite the cool control setup. This game would probably appeal to WWII fans and/or fans of flight games, but its appeal outside those demographics is limited.

Graphics: Definitely a shortfall here. I don't expect stellar graphics from the Wii, but I had a difficult time even identifying ground targets at times. I guess the red boxes that outlined my targets were supposed to make up for that...

Gameplay: The missions I played (and I didn't get all the way through the game) were pretty standard for this type of game--escort something, blow up a convoy, protect a bridge, etc.

Control: This is the game's strong point for sure. There are several control options, which let you choose between using the motion sensor capability on the Wiimote or the nunchuck and give you a wide variety of other options for controlling your craft.

Challenge: Some parts of the campaign are really challenging. There is also a single player dogfight mode that offers a wide range of difficulty.

Storyline: The campaign storyline was enjoyable, and the scenes in between fights were well done.

Overall this is a...well, an adequate game. Despite the game's excellent use of the Wii's controls there was nothing in the game that really made me want to continue playing it. If you're into WWII games or flight sim games I'd definitely recommend giving this one a shot--if not it may be just worth a rental.

What Blazing Angels for the WII does right far outweighs the few downsides. Capturing the thrill of flight and the adrenaline rush of dogfighting the controls are EASY to pick up initially (I like the Nunchuck sensitive arcade control in my right hand with the wii mote laying on my leg like a control panel. This leaves all the primary plane controls (pitch, angel, acceleration, both weapons)in one hand and it just feels right to me, the downside of this control scheme is that you need to use your other hand to make formation adjustments and camera changes, but I find it works great. Gameplay is fun with the standard issue WWII action and dialogue and the SFX are terrific in this game as you unlock more powerful planes and guns. The game has a great amount of unlockable content, and is the perfect combination between aracade and sim. Many experienced fliers might find the options a little thin eventually. There doesn't appear to be any online (yet?) so don't buy it for that. Recommended heartily.

When the Wii was first announced to have motion sensitive controllers I like many people anticipated that this would translate well to flight simulators. It's true. The game has many different controller modes that you can choose. You can use only the remote, the joystick on the nunchuck, and my favorite the motion sensitivity of the nunchuck which makes it feel like you're using a joystick to fly.

The game is fun, the graphics aren't the best but I think that Wii is showing the games derive more of their quality and fun from game play rather then detailed graphics. You fight in about 8 different battles with your choice of many different planes. My only major complaint is that it's such a short game in terms of the campaign. The 8 missions will likely take you less than an hour per mission.

However, there are multi-player and single-player challenges. It's a war game but not really too graphic for children. I'd recommend it for anyone over the age of 13. Overall its fun, just a little short for my taste but it seems that all World War 2 games seem to suffer from that weakness.

I was really surpised at how great this game plays when you finally get the hang of the flying technique. The learning curve is about an hour and you are pretty much forced to learn the controls fast in order to move on. The graphics are good as well they could have been better. Being that the game comes on 4 platforms ps3, xbox pc and wii it's understandable why there is no significant graphics upgrade. I will commend them for the battles though. You really feel like you are in a war when you fly high and zoom down on the enemy. The motion sensing of the wii controls is by far the best since I have played this game on the xbox 360, and playstation 3 before hand. This is for sure one game on the list that plays better simply because of the wii control system. Rolling, diving, bombing, and gunning all seem like butter on the wii nunchuk. This game is a must have. Can't wait for the second version to come later. PS. love the hazy look of the battle scenes... smoke and fire all over the place!