Luftwaffe Commander (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.6 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Chet Thomas
• Reviewed on: 03/02/1999
• Updated on: 05/01/2000
• Released on: 01/31/1999
• Originally published on GameSpot: Luftwaffe Commander (PC) Review

It's always frustrating to see a promising game ruined by a premature release, but it happens again and again. The game at hand is SSI's Luftwaffe Commander, which could have been an interesting sim offering a unique take on the World War II air war. Instead, it's just a shadow of what could have been.

Luftwaffe Commander is the latest installment in SSI's ongoing Digital Combat series, which includes Panzer Commander and the forthcoming Su-27 2.0. The series offers deep simulations of both contemporary and period sims, with the customary SSI attention to detail. Luftwaffe Commander takes on the World War II flight sim genre from a very specific angle: that of the German Luftwaffe throughout the entire eight-year course of the war. Unlike its big-budget competition - European Air War, Combat Flight Simulator, and WWII Fighters - it concentrates on this one area in great depth. There is only one career available in campaign mode: that of a German pilot. This career takes you from the first trial by fire of the Luftwaffe in the Spanish Civil War, through the French, British, Russian, and West Front campaigns. There are ten planes altogether: four versions of the Bf-109, the He-51, and the Me-262; plus the Allied planes I-16, Spitfire, P-39Q, and P-51, available only in quick and single missions.

The novel approach of creating a German-specific sim allows the developers to create a feel for the unique missions, tactics, and history of the Luftwaffe. They've even included first-person accounts from German pilots. There are 50 missions in all, encompassing the entire historical range of the German air war. The missions comprise the campaigns, and since they're scripted they are generally very tight and interesting. A custom mission option lets you create simple aerial encounters, but I'm damned if I could figure out the purpose of the "fly now" button, which simply drops you into the air with some threats without giving you a chance to select an aircraft or opponent type. There's no true mission editor, so the game is limited to the included missions.

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