A Review: Aces Over Europe, DOS 1993

The second game is the 'Aces' series of titles from Dynamix and Sierra On-Line and the direct follow-on to the game Aces of the Pacific. The gameplay is almost identical to the first game but is set in the European theatre of war instead. Allowing the player to become a young pilot for one of three factions: the United Kingdom, the U.S.A., or Nazi Germany. Before going on to complete a variety of mission types, from standard dogfights through to strafing runs on enemy troop positions.
 

With my playthrough of this game, I took my time and was more open to the faults and flaws that might have come along with it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Aces Over Europe was actually a better game than the original. The exact frustrations from the first game followed me into this one, but I was more prepared to accept them. There were still issues regarding the scripting and mission flags, in my opinion. I also felt that the same problems with completing mission objectives persisted, but I did find that the more open style of play worked in this game's favor. There was much more breathing room if you made a mistake, and that helped a lot. The AI was certainly improved from Aces of the Pacific, and the wingmen were actually useful at times, instead of being nothing more than circling targets for the enemy. I liked the change of pace with mission types and enjoyed the strafing missions more than I thought I would, though the bomber escort missions were just straight-up annoying. Not nannying them constantly would result in them not reaching their target and the mission being a total failure. The worst part is that you wouldn't even know until you got back to base. Not having a mission failed script or flag that informed the player was, in my opinion, very irritating. I really appreciated the 'zip' mode, and being able to just return to base without having to land, or at times be even remotely close, was great. I loved that this feature removed the annoying and boring grind of the dull flights home. Control responses were better than the original, and some of the dogfights were actually quite engaging and fun to participate in. I will say that I also felt that this game was far more 'arcade-like' than the first, and I'm not sure whether that was something that only I felt or was an intended feature. It did give this game a lower difficulty curve, and I can appreciate that for cutting some slack for new players, or in my case, a rusty veteran.
 

The thing that I felt was most improved by a fair margin was the graphics. The planes were more detailed, and the animations were a little bit smoother. World objects and environments were better-looking, and the smoke and explosion particles were very much improved. There was still an issue for me with the various faction planes looking too similar, but I can agree that this game was certainly prettier than the first.
 

Overall, I liked this game more than I did the first one, but I still feel that it wasn't as wonderful as many people claimed it to be, and that's fine. You like vanilla. I like sticky toffee; everyone has different tastes.


5/10 – Okay!

Signed Off – Leonardo – PSJ

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