Secret Weapons Over Normandy

THE BAD:
I'm stuck on the 14th level, and there are 15. the last five levels are incredibly difficult, and unfair (allied airfields you can land at, but no allies in the air with you, what's up with that?) and I've read, that after completeing all 15 missions and all the challenges, you can fly TIE fighters, and X-wings in the Instant Action mode, which sounds incredibly cool.

SUMMARY:
in total this is the best flight sim/fighter game out there right now, altho many would say crimson skies is better, for a historically accurate fighting game that is super fun, this is the best choice.

THE BAD:
No look-around, bizarre controller set-up, time manipulation, external bombing view.

SUMMARY:
On the back of the box it reads; "you don't have to be pilot to enjoy this game". A more accurate statement would have been "if you are a pilot, you won't enjoy this game". I am extremely disappointed in this game. The controller setup (which is not customizable), is absurd. I was using the "advanced" preset, which is the only one with rudder controls. In this mode the right analog stick is throttle (up, down) and rudder (left, right). Takes some getting use to, but fine , whatever, I'll adapt. Or so I thought. Then I made the realization that it would not let you operate both simultaneously. (ie, throttle down, left rudder or diagonally down and left.) This is unexceptable in an aircombat sim where you need operate several flight controls at the same time in order to keep to the enemies' six. My second biggest complaint is the lack of look around. This the first flying game I'ved played for PS2 that doesn't have this feature and in a dog fight with multiple bandits it is indespensable. I did like the concept of time maninpulation (you can speed up or slow down time in the game) however, I found that it was too easy to stay in "slow" mode the whole engagement. I think it would be better if you could only engage it for 5 seconds and then recharge for 5 seconds. "Fast" mode is fine the way it is and very useful for returning to the airfield, etc. I didn't like the external bombing as I found I got shot up worse and tended to crash more while in it. On the whole the graphics were good and I liked the wide selection of weapons available to the many aircraft that aren't available on any other PS2 flight sim. This game had great potential but, it's controls are it's fatal flaw. The physics are unrealistic as well; with the aircraft rolled 90 degrees it doesn't yaw automatically or even lose altitude. I would definitely recommend renting this before you buy it and if you are a hardcore flight sim enthusiast don't waste your time or money, try "Aero Elite:Combat Academy" from Sega instead.