Snoopy just avoids dive bombing into oblivion (WWI Red Baron (PS2))

Member Name: davey_26

Product:	WWI Red Baron (PS2)
Date:	24/10/09 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good range of weapons, fun fights, detailed enemies, multiplayer

Disadvantages: Very short, very linear, graphically the surroundings are poor

Red Baron was a game I came across sitting in the bargain basement bin of a soon to be extinct choices store and since it is possible to come across some cracking games very cheaply I decided to take a chance on this.

The game pits you as Snoopy who has been tasked with taking on the enemy red baron. You are placed in charge of various bi and tri planes which you will use in order to fight the enemy over various missions including bombing raids, aerial dogfights and rescue missions. The game itself is set in the era of world war one and will see the missions taking place over 6 worlds.

For those who were fans of the peanuts, you will find that these characters have also been given a position in the game to fighting alongside Snoopy but not as playable characters.

In order to carry out your missions, you are equipped with many weapons which of course are indicative of the less serious nature of the game and these include water balloon launchers and homing bottle rockets as well as a machine gun.

All of the weapons at your disposal can be upgraded as you make further progress in the game. What this means is that the power of any one weapon can be strengthened to allow for a much more potent impact when used on enemies.

There is also a multiplayer feature of the game which allows you to fight a series of death matches against your opponent. This adds some variation to the game and allows of course for friends to join in, of course if they are anything like me, they will probably through the controller down in disgust when they are being pummeled!

While this game does have some nice features and the missions themselves can be quite fun it does have some real downsides to it. Firstly the missions themselves are quite short but secondly they are very linear, not offering the possibility of much exploration, just simply flying through a predetermined path to the end of the mission.

The controls to are a little awkward but seem to become easier as you use the game more. The camera angle seems to remain quite balanced throughout and therefore providing you with good coverage of what lies ahead and the graphics while looking quite suspect on the ground detail, cope quite well in terms of detail on the enemies.

This is by no means a bad game and is in keeping with a game which is clearly not aimed at adults and is aimed at a much younger audience. However that being said, while it lasts, it does have it's moments and if you can find it bargain basement, it might be worth purchasing.

Summary: A game for young snoopy fans