Wings
| Developer: Cinemaware | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Mirrorsoft | Sound: |
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| Year: 1990 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Shoot’em up | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
8/10 | |
You experience the daily life of a young Allied pilot during World War I. In fact, several young pilots, because in this game, when you die, you call in a new recruit and carry on the next mission with him. And like in a role-playing game, character creation involves choosing strengths and weaknesses by assigning points to various statistics (shooting, piloting, mechanics, and endurance). These characteristics continue to evolve throughout the game depending on your performance (well, as long as your soldier still lives).
Missions are divided into three categories: aerial combat in 3D (camera positioned behind the pilot), ground strafing (in isometric 3D, meaning 2D), and bombing (2D top-down view). In total, 230 missions await you, with increasing difficulty and spanning from 1916 to the armistice.
While Wings tries its best to be historically realistic, rest assured, when it comes to controls, it’s far from being a flight simulator. Everything is controlled with a joystick and one button, no fuss.
As usual, Cinemaware has paid great attention to the presentation of its product. Picturesque illustrations and a high-quality soundtrack help create a retro atmosphere. The story itself is told in an original way through a logbook that your avatar is tasked with keeping between battles. Silent film-style interludes pop up from time to time to deliver his feelings.
To sum up, we have a well-presented, accessible, and fun game, offering a fantastic atmosphere backed by a solid story; the perfect blend to make it a classic. It could, however, feel repetitive after a while.
Its remake arrived in 2014.
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