AeroWings 2: Air Strike Preview

The original AeroWings is an enjoyable and engaging flight simulator, devoted more to midair acrobatics than point-to-point travel. The physics are realistic, the stunts impressive, and the camera angles highly immersing. Unfortunately, a way to put your skills to the test was MIA! Let's face it, when you're strapped into the cockpit of a multimillion dollar aircraft, you want to ram a few missiles up enemy afterburners. Hearing the call, Crave is back with the next installment in the AeroWings franchise, AeroWings 2: Air Strike.

AeroWings 2 features four modes: fighter pilot, tactical challenge, free flight, and versus. The fighter pilot mode is your route to the top, from lowly cadet to Top Gun ace. This mode will offer 30 missions in all, ranging from airborne stunts and tactical training to adrenaline-pumping weapons training. After you've trained in the fighter pilot mode, you can test your mettle in the game's 15 tactical challenges. Think you've got skills? You'll need to give it all you've got as you engage ace pilots in dogfights through treacherous low-altitude or low-visibility combat situations. The free flight mode lets you create your own scenario by giving you a choice of arena, weather, and number of opponents. Finally, the versus mode lets you and a friend duke it out mano a mano.

Before AeroWings fans start worrying, rest assured that AeroWings 2 will possess the same airtight control and G-pulling gameplay. You'll still be able to do figure eights and high-G turns, as well as a plethora of other aerobatic stunts. The game will still contain the same realistic physics mixed with the right balance of comfortable control. You'll just be putting your skills to use in more harrowing situations this time around. Pack some spare underpants, because you're going to need them if you intend to master all of the game's 25 aircraft. With a range of US and Japanese fighter jets, such as the F-1, F-16, F-14E, and F-86F, there's sure to be an airplane to suit every fancy. Each plane is modeled on its real-world counterpart, while accurate damage models emulate the look of actual battle damage.

For tweak junkies, AeroWings 2 offers even more variety than the previous release. There are 12 different in-game camera angles and 20 camera angles in the replay theater. As you progress, the game will track your flight time, kills, crashes, missions, and hours flown. Not only that, but it will sort them by plane type. For those who fear too confining of an experience, the game offers multiple realism settings as well. Arcade folks can choose forgiving, loose control that precludes blackouts and G-force effects, while simulation fans can crank the realism for tight control, G-force fatigue, and other life-threatening possibilities.

Offering a healthy dose of deep gameplay along with plenty of evolution, AeroWings 2 should be a title that will please not only fans of the original, but combat grunts as well. Look for AeroWings 2: Air Strike to soar its way into stores the middle of August.