Over-G Fighters Xbox 360 review

Do you remember Blazing Angels? Ubisoft really blotted its copy book with that game. It stank. Pretty much everything about the flight-action game was wrong. It's something of a pleasant surprise then for the publisher to release another flight game so soon and one that is the polar opposite of Blazing Angels in terms of quality.

Over-G Fighters is part of Taito's Energy Airforce series. These games are flight simulators not mere flight action games. If you're searching for the instant thrills of Ace Combat then you'll have to look elsewhere. You've probably read a few reviews of the game already by writers that have spat their dummy out because Over-G is not Ace Combat, whinging about stuff such as sense of speed and the like. Sorry, there'll be none of that idiocy here. Let's get on and take a look at the game.

Playing With the Boys

Obviously when I talk about Over-G as a simulator I'm not saying it offers the realism of IL2 Sturmovik or Falcon 4.0. However you can certainly see the resemblance to classic Microprose games of old such as Strike Eagle II and F-19 Stealth Fighter. Here we have detailed head up displays, carrier landings, long range missiles, convincing physics and many of the other elements you'd expect in a flight sim. Taito has done a great job in mapping all the controls to the Xbox 360 pad, making the game easy to get to grips with.

The main element of the game is the Scenario mode. Here we are told via static images of officers and ropey dialogue - in traditional Japanese style - of a variety of missions across the globe. Each mission takes place in a different country and consists of several sorties. The player can choose which to complete, which opens up other sorties and closes others. This means you'll have to play through the single-player mode several times to see all the missions and unlock all the available aircraft.

Radar Radio

One odd aspect of the game is the way some of the sorties don't take very long to complete at all. You start in the air tasked, for example, with downing two enemy targets. You fire two long range AIM-54 Phoenix missiles from your F-14 tomcat, and it's mission over. Don't be fooled by this though, as I've seen some lazy reviews being, the whole game is not like this. Each location features several short missions like this then one or more major mission. The major missions have you taking off from a base or carrier and flying to the target to complete several complex tasks.

Completing these tasks is a matter of using the right plane and weapons load and the intelligent use of your wingman, which you can select from several characters. Other game modes include Challenge, which features a large battle that you can play around in, attempting to beat your highscore and unlock other aircraft. Then there's the Strike mode, where you can set up custom missions to attempt based on locations unlocked in the regular campaign.

Mighty Wings

There's a great selection of aircraft in the game and the external models are superb. The way the light catches them is very impressive. So too is the inclusion of detailed cockpit views with working mirrors. Each of the planes on offer handle differently but all are a joy to fly. Taito has included a very detailed control options section to allow you to alter the joystick response curves which is the sort of thing you'd expect in a big PC flight sim. Preparing for a mission it's possible to totally customize the weapons loadout and then choose to copy that to the wingman, again another PC sim feature.

There are options that control all aspects of the way you play the game, including weapons respawning and flight controls. To be honest though if you set all the options towards the action side of things then you're not going to enjoy Over-G very much. This game deserves to be played as a sim on the challenging difficult levels, trying to force the game down the Ace Combat path makes for a shallow experience. The reason the game has received some poor scores is most likely down to the shallow options being the default and many writers not having the wits to change them.

Danger Zone

After each mission you're treated to a wonderful action replay of the mission you've just taken part in. It's here we see the game really shown off. The aircraft models look fantastic, especially as all the weapons remaining on the aircraft are fully modelled in the correct position. The AI behind the replays is rather smart, ensuring whatever you were doing at the time, you're likely to see the best view of it. Replays can also be saved to watch via the game's replay theatre.

Most of the graphics are very impressive and everything runs silky smooth. The only downside to the visuals are some low resolution textures on the ground. It's often the way with flight sims, so we have ground textures that look fantastic at 3000 feet that begin to look a little blurred when running down low. However the water effects are gorgeous as are all the planes, helicopters and various mobile ground targets. Bases and carriers feature motion capture crews walking around and signalling your plane. And don't believe any rubbish you read about the sense of speed in the game, it's a portrayal of real life, not Burnout Revenge.

Destination Unkown

One of the highlights of Over G Fighters are the game's two multiplayer modes. Though like many Xbox Live experiences can depend on who you're playing with. Thankfully most Over G players seem to have their heads screwed on. Some of the battles can be over too quick, but most of the time the two modes offer a lot of fun. I did experience various connection issues which I hope are fixed. It also suffers the same problem that CoD2 used to suffer in that after matches you're dropped out of a lobby. One hopes this is patched to allow players to stick together when they've found a fun room of folks to spar with.

The simple versus mode sees some four on four action with any of the planes you've unlocked. It's a tricky modes for newbies because some Over G veterans are already going to have the best planes already. The more entertaining mode is Arena. Here four teams of two battle it out from their home base. The aim is to attack the base of the other three team. This is a great co-op versus mode and it's entertaining watching folks desperate to land and refuel/re-arm while their buddy tries to cover them. There's plenty of scope for different strategies and shows the potential of this type of game is only just being explored. Hopefully a sequel, or better yet a patch, would expand this mode.

Take My Breath Away

Over-G Fighters is a whole lot of fun. It looks and plays fantastically well and recalls the days when flight sims were something fun and accessible as well as requiring intelligence. For anyone hankering after the classic period of Microprose simulations then you really should take a look at this game. There's so much to enjoy about the game such as the tension of learning to land an F-18 on a carrier, or take out a tank platoon covered by AAA fire when you've only got your gun left.

The game isn't without its faults. The entertaining Xbox Live multiplayer modes could do with some tweaking to get things running smoothly. And yes, some of those short missions are a little too short, I'd have liked the option of starting at one's base for every mission. But on the whole Over-G Fighters is a that really deserves your attention.