A Bomber shot down in flames (B-17: Fortress in the Sky (DS))

Member Name: otalgia

Product:	B-17: Fortress in the Sky (DS)
Date:	23/06/08 (299 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not many plane games written for NDS

Disadvantages: Limited gameplay

About the Game
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Released in 2007 by DSI games B-17 fortress in the sky is a war game based around campaigns using the Boeing B17. The B17 is a bomber plane that was used heavily in World War 2 against key German targets such as Airports, Stations and munitions factories. The name flying fortress was adopted due to its high number of gun installations onboard.

The story of the game is straightforward. You are in charge of a B-17 bomber on a series of 25 missions across Europe. Each mission objective is similar and involves destroying a list of designated targets whilst at the same time fending off any enemy incoming attacks by German planes and ground fire.

This all may sound exciting on paper, but when you start to play the game it's an entirely different experience.

Gameplay
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When the game starts you are asked to create a game save file. You are able to create three of these which are useful if there are several people in your family sharing the console. You are also given the option of playing as a Novice or an Ace. Playing as Novice gives you mores slack from enemy attacks whereas Ace mode is noticeably more challenging.

The game starts by presenting you with your first mission. The mission target is presented to you on a task list that highlights the Primary and secondary targets of your campaign. In the first mission your targets are in Rouen France. The primary target is the Rail Yard and the secondary targets are War Plants and AAA guns.
Whilst this list is being displayed in the lower DS screen an animation of your plane taking off is displayed in the upper screen.

During attack you can click on a navigation map icon and this will show you a map of Europe and highlight the flight plan of the campaign and your planes current position on that plan.

The game has now begun.

After taking off you have to protect your plane from incoming attacks from hostile aircraft. The top screen displays your gun view and the bottom screen displays a side on display of your plane and highlights which gunner is currently selected. To fight off incoming attacks you aim at the enemy using the crosshairs on your gun barrel and fire. You can toggle between the 7 gunners (Bombardier, Navigator, Flight engineer, radio operator, ball turret gunner, right waist gunner & left waist gunner) to choose your best line of fire. Enemy planes appear as small black dots on the horizon and grow into large aircraft as they approach. If you hit the enemy aircraft they explode into grey smoke and dive out of visibility. I found it difficult to locate the incoming aircraft and a rather hit or miss affair when trying to engage in battle. This is mainly due to the graphics which I will discuss later.

If you survive the incoming wave of attack then the game automatically goes into the next stage of the mission which is to avoid incoming ground fire. In this mode the screen displays a vertically scrolling landscape. Incoming fire is represented by grey clouds of smoke which you should avoid by moving your plane horizontally left or right to avoid damage. The CPU controls the vertical speed of the landscape so sadly your only control over the action is this left or right movement.

After this, there is yet another wave of incoming planes to fend off and then you come to the climax of the mission - the bombing run.

To destroy your primary and secondary targets in the bombing run you must release bombs to destroy your targets. The display in this stage of the game is similar to the anti aircraft fire avoidance stage as you are presented a vertically scrolling landscape of targets. The main difference here is that in addition to steering left or right you can also adjust your planes altitude. There is a recommended altitude plan for your attack that is displayed in the Nintendo's bottom screen. Basically, the higher you are, the earlier you will need to drop your bombs. I found it extremely difficult to identify the primary target in this stage and randomly dropped bombs everywhere.

A few more planes to fend off and the mission is over. You are presented with a certificate showing if the mission has been a success or not. If it has then you can proceed to the next mission, if not you can retry the mission again.

I've only detailed the first mission so that you get a feeling of the overall game concept. Each subsequent mission continues in the same vein albeit with different primary objectives and targets.

Graphics
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The graphics overall in this game are slightly block and pixilation is apparently. The landscapes are a mottled brown and unexciting. The turret views and guns are acceptable however the biggest problem is the incoming aircraft graphics. Initially I thought I had some dust on my screen. It turned out to be an incoming German Plane!
Your gun fire has the same look as the planes when they are this size, so it is difficult to pick out the enemy. These graphics, in my opinion, let the game down badly.

Sound and controls
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The music, sound effects and voiceovers are all very good and complement this game well. Cockpit shouts of 'Bandits at Six 'o' clock' over big band bravado music set the scene perfectly. Gun fire sounds are good and metal chaff makes a ping sound like kicking a coke can around. Bomb sounds are maybe a little weak, but overall the sound is good. You can turn off the music, effects & voice over's if required from the game options screen.

Controlling the game is my biggest gripe. For the majority of the game the Nintendo's CPU controls your plane, the flight plan, the duration of each phase of attack and the scrolling across landscapes. The NDS shoulder buttons are utilised for gun selection, the control pad for left, right and altitude movements and the A button for dropping bombs. Little use of the NDS unique functions such as microphone or touch screen is apparent.

My conclusion
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I was initially quite looking forward to playing this game as its genre isn't represented well in the NDS current catalogue. Whether this is down to public demand or unsuitability of the NDS screen size I don't know.

My biggest problem with this game is the overall game play and lack of control over the aircraft. I also found the missions to be very samey and was quickly bored of the game. If you add to this unexciting graphics and uninspiring storyline then I think the chances of returning to this game for a repeat play is unlikely.


Additional details, Price & Availability
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Publisher: DSI Games
Developer: Zoo Digital Pub
Genre: War game

The game was available for £17.98 from http://www.amazon.co.uk at time of writing.


Copyright M Jones (Otalgia) 2008

Summary: A World War 2 plane game that doesn't hit the mark.