B-17 Flying Fortress Preview
What's it like to fly a massive WWII bomber with a ten-man crew? Read on to find out.
Few games have generated as much excitement in the flight simulator community recently as B-17 Flying Fortress 2. The original B-17 Flying Fortress, released by MicroProse in 1992, was a flight simulation classic, and talk of resurrecting the famous name was enough to get the attention of sim enthusiasts. Hasbro, the parent company of MicroProse and publisher of B-17 2, has made it a high-profile project and one that gamers have been anxiously awaiting for some time. The game was shown off at this year's Electronics Entertainment Expo, where it received a very positive reaction. Originally slated for release early this year, B-17 2's release date has slipped to sometime in December, and we recently received a beta build to see just how close this massive project is to completion.
In late August, Hasbro and Wayward Design, the developer of B-17 2, announced that there would be no multiplayer capability in the game because of the difficulty of implementing this complex feature while sticking to a reasonable release date. While this is understandably disappointing, B-17 2 still has a host of attractive features that make it different from all the other flight sims on the market. Even without the multiplayer element, B-17 2 looks like it could well be one of the most compelling flight sims of the year, thanks to the uniqueness of a true bomber sim and the possibilities of not just piloting a single airplane but managing the diverse tasks (gunnery, navigation, and bombing) performed by individual members of the crew. Add to that the epic sweep of a campaign, and it's likely that B-17 2 won't be much like anything we've seen since its worthy predecessor hit the shelves eight years ago.
B-17 2 is, first and foremost, about the ten crewmembers of a Flying Fortress bomber and the incredible challenges posed by the need to survive 25 missions of strategic bombing while flying deep over enemy territory. In this way, B-17 2 is really a story in flight, with each mission being a chapter written by its crewmembers. There will be times when things go smoothly and times when the bomber barely limps home with several wounded or killed crewmembers. With the number of variables at work in each mission, every one should be a unique experience.
B-17 2 focuses on the strategic bombing of Occupied Europe by the U.S. Eighth Air Force, based in England. As such, a tremendous amount of research has gone into selecting targets that were historically picked out by the "Mighty Eighth" and subjected to its devastating bombardment. As the squadron commander, you'll have the responsibility of choosing targets from a list that reflects valid targets for that time period. Campaigns can start in virtually any month of the war beginning with mid-1943, and the target list will move deeper and deeper into Germany as the war progresses. Initially, you will be faced with targets in France and the Low Countries, which involve short flight times and are generally within the range of fighter cover. Later, as the front moves further from the Eighth Air Force's bases, bombers will have to traverse more territory and be subjected to more enemy fighters and flak, as well as extended periods without fighter escort (until the arrival of the long-ranged Mustang). The transition from these short "milk runs" to harrowing journeys deep into Germany and Austria will hopefully take place after you have had some chance to develop your survival skills on the easier missions. If not, you're likely to end up a casualty.
- GameSpot Score7.8good
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- Nov 14, 2000
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- Atari
- Wayward Simulation
- WWII Flight Sim
- Release: Dec 13, 2000 »
- ESRB: Mature
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