If you are a Jet simulator fan then prepare to enjoy yourself in a World Ware 2 atmosphere.
The Game is made up of 18 missions. Missions follow into the status quo of jet sims such as escorts, dogfights, protect convey, destroy ships, kill all of the enemy, defeat the enemy ace pilot, and so on. As you progress through the game you are rewarded more fighters, specialized weapons, and fighter colors.
Gameplay takes place in a fantasy world ware 2 time frame. Fighters are all propeller base and weapons vary between different machine guns and bombs. Though there is no missiles per say, the shooting of the machine guns works very well and allows for very nice dogfights. If you are able to stay close enough to a enemy close enough then you can preform and special maneuver which will allow your plane to get in position behind a enemy. Classic rules of leading your targets apply and the shooting reticule works very well to do so.
Controls are really bad for the wiimote and nunchuck. There is a very hard to figure out push and pull control scheme between the wiimote and nunchuck that comes off very strange and unwieldy. Instead of criticizing it though, just move quickly to your gamecube or classic controller and things will feel very friendly. The sad thing is that these controllers have a lack of options for you to change so if you do not like the configuration then you must force yourself through its scheme. The schemes though are very basic and I found no discomfort with it.
As this is a Japanese port over that was first a anime movie, expect a lot of quirky dialogue. Voice acting itself is actually done very well with voices of characters sounding in tune with the attitude of each character. That being said, there is a lot of talking especially during battles that could get bothersome for some. I was pretty drawn off by it but throughout the game, I found myself actually listening to the characters and there attitudes toward the world. The anime cut scenes kept the flow of these characters intact and made things enjoyable to not see a negative in a lot to talking. Music is pretty normal of this genre with techno, to tech-rock in the background. I personally turned the music down and turned the sound effects up. Developer Xceed games really did well on the engine sounds, bullets wisps, and explosions.
Graphically, this game does push the wii. Some spots really shine such as clouds, wind graphic influences, design of your fighters, and terrain layouts. All that said, the lack of a video card to handle anti aliasing in the system really is shown. Once you come really near to objects such as buildings or bridges you will see many jagged edges. Not only that but there are many times where that lack of anti aliasing is even seen on the outskirts of your plane or in cockpit mode. Cockpit mode though does have some nice graphical designs base on your plane. Internal nobs and switches do move and light on as you play which ads a visual enjoyability. Each fighter has its own cockpit design and layout as well. Also you can swivel your camera inside the cockpit which adds a feeling that no other wii jet sim has captured.
Overall this is a great gem that will go unknown except those who are curious for a good jet sim. If you are looking for something equivalent to early ace combats or Tom Clancy Hawks then this will do it.
Gameplay
9/10
Good battles, Good mix of different mission scenarios, nice mix of fighters. It brings nothing new to the table but what it brings is the same experience on the wii that other consoles have enjoyed.
Sound
8/10
You may grow tiresome of the talking but the sound effects of the guns, planes, and voice acting itself is done well.
Graphics
8/10
They pushed the system some and though there are some very nice spots, the lack of true anti aliasing is seen.
Longevity
8.8/10
18 missions, nice amount of things to unlock for this genre (over 24 fighters and a slew if special weapons), and a score system you can improve score ranking which will keep you playing missions over and over. Hard difficulty will keep you in your seat longer as well and there is another difficulty of Ace that can also be unlocked by meeting high ranking on missions.