Red Wings: Aces of the Sky

One of the things I love the most about reviewing games is the wide variety of genres that I get to play. There are so many great games I would have likely missed because they don't fall into a genre I normally enjoy. One of those games is Red Wings: Aces of the Sky from Polish developer All In, which puts you in the cockpit of some of the most iconic airplanes from the first World War. I figured that it would be yet another aerial dogfighting simulator that I would appreciate but not really enjoy. Boy was I wrong. With a focus on arcade action and accessible gameplay, I found this mile-high shootout to be impossible to put down.

Red Wings takes us high above the deadly battlefields of World War I as either a member of the Triple Alliance or the Triple Entente. In one storyline, we fight alongside the infamous Red Baron as he makes a name for himself by winning one battle after another. The opposing story sees a ragtag group of young pilots joining the 19th Squadron in hopes of shooting down the Red Baron and his Flying Circus. Both of these stories take us through the characters and mindsets that made up the different sides of the war, as well as giving us plenty of incentive to shoot down the enemy planes.

And that's exactly what you do through 50 bite-sized missions. No matter if you play as the Alliance or Entente, the game will cycle through the same few types of missions. A fairly standard level will have you shooting down a few dozen enemies or trying to protect your squadron from the other side. Sometimes you'll need to take out the enemy's reinforcement balloons or destroy one of their deadly zeppelins. And when you get sick of dodging bullets, you'll go on an overhead bombing run or race through a bunch of rings in order to get the fastest time.

All of these different types of missions are fun because the game is so damn easy to play. Right from the very first mission, I immediately felt in control and had no trouble taking down enemy planes. That's typically the part I struggle with when it comes to aerial dogfights, since it's so easy to get turned around and lost in the horizon. But that's not the case here, thanks in large part to the focus on arcade-style action. Moving the plane around couldn't be easier, and I like how you can zoom in the aim by pulling the left trigger, almost like it's a modern-day first-person shooter. You'll never get twisted or turned upside down, and the game does an excellent job of keeping the action in front of you. Even if you fail to shoot down the target, you'll have no problem finding another plane or balloon to engage.

It helps that we're given a few incredibly useful special abilities right from the first mission. For example, you'll be able to make a sharp 180 degree turn by simply pushing one of the face buttons, a move that is sure to confuse and frustrate the enemy planes. There's also a barrel roll that essentially makes our hero invincible for a short time and even slices the competition in half when timed correctly. One of the most useful abilities is a finishing move that sees us whip out a pistol and shoot the enemy pilot. That not only gives us a stylish cinema, but also refills a small amount of health. It's also worth mentioning that every one of these abilities can be upgraded as you play through the storylines. And best of all, there's only one upgrade path that carries over between sides, so you won't have to buy the same upgrades more than once.

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That's one of the many smart decisions made by the developer. Beyond the easy gameplay and non-stop action, I like that the missions are often short, clocking in at only a few minutes. In fact, you'll often earn extra stars for beating the stages as quickly as possible. This keeps the momentum going and means that you'll never get into one of those long, drawn-out battles that can be so frustrating in this tyle of game. Red Wings is good about giving you incentives to keep the action as fast and exciting as possible, especially when it comes to the scoring system. There are a number of missions that will want you to earn as many points as possible, so it's up to you to keep shooting down enemies until the combo expires. It's in these more aggressive moments when you'll feel the most unstoppable, which is one of those things this game is incredibly good at.

Sadly, there are a few minor issues that bring the sky-high Red Wings back down to Earth. One of those is the level designs, which is basically just a wide-open arena over a bunch of changing backgrounds. The game will occasionally add clouds or a wind storm, but it would have been fun to see more obstacles get in the way of the dog fights. Even if they didn't want to take the action through the cities, I was hoping to at least swerve around mountains and bridges. Unfortunately, there's nothing like that here, and it ultimately leads to a lot of stages feeling the same, even if they don't necessarily look the same.

I also wish the game had more multiplayer content. It's certainly worth mentioning that Red Wings allows for two-player splitscreen co-op for both sides of the campaign, which is a nice touch. The problem is that there isn't anything for online players, not even a big free-for-all mode. These large, wide-open arenas are begging to be turned into 16 player deathmatches, but there's nothing like that here. The most you can do is a competitive one-on-one dog fight against another local player, which just isn't as much fun as going up against a bunch of enemies.

While the lack of multiplayer options is a little disappointing, it won't overshadow this otherwise excellent game. From the fast-paced action to the stylish art design, this is one of the best aerial dog fighting games you can buy on current home consoles. Even as somebody who tends to have trouble enjoying this type of air combat game, I found that Red Wings was easy to get into and tough to put down. This is the most fun I've had in an airplane since Crimson Skies.