Knights of the Sky
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: MicroProse | Sound: |
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| Year: 1991 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Flight simulation | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 2 by modem | Rating: |
8/10 | |
In French, Les Chevaliers du ciel (no relation to the TV series), a romanticised take on World War I, where aviation pioneers risked their lives in flying soapboxes for their country—and, more importantly, for glory. That’s exactly what you’re invited to do here, soaring over the pastoral landscapes of northern France…
Knights of the Sky features a full campaign where you’ll encounter some of the great names in aviation history, as well as a lighter mode that throws you straight into the action: aerial dogfights within machine-gun range.
You can choose from about twenty planes, which are fairly well-modelled from the outside but oddly identical from the cockpit view. Strange… As usual, the camera angle is adjustable, and various settings let you tweak realism and difficulty. There’s even a replay mode to admire your exploits from every possible perspective.
The scenery is colourful and relatively detailed, though altitude and ground movement aren’t perfectly conveyed. I also ran into some strange, motionless objects in the sky—like they were stuck to the ceiling. Spotlights, perhaps? The True Man Show?
Most importantly, the controls are simple yet engaging. It’s easy to dive in, but the game still has enough technical depth to keep you improving over time. The early-20th-century atmosphere also won me over.
Specialist reviews at the time criticised the Amiga version for being less fluid than the PC release. On an emulator, it’s smooth sailing. I didn’t even need to install it on a hard drive.
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