Blazing Angels set the Wii on fire!!

Introduction
I’m no hard-core gamer, but I do enjoy playing them. Some games I leave for the kids, because they are way beyond me, but this is game is excellent for all levels.

The story line
The story begins in the early part of WWII, when a volunteer American (you, the player) comes over to “Blighty” to join the RAF.
You commence training, and upon graduation, are sent into action. You help to cover the retreat at Dunkirk, & defend the skies over London during the battle of Britain. Then when America looks like joining the war you go home, just in time to see action at Pearl harbor, and then on through the Pacific campaign, Yada, Yada, Yada, ….you get the picture.
In essence, there actually is a plot to this game, and reasonable amount of historical accuracy. Certainly there’s enough to engage you to such an extent that you’ll sometimes go back to replay a particular challenge, so that you can get through with fewer losses on your side, and protect the virtual troops better!

Game Play
The controls set-up is very customizable for this game, but like I said, I’m a casual player, not a hard-core gamer, so I tried one set-up, it works for me, and I stick with it.

Essentially you can play with just the Wii remote, or with the Nunchuk too. You can have either of them motion sensitive, or both not. You can select for left or right-handed play (which is basically which controller is in which hand)
I play with the Nunchuk, in the “Nunchuk Sensitive” mode and right-handed. This way I have the WII control in my right hand, the Nunchuk in my left, and the Nunchuk is motion sensitive. This allows me to make the command decisions, in a conventional button pressing manner, on the Wii remote with my right hand, while I fly and shoot with the Nunchuk in my left. The motion sensitive controls here are excellent, and using them in conjunction with the joystick on the Nunchuk gives excellent control in all three axes (Roll, Pitch & Yaw). It may take a little practice at first (and that’s why there’s a training mode at first), but it is extremely intuitive, and pretty soon it is second nature.

As you progress through the game, the number and types of aircraft available to you increase. Each one has its own handling characteristics, and its own strengths and weaknesses. It’s also just not a case of finding one that suits you and sticking with it. Different missions have different requirements, and aircraft choice plays into this as well.

Throughout the game you will have to perform air defense, close support, ground attack, marine warfare, and photo reconnaissance tasks. You’re up against the clock as well as the enemy, and it only gets more difficult at the game progresses……..but then again, who ever told you that war was easy?
The action fits well with the story line, and though the graphics are not as “true-to-life” on the Wii as on some other platforms, they are plenty good enough here, as are the sound effects.
The result is a truly absorbing challenge that can chew up several hours very quickly indeed.

But all is not perfect, especially for a casual-playing old-fart like myself. You only get to save the game at the end of each mission, and there can be several challenges to the mission, so being able to save at the end of each challenge would be a good thing as far as I’m concerned. I also have a limit both to my abilities, and my patience. Having yourself and two wingmen to deal with twenty to thirty incoming aircraft is one thing, but having to do it two or three times in a row just to complete a single challenge?

I realize that modern games are pitched at kids who’ve been playing these things all their days, have reactions like a race-car driver, and see anything less than the near-impossible levels of difficulty as having no challenge, but there are other prospective customers too. There are still some of us who spent our teen years with “Pong”, and progressed onto “Space invaders” who enjoy playing the games, but for whom arthritis and stiff joints are less than decades away!

Couldn’t the programmers put in a “Plodders” mode, where we “big kids” can still enjoy the game, but in smaller doses. Allow more saves, reduce the number of enemies, but still enough to keep it interesting? If it gets too easy, we could still go back to “Youngster” mode, and play like an eighteen year old.

There are a lot of over forties with disposable income that enjoy video games, but only need ones with a joystick and three buttons to be happy. Can’t the programmers just “dumb down” some of the games to tap into this market?

It is also possible to lose control of your aircraft if you are at too great of an angle horizontally, or vertically, from the Wii remote sensor bar. I have the Wii connected into a DLP 52” TV in the corner of the room. This unit sits on the floor, and stands about four feet tall. My remote sensor is on top of it, and none of the seats I play from are taller than two feet.
It can get frustrating to be in the middle of a heated battle, and all of a sudden your aircraft stops responding to commands. Especially when you get your butt blown out of the sky because of it, and have to start the entire mission again! So don’t get too far away, and try to stay directly in front of the sensor bar.

Summary
A good progressive story line, excellent play controls, believable characters, and plenty of features.
This is not just one for the teenagers. It exploits the capabilities of the Wii in one of the best ways possible.