TGS 2003AirForce Delta Strike Hands-On Impressions

Konami is showing the next AirForce Delta game at its TGS booth, and we took it for a spin to see how it's shaping up. In Japan, the game is titled AirForce Delta Storm: Blue Wing Knights, but in an effort to reduce excessive verbiage, the game will be called AirForce Delta Strike when it heads stateside in late November. Though we were able to try out only one brief mission, from what we've seen, the game should hopefully be worthwhile for combat flight sim fans.

In the mission we played, we were tasked with attacking a convoy of rather strange-looking vehicles as they crossed a vast desert. These vehicles appeared to be nothing so much as gigantic, building-sized wheels that had side-mounted turrets. We zoomed around and even through these big wheels as we attempted to lock onto the turrets and blast them to smithereens. AirForce Delta Strike seems to have a bit more personality than some other entries in the genre, since it lets you pick your own pilot from a selection of several, and your choice will have some bearing on the way the game plays. Furthermore, the game features cutscenes with anime-style sprites, and these characters will also chime in during the mission to add some drama to the proceedings. Finally, in a strange twist, the game will have over 100 flyable vehicles, including World War II-era planes and the Konami classic, the Vic Viper.

Airforce Delta Strike is looking pretty good so far. The game's visuals are solid and run at a smooth framerate, and we got to play the game with a pretty elaborate set of Hori flight controls, which made the experience all the more realistic. Look for more on the game as its November release date approaches.