AeroWings

• Release Date: September 09, 1999
• Genre: Simulation
• Style: Flight Sim
• Similar Games: Pilotwings (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), Flight Unlimited (IBM PC Compatible), AirForce Delta (Dreamcast)

Game Description

AeroWings lets you soar through the air as part of a stunt team known for its acrobatic maneuvers and precise formation flying. While you will eventually pilot authentic jet fighters, this is not an air combat game where you engage in dogfights with an enemy. Instead, you'll need to learn everything there is to know about flying a plane so you can eventually join the members of the Blue Impulse flight team. Your primary goal? To become squad leader, of course!

Yet before you take to the skies, you will need to earn your wings from an in-flight instructor who offers a series of lessons to get you accustomed to your craft. Each lesson will be worth 100 points, and you'll need to receive at least a 60 to advance to the next session. Some of the topics you'll cover include learning how to take off from a runway, the proper use of the flaps, adjusting rudders, and even how to use smoke to impress the onlookers watching from below!

The game features a total of four different modes: Blue Impulse Mission, Sky Mission Attack, Free Flight, and Multi-Play. Blue Impulse Mission involves completing a series of techniques to demonstrate your skill in twenty different steps. The first ten steps are broken down into basic flight training as previously described, while the remaining ten consist of performance flight training. The performance flight training sessions will teach advanced techniques such as loops and corkscrews, which are necessary if you want to realize your goal of becoming squad leader.

Once you pass all twenty lessons during the Blue Impulse Mission mode, you then take command of a squadron of planes, issuing commands to fly into different formations using the directional pad. A total of three different views are available during flight: behind (third-person), cockpit, and formation. The cockpit viewpoint features a working Heads-Up Display with such information as heading scale, velocity vector, bank scale, pitch scale, and a whisky mark. Players can opt for a simpler HUD positioned outside of the cockpit that just shows direction, engine thrust, level indicator, speed, altitude, and Gs.

Sky Mission Attack is a mode that tests your navigational abilities as you seek out targets within a time limit. There are a total of eight missions in this mode, each progressively becoming more difficult, and you'll be able to use any plane unlocked during the Blue Impulse Mission mode. Play involves using radar to locate blue targets on each course, which are worth 1,000 points apiece and will extend your time by one minute. There are also additional targets to add to your score: yellow targets will double the point value of any target you find within a certain amount of time, and white targets offer 500 points whenever you pass through them. Complete each mission to earn a new plane!

Free Flight is exactly like it sounds: players are free to choose their plane, stage (there are nine stages or maps in the game featuring different scenery and times of day), and the number of co-pilots in their formation before flying. There is no time limit or requirements in this mode, so players can fly as long as they want. The final mode, Multi-Play, allows up to four people to fly simultaneously on a single screen. Each player will have a basic HUD at the bottom of the screen, and the goal is to work together to perform a successful maneuver. The game will end once the maneuver is completed, when time runs out, or if all of the planes crash.

AeroWings features a total of eleven planes: a T-4, T-4 Blue Impulse, T-2 Blue Impulse, F-86F Blue Impulse, F-4EJ, F-4EJ, F-1, F-2, F-15J, F-15DJ, and an RF-4E. Players can also watch their aerial performances on instant replay, which allows them to select from several camera angles and save their highlights to a VMU (each replay requires 80 blocks of space for a maximum of six minutes of footage). Fifteen blocks are required if players also want to save progress during the game. AeroWings lets players customize the control configuration, select from two difficulty levels and features an optional wide screen mode to expand the formation view. The Jump Pack accessory is also supported to offer vibration feedback during flight.

Roots & Influences

AeroWings is an unusual game to see in the home console format, especially since the PC is traditionally regarded as the best medium to handle the complex nuances of flight. One console game that offers a similar mission structure is 1991's Pilotwings, released as a launch title for the Super NES.

Review: Overall

AeroWings is a curious launch title, as it is definitely aimed toward a "niche" audience. Instead of engaging in heated dogfights associated with a flight combat sim or traveling from point A to point B as in a traditional flight sim, the game has you trying to gain membership on an aerial stunt team. Sound strange? It is! That is AeroWings' biggest strength: you've never played something like this, and it takes you into a world you might not have known existed.

The one game that seems to be close in spirit to AeroWings is Nintendo's Pilotwings, which debuted as a launch title on the Super NES in 1991 (a sequel would also launch with the Nintendo 64 in 1996). Besides the obvious similarity in names, the concept of embarking on a series of lessons in order to receive a grade is what draws immediate comparisons -- only this time your lesson instructor chews you out with vocals instead of text. After failing a few simple exercises early on, I had a flashback of learning how to drive with my father in the passenger seat: "No, no, no! Your OTHER right!" The constant badgering actually makes you want to try harder to impress your instructor, but I'm not sure if that is a benefit or part of a psychological disorder.

Once you finally come to grips with the unique controls of flying an actual plane -- this is the real deal, folks, so you have to rethink your approach after console games like Top Gun, Ace Combat 2, and AirForce Delta -- you begin to earn the respect of your instructor and start practicing the harder stunts. While initial lessons simply involve taking off and getting familiar with the various button functions, once you start performing aerial stunts, the game becomes engaging.

After you have finally mastered the twenty lessons (which will take you many attempts to get right), you essentially complete the Blue Impulse Mission and attain the role of squad leader. So, what's next? Do you take part in a career mode, traveling from city to city earning a specific number of points or cash to upgrade your planes? Unfortunately, once you are done, you're done.

The only things left are the Free Flight and Exhibition modes, both of which let you choose from nine different maps that look like real-world locales, and the number of fellow pilots. You can perform a specific stunt by signaling the appropriate formation with the directional pad (in Exhibition), or fly as long as you want (in Free Flight mode). After the lengthy completion of the Blue Impulse Mission mode, this is a letdown. You're all dressed up with nowhere to go.

There are two additional modes to help extend the game's replay value, however: Sky Mission Attack and Multi-Play. Sky Mission Attack involves finding targets on a map as fast as possible, which is a nice change of pace from the classroom atmosphere of the Blue Impulse. You can also earn additional planes by successfully completing each mission, or try for the bonus "Moonlight" stage. To reach this stage, you must achieve a high score on the first seven missions and unlock all of the plane types, finally tested on your acrobatic moves during the night!

Multi-Play sounds good in theory, but it is not very exciting. Everyone grabs a controller and tries to maintain formation -- yippee! I guarantee that one of your friends will break formation and plummet to the ground to end his or her boredom, at least after realizing that the plane isn't equipped with weapons. So AeroWings is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, which is precisely why it makes a curious launch title, especially when it probably won't sell systems like Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, or NFL 2K will.

Those who enjoy traditional flight Sims will take to this one, but unless you love aimlessly flying in the Free Flight mode, there isn't much replay value after finishing the missions. What is encouraging is that the Dreamcast appears to be receptive to these "smaller" titles, meaning it will offer a diverse lineup of software that caters to many different tastes. That is a great thing, my friends, and it will only help the system's success in the long run.

Review: Enjoyment

This is a compelling title that makes you want to see just how high you can score during each lesson or mission. After you have mastered them, the enjoyment tapers off. The Multi-Play mode is more strange than fun.

Review: Graphics

Realistic graphics and amazing scenery, especially during sunset or at night.

Review: Sound

Authentic sound effects and instructor's voice, but this game needs some Top Gun inspired music to pump you up!

Review: Replay Value

There is plenty to do in this game, but once you have completed the missions, there isn't much incentive to return to the friendly skies.

Review: Documentation

The 28-page manual offers several colorful pictures of actual gameplay and clearly explains the different modes. # E 106959 @@ AeroWings (Review: Enjoyment) @@ This is a compelling title that makes you want to see just how high you can score during each lesson or mission, but after mastering it, enjoyment tapers off. The Multi-Play mode is more strange than fun.

Production Credits

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