When Crave announced it would release a combat-based sequel to the original Aerowings, many wondered if the game would sacrifice realism and become an Air Force Delta clone. Judging from some hands-on time with the game, it is safe to say that Aerowings 2: Air Strike is no clone, but rather a full-scale refinement of the previous release. Developer CRI has added more views, more replay options, more aircraft, and a plethora of new missions. Additionally, the game's graphical engine has undergone a complete overhaul. With that in mind, what follows is a detailed report.

After the initial intro movie, I observed the attract mode demo for a few moments. Not bad. A huge F-16 came into view, performed a barrel roll, locked onto an enemy target, and took it out with a missile. There were smoke effects galore and a number of airsickness-inducing maneuvers, but the frame rate remained steady. Would the game look as good?

With that question in mind, I launched into free-flight mode with the T-3 Recipro trainer, figuring that the terrain visuals would offer the best first impression. Unlike the original, where terrain became blocky and funny-looking as you flew closer to the ground, Air Strike's terrain actually becomes more defined and more realistic. As the plane nears ground level, multilevel buildings, skyscrapers, lakes, freeways, and other landmarks all come into view. You can actually fly between buildings, swoop under bridges, and even nip the water.

The airplane models and environment effects seem a touch more refined than those of last year's release. I've not progressed very far into the game, but the first eight aircraft all have the proper canopy details, wing trim, and "realistic moving parts." Engine exhaust, mist effects, and lens flares also make their triumphant return. The game's missile and cannon effects don't appear overly realistic, but watching a guided missile snake sideways up an opponent's tailpipe still looks cool. Weapon choice is limited to one type of machine gun and a single brand of guided missile, however.

While weather added to the splendor of the original Aerowings, it didn't have much effect on the actual gameplay. In contrast, CRI has taken Air Strike's weather physics up a notch. Rain, fog, thunder, lightning, and a variety of meteorological conditions will affect how you fly. Within a storm, there is friction and turbulence, but above the clouds, it's silky smooth.. For kicks, I decided to see what it would be like to challenge two bogeys to a dogfight above an ocean snowstorm. The control was so shaky that I ended up stalling out and crashing while trying to avoid missile lock. Score one for realism.

In keeping with the first Aerowings, the sequel includes a number of adjustable viewpoints. The cockpit, near, and formation views still offer the best vantage points with respect to the environment you're in. However, there are nine other viewpoints to take advantage of, provided you activate their use in the options mode. It's not practical to fly in rotating camera view, but it's certainly amusing. The replay mode pushes this to extremes, giving you eight more views to play with, in addition to a widescreen cinema toggle. Not only can you watch your mission or free-flight replays, but you can also rewind, fast-forward, and adjust the views innumerable times - and then save the result to your memory card if you wish. There doesn't seem to be much limit on how versatile the replay cameras are, allowing for some pretty Matrix-like homemade demos.