Short introduction

The game starts with a training mission without giving too many details of the story. You play as an American pilot helping especially the English Air Force in fighting the Germans in WWII. From the second mission you will be not alone anymore. Three pilots will join you in the battles. The first one is Tom and he has a defense role. In the third mission comes Joe, the mechanic who can repair your plane in the middle of the battle, and Franck who will hunt the enemy who gets near you. You and these three pilots will form a squadron called The Angels of Dunkirk. Along with your companions you will pilot all the major planes of the WWII in historical battles, from France to England, Africa, USA, Pacific, etc. The game does not give you more informations about the story than I gave you in this article. It just throws you in the middle of the battle after a short cinematic sequence at the beginning of every level. And that's a bad thing for the whole atmosphere of the game.

Stylish graphics

But the game gains in value by its stylish graphics. It's actually the first flight game that has stylish graphics, while other games are just trying to be as realistic as possible. The colors range is changing from one level to the other. This is done to increase the atmosphere of every location in which a battle takes place. In the Pacific the colors palette is concentrated on green to set off the luxuriant vegetation, while in Africa the yellow hue is prevailing to set off the sands of the Sahara desert.

But the most outstanding views can be found in London and Paris. The battles take place near important landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower of the Big Ben. You can even fly under the Eiffel Tower or over the banks of the River Thames. The scenes are very stylish, looking like an artistic painting. The black smoke which creates huge clouds over the sky, and is impenetrable by the light of the sun creates a doomed image of a city destroyed by the atrocities of the war.

The power of your squad

The game was thought to be a squad combat game, creating a tactical touch to the gameplay. In the end they realized a basic squad combat system which is not necessary to be used in order to end the game. Like I already told you, the other three comrades have a unique feature. Tom is like a decoy for the enemy. When you order him to defend you, he will attract all the planes that were attacking you. Although he is under continues fire from this moment on, physically he is taking no damage. So every time you feel yourself in danger, use Tom to attract the enemy.

Joe is the companion that brakes the balance and the realism of this game. He is a mechanic that will help you fix your plane while you are still in the battle. He works like a healer if you compare the game with rpg one. When you call him he will ask you to make a sequence of movements with your plane. If the sequence is correct your plane will be repaired instantly and good as new.

Franck is the one that always attacks. When you call him he will take down at least two enemies. Again, like the other he never dies. This "immortality attributes" along with unlimited ammunition, makes the game totally unreal. So everybody who reads this article will say that Blazing Angels is a very simple game. But this is not true. The number of opponents and their aggressiveness makes the game challenging. Not to mention that you are the main target for the enemies. You are always the one to be attacked along with the convoys (if you have to defend one).

Handling

The game is an arcade, very similar to Crimson Skies, so the handling of the plane resumes to left, right, nose up, nose down, roll left, and roll right. To make the game adjustable for keyboard and mouse control, the developers introduced the 'following camera' option very useful in dog-fighting scenes.