Blazin’ Aces Review – Intense Retro-Aerial Gameplay With Unique Controls

Red Dot Lab recently released an HD version of their game Blazin’ Aces .

. Set during World War II, the game follows the exploits of an amazing and nameless fighter pilot, known only as the Ace. The game becomes intense very quickly past the tutorial level, and requires a good amount of concentration to shoot down enemies

Each mission in the game is set in a 2D map, with planes being launched through the air on a type of catapult contraption. It’s not explained, but I’d venture to say that it’s because there isn’t any room in the map for a runway, much less two to represent the allies and the enemies. The only objective in each level is to earn the minimum number of points before the enemy does by damaging and shooting down airplanes. As planes take more damage, they start to trail smoke and fire. They’re also more difficult to control, and require more work from the pilots in order to keep them off of the ground. Players cannot fly past the top of the screen – and crash if they get too close to the bottom – but travel from the right to the left, or vice versa, instantly. Be warned that the change is sudden and can be disorienting.

Several power ups parachute down from the sky on a regular basis, giving players a one-time-use power in their dogfights with the enemy. Later levels allow AI allies and enemies to pick up these power ups and use them during missions; these extra abilities include a homing missile and a shotgun blast. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I know what every power up does, or even easily relate each symbol to the powers. The symbols are very small, and there isn’t a list within the game that explains how each one works. It’s an unfortunate flaw that adds a lot to the learning process of the game.

The controls are actually quite simple. Players move their airplane around using two directional buttons, left and right. Depending on where the aircraft is heading, pushing the button that leads in the same direction lowers the nose of the plane, while pushing the other raises it. There’s also a button with a target on it that allows the player to fire machine guns through the air in a wild burst. Protip: the guns overheat if they’re pressed for too long, so firing in short bursts is the way to go. The star button allows players to use their power ups, and the rotation button allows the player to turn the plane over on its head, giving them a very short invulnerability in order to dodge bullets. Finally, there is the eject button that allows players to abandon their aircraft and run towards the central tower in order to get in another. This is a good way to get into a fresh plane without losing points.

The tutorial gives players an easy time in learning how to move around, but putting it into practice does change things. It’s very difficult to hit any target unless the player gets right up behind them (similar to how air combat occurred in World War II). The enemy AI is also quite good at swerving and dodging, and it takes a couple good hits to destroy an enemy instead of just wounding him. This may come as a source of frustration to some because enemy pilots will not have as difficult a time hitting and following the player’s plane. It takes a bit of time and trial and error in order to master the controls.

Another interesting feature that I believe deserves praise is the element of gravity in the game. It’s constantly present, meaning that planes don’t fly in a straight line, but in a curve unless you keep correcting the heading. Flying loops and upwards slows planes down somewhat, and the only way to pick it back up is to use gravity and fly downwards. It’s a good system that keeps things interesting. You can’t pull off a tricky maneuver if your speed’s low, and chasing after a faster plane heading towards the top of the screen will stall the engine on the player’s aircraft.

The game is visually simple, or at least it seems that way. The models used for aircrafts, power ups, and pilots are tiny. It also seems that the plane you fly in battle is chosen at random, and likely has little to no effect other than how it looks. It’s evident that there are a few interesting details in the looks, but most of them are lost because of the small size. On the good side, the elements that affect the gameplay, such as the bullets, smoke, fire, and explosions are good, and keep the game interesting and dynamic. In a good level with multiple planes, there’s an almost constant battle, with planes taking damage and exploding in the air regularly.

The campaign mode in Blazin’ Aces has four chapters, each with four missions that comes to a total of 16 levels. There’s also a Skirmish mode that allows players to set up a level and choose the number of enemies, allies, difficulty, and the setting. The game is memorable, but I found the challenges in the campaign to be enough.

The story that follows the campaign is very simple, following the Ace through vague stories of combat exploits. Each part of the story is told using an illustrated comic, but nothing more. The music for Blazin’ Aces follows the normal trend for military-based games, making them simple and high-tempo in order to promote the action. It also tends to be a little inspiring, though sadly it’s the same song for each level.

I found Blazin’ Aces to be pretty fun, but there were definitely a few issues that came up. The gameplay, as I said before, is simple, but it’s hard to fine-tune the steering in order to make sure you shoot down your targets. I also came across a few bugs during my play through on the iPhone. Namely, I had an error pop up a few times that crashed the game during a level, though later on I was able to get past it and keep playing. Additionally, trying to restart a level manually from the pause menu froze the game.

The developer was made aware of these issues but was unable to replicate them. They believe that these bugs are uncommon and that a fix for the game should be out shortly. The game is available for iOSand Windowsmobile devices for the price of $1.99.