Review of Battle of Britain Wings of Victory

[VonStalhein]

Have recently downloaded and am loving the game. I don't usually stick my head out (as you can see this is my first post) but seeing the debate about the 'Out of Eight' review of the game I tried to find an alternative, and thought this one from PC Gamer was pretty spot on. They gave the game 87 out of 100. I've underlined the bits I really agree with...

An excellent hardcore simulation for the air combat enthusiast, especially one with an appreciation for history.
Review by Walter Hurdle.

On June 30, 1940, Hermann Goering, the Reichsmarschall, commander of the Luftwaffe, ordered an attack against Britain�s southern coastline. Ten days later, on July 10, the Battle of Britain began officially. Months later, London would be black, every light and candle extinguished less they create targets for Goering�s bombers. Sirens wailed and vapor trails made by the Luftwaffe scrawled messages of death across the sky.

Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory (BOB2) developed by Shockwave Productions from an earlier version by Rowan, recreates that historic struggle over the skies of Great Britain. The late Winston Churchill set the stage perfectly in his historic Finest Hour speech:

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war; let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, This was their finest hour. Like Churchill's famous words, BOB2 is loaded with the kind of immersion that will give you goose bumps.

The Fast and the Furious

Here is the enthusiast's opportunity to fly virtual simulations of the aircraft involved in those famous air battles, like the Hawker Hurricane, capable of a top speed in excess of 300 miles per hour with its liquid-cooled, twelve cylinder, Rolls Royce Merlin III engine pumping out over 1,000 ponies. It had eight Browning machine guns mounted in the wings. The similarly armed Supermarine Spitfire, a fighter capable of speeds in excess of 350 miles per hour, had the turning ability of a Formula One race car.

Or, take the side of the Luftwaffe and fly the Messerschmitt 109 or the Stuka Diver Bomber, or man the gun station of a German level bomber. The Messerschmitt had only two machine guns, but it also brought two powerful slobberknocking 20mm cannon to the fight. With their fuel-injected engines, the German fighters had superior dive capabilities.

Flight modeling in BOB2 is superb. Unless you fly on novice mode, you'll have to take care to stay within the real flight envelope of your aircraft or suffer the consequences. Enthusiasts know that if you pull negative Gs (usually by diving) in an aircraft with a gravity fed carburetor the result is loss of energy and the real possibility of engine cut off. The Spitfire and Hurricane both have gravity fed carburetors, and the expected loss of energy, a potential disaster in combat is modeled in BOB2.

To avoid placing oneself in such a disadvantageous position, master the Split-S maneuver, enabling a dive without suffering negative Gs.

The sometimes unpredictable handling of the Messerschmitt 109 with its superior dive and climb characteristics is also modeled. It is slightly faster than the British fighters due to a weight to power advantage. But none of the featured German aircraft can out turn the Spit.

An option exists to create additional challenge by setting Engine Management flight preference to manual. Thanks to interactive cockpit controls, if you are so inclined, you can go through the full engine startup procedure. Naturally, the German and British aircraft require slightly different steps.

Whats Under the Bonnet

BOB2 can be played a number of different ways, including Instant Action and Campaigns. Within Instant Action, you can choose from Basic Training, Advanced Training, Dog-fighting, Ground Attack, Interceptions and Historic (missions).

Basic Training allows you to learn takeoffs, landings, circuit flying, squadron take-offs, and squadron landings. If you�re a noob or an arcade flight game fan and plan to tackle a full-blown campaign, you�ll need the practice.

Advanced Training offers follow the leader practice, formation flying, and an opportunity to try your hand at landing with engine failure or heavy damage. You could call this landing practice an opportunity to ready yourself for the inevitable.

Dog-fighting and Ground Attack are self-explanatory. Interceptions lets you preview what it will be like to take on an enemy bomber one-on-one and try attack tactics from either the front or the rear. In other words, you�ll learn what it means to attack a bomber from the wrong end, and that wrong end will vary depending on the bomber.

Finally, the Historic mode puts you in the thick of it during actually battles that occurred between July 19th and September 25th.

I flew a historic battle that put dozens of planes in the air from both sides and furious air defenses on the ground below. This was the attack on South London by the Luftwaffe. I was a turret gunner on a Junkers, flying in formation with my fellow Germans. We flew into a fierce defense of flak and attacking squadrons of Hurricanes and Spitfires.

Wind buffeted my turret station and was audible through the glass. I could look down on buildings and airfields and see the British air defenses spitting death at my bomber. My pilot barked orders and received frantic replies�all in German.

Terrain visuals were sharp and colorful, some of the best I've seen, and the feeling of high altitude was convincing, as good as in Lock-On: Modern Air Combat or IL2: Forgotten Battles. Shockwave's trademark pyrotechnics are also evident in BOB2. Enemy fighters will trail black smoke from oil when hit in the right spot. They�ll go aflame and burn nicely, and when plane meets earth, you�ll experience beautiful fireballs, debris and a huge boom.

On my system, with anisotropic filtering cranked up, the rendering of the water is of the same high quality that I've seen in IL2 and Pacific Fighters. And the cockpits are even better. Exterior shots of the various aircraft are some of the best I've seen and in my opinion rival the aircraft in those two benchmark sims.

Engine sound both inside and outside the cockpit in BOB2 is outstanding. The smooth, powerful rumble of the Rolls Royce Merlin engines is unmistakable. It's a sound you'll memorize.

The A.I. in BOB2 is some of the best I've seen. Enemy pilots are more challenging than in other sims set in the same era. I watched Spits roll into classic maneuvers in an often successful effort to avoid death from my amateurish hands. Sometimes they were too darn good and had me swearing under my breadth as they found numerous but realistic ways to get behind me. I can't remember the last time I faced A.I. this good. I found myself bailing out frequently, my plane aflame and crumbling under me, in an uncontrolled spiral to the Empire�s soil. So much for my Knighthood.

The major shortcoming of this otherwise superb simulation is the complete absence of a multiplayer mode. The lack of multiplayer is the kiss of death for some virtual combat pilots. I haven�t engaged in online air combat on a regular basis since JanesCombat.Net closed shop.

Occasional forays with IL2: Forgotten Battles have been more than enough to sate my hunger for online competition in the flight simulation genre. I actually prefer single-player mode, especially when the A.I. is this good and the sim comes with a first-rate dynamic campaign that enables you to play commander for the duration from the campaign screen. However, if you get bored, even this selection will offer you numerous opportunities to be jump directly to a battle by transporting you into the cockpit of a fighter engaged with the enemy.


To Buy or Not To Buy?�that is The Question

BOB2 is a hardcore simulation for the air combat enthusiast, especially one with an appreciation for history. If you're an addict for online play, you'll probably want to skip this one. On the other hand, if you are a combat flight sim enthusiast who prefers the flexibility to boot up and play whenever you want, Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory is a must buy.



Highs
Strong A.I.; detailed aircraft; realistic flight modeling; nice pyrotechnics; fun dynamic campaign.

Lows
No multiplayer to speak of

Final Verdict
The best simulation to-date of the famous air war between the Germans and the British in WWII. With a multiplayer mode, this score could easily be in the mid-90s. Unfortunately, multiplayer is now an expectation not a luxury.

87%

[Planespotter]

This is an older review, the game has improved even more since it was written, with better AI, new historically accurate skins, better terrain, and a (beta) single player offline campaign which is now my preferred 'BOB fix' [:'(]

Personally I don't miss the ability to play online. The AI is so good, it is almost human without being superhuman (IYKWIM!) And unlike online flying, if I'm drunk I can adjust the skill of my opponents to suit me!!

[;)]

PS Not that I would ever condone drinking and flying, no sirrrrrrrr (hic) sirrrreee!

[Agrippa]

Thanks for putting that together!

[buddye]

I have worked on BOBII as a C++ coder for many years now so my opinion may not be objective.
 
BobII is well worth having on your harddrive if you are interested in WWII air combat simulation and you have an appreciation for WWII Air Combat history.
 
BOBII has its warts and problems as I have fixed many over the years but BOBII is clearly a best value. Where else can you find excellent WWII Sim for $20 and a group of committed workers (the BDG) who are willing to volunteer there time and deliver free updates for over two years (2.03 to 2.07 with 2.08 in works).
 
Check us out at  the Shockwave Forum where the BDG hangs out:
 
http://shockwaveproductions.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=410ca2d05019f964277bcfd8871f78bb