History Channel Battle of Britain 1940 (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Bruce Geryk
• Reviewed on: 11/07/2003
• Released on: 10/16/2003
• Originally published on GameSpot: History Channel Battle of Britain 1940 (PC) Review

You wouldn't know it from contemporary game sales figures, but flight sims were once the most popular genre in computer gaming. The flight sims that have tried to cater to casual game fans have generally done so simply by removing all the "simulation" aspects from the game. Battle of Britain, a budget title from Activision Value Publishing and iEntertainment Network, takes a refreshing approach in that rather than taking out the challenge entirely, it tries to ease players through the frustrating aspects of virtual flight so that they can experience the rewards themselves. It's successful in most ways.

Battle of Britain bears the History Channel license, but it's actually the venerable Warbirds III engine with a number of features tailored to beginning pilots. Even though the game is entitled "Battle of Britain," you'll perform your training missions in a P-38 Lightning. That shouldn't be a problem for anyone but the most hardcore of pilots. What's more notable is that, in addition to the tutorials, there are some demonstrations of common maneuvers like the Immelman, yo-yo, and barrel roll, which show players what is involved and explain their tactical significance. It's useful, and fleshing these out into a full-fledged combat flight school would probably have been even more helpful. As the game stands, novice pilots will get some benefit from the tutorials, but they'll get even more from the autoflight feature, which is the game's most interesting aid.

At any time during the scripted campaign (or any of the other missions), players have the option of engaging the "fly me" toggle, which invokes the game's AI on behalf of the pilot. This assists the player in several ways. First, pilots without the experience to advance the campaign can essentially have the AI complete the game for them by simply hitting the panic button when they feel they are at their wits' end. There's nothing quite as satisfying as having your Nazi tormentors dispatched to the English Channel with the click of a button. This is much more instructive than simply being able to skip missions, because players can watch the AI fly and observe its tactics. It's also a nice safety net for those who might become frustrated at not being able to complete a campaign because they get stuck somewhere. The "fly me" mechanic is another idea that should be fleshed out to give new pilots more insight into why dogfight tactics develop the way they do. As the game stands, it does a good job of explaining the basics to new players in a fairly challenging genre.

Since it's the Warbirds engine, the game is very stable in flight, and machines that meet the modest system requirements should run the game smoothly. The graphics are decent, with nice aircraft models, crisp 2D cockpits, and passable terrain. Once you're in flight, you have a choice of three flight models, ranging from "arcade" to "full realism." Even the arcade model feels, at least, somewhat realistic, and the concessions made to inexperienced pilots include being generally forgiving. Energy management and realistic maneuvers still rule the skies in this game, and the flight models feel, at least, somewhat comparable to similar aircraft in more hardcore simulations. It's a case of "smoothing the edges" rather than turbocharging everything. Stalls are almost nonexistent, for example. Blackouts and redouts are pretty abrupt, however. One consequence of gearing a game toward novices is that the solo game enemy AI is rather weak. Experienced flight simmers will find it a bit disappointing, but newcomers will probably have their hands full.

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