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0:39 "The war seemed to unfold in the blink of an eye," says our young narrator. Forces from the west occupied his town. Jack boots marching. A cat licking rainwater from a puddle. Through it all he searched the skies for that yellow 13. "Though we lived in the 21st century, we were reduced to using crystal radio and horse-drawn carts." His uncle drowned himself in drink, while he played harmonica in the town bar for loose change. He had a crush on the barkeep's only daughter. I'm really liking these story scenes. It's a complex counterpoint to the destruction in the skies above.
0:42 "Mission 02: Imminent Threat." We have to "turn the parking ramp at [enemy air base] Rigley into a junkyard." I have enough money from the last mission to buy a napalm bomb. I love the smell of napalm at, er, lunchtime.
0:44 "Thirty miles to Rigley air base. Use the power lines to navigate north." Er, how about if I just follow you guys?
0:47 I take out a few stragglers in the air and then go for the base. I get a little cocky during a loop, though, and crash into the ground before I can pull up. KABOOM! Time to retry, I suppose.
0:48 This time I crash into one of those power lines I was supposed to be following. Maybe I should fly a little higher, eh?
0:52 The radio is full of enemy chatter about the destruction we're raining down on their base. They're just sitting ducks on the runway there, save for a few measly anti-aircraft guns that are easy enough to avoid.
0:53 I stupidly decide to use my guns because I'm a bit tired of using missiles. I manage to take out an anti-aircraft gun... but can't manage to pull up in time. KABOOM again. Next time, I'm sticking to missiles...
0:56 OK, I lied, I want to conserve my missiles a bit. I get my first gun hit on an airborne enemy! Whoo!
0:59 Now I'm really getting into the swing of things, making a few gunning runs over the near-defenseless, grounded fighters. I'm even using my new napalm bombs to take out a few at once. The confused chatter on the enemy radio makes it all the more satisfying. I'm having so much fun, I almost don't even notice when I crash into the ground yet again...
Would I play this game for more than an hour? Yes.
Why? It strikes a good balance between simple, twitch shooter and slow-paced flight sim, with an intriguing, well-presented story. What's not to like?
This column is based on a used retail copy of the game picked up for a steal during a clearance sale.
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