Reviewed: May 21, 2005
Reviewed by: Mike Colgan
Publisher
DreamCatcher Games
Developer
Yager Development
Released: February 3, 2005
Genre: Flight Action
Players: 16
ESRB: Teen
8
5
7
7
6.8
System Requirements
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Gamers who played on their PCs in the 1990s may remember the Wing Commander series. The father of all modern sci-fi shooters, Wing Commander breathed new life into the flight sim genre with a cinematic storyline and challenging mission-based gameplay, and spawned 4 direct sequels and two spin-offs under the name “Privateer”.
Aerial Strike: The Yager Missions is an odd mix of sci-fi flight sim, 3-D adventure game, and a bit of Privateer all rolled into one. While the game is flawed and relatively unpolished in today’s universe of high-production blockbuster games, it musters enough innovation and excitement to capture a player’s interest, for a while.
In Aerial Strike, you fill the role of Magnus Tide, a cocky ex-Marine who works as a mercenary pilot, or free-lancer. In the past, Magnus flew many freelance missions, including one mission for a corporation-state called Proteus, which ended disastrously. Now Magnus is back with a new ship and has one last chance to redeem himself to Proteus and patch his sullied free-lance reputation.
The ship which Magnus Tide pilots is a strange form of jet which operates in both a flight mode, in which it cruises around like a conventional fighter jet, and a hover mode, which allows the ship to move carefully up and down, forward and backward like a helicopter. While the fighter mode is more convenient for flying long distances over the huge landscape-levels of the game and for dog fighting, the hover mode comes in handy for landings at hangar bays or repair platforms, and for obtaining item packages which can be found in various spots throughout the game’s expansive worlds.
The game starts you out with various training missions acclimating your pilot to basic flight and targeting techniques, but quickly moves into high gear with attacks from Teutonic-in-a-funny-World-War-I-sorta-way Imperial fighters. Missions are challenging and fun without being too difficult; one early mission required locating a runaway freighter and taking it down while ensuring it won’t crash into populated areas (the game gives you only clues to finding the freighter, and requires that you search for it yourself).
Aerial Strike gives you plenty to shoot at, from tiny scout planes to massive battleships, which make for entertaining and nail-biting boss fights. In addition to the standard missions, the game also rewards exploration of its massive maps, and many side quests and flight challenges are available to those looking for extra fun.
Some other gameplay needs work, however. Some missions require that you man massive gun turrets and shoot at flying objects; however, the controls for this mode feel clunky and the missions ended up becoming more frustrating than fun.
Aerial Strike is pleasing to the eye, but is by no means ground breaking. The game is well-lit and colorful, a stark contrast from most sci-fi shooters, which take place in the vast, dark expanse of space. The gameplay takes place over the surface of a planet, which is filled with mountains and valleys to traverse, and whose sheer massiveness (the game’s several maps take minutes to fly across) provides plenty of places to explore. However, the water in Aerial Strike does not look quite like water, and textures for stationary, man-made objects end up looking grainy.
The music in Aerial Strike is actually quite good; it never grates on the nerves, and is keyed up to dramatic effect during tense moments, such as boss battles and missions in which time is a factor. No songs are particularly memorable, but all blend in well with the gameplay experience.
The voice actor who plays Magnus Tide is not bad; he’s not great either. For the most part, you can picture the man behind the voice as a laid-back, hot-shot pilot; other times, when Magnus Tide says “I’m Magnus Tide,” one gets the sense that what our spiky-haired hero is really trying to say is “yeah, yeah… when do I get paid?” Other voice actors, however, are a strange mélange of foreign accents, sometimes funny (e.g. Kaiser-esque fighter pilots and pirates with atrocious British accents) to obnoxious (Russian and Hispanic accents for bit characters).
At $19.99, Aerial Strike is a game you might just want to check out. There’s plenty to like about this game, even if it doesn’t look or feel like a major production. The game comes on 8 CDs (!), which has enough exploration and dog fighting excitement to keep action and adventure gamers happy for many hours. What Aerial Strike lacks in cutting-edge production values it makes up for in heart, size, and (mostly) solid gameplay.
Aerial Strike: The Yager Missions won’t win any game of the year awards. It is probably not destined to be a cult classic. In all likelihood, it will fade into obscurity in value bins and used game shelves across America. This is a shame, because there is enough to like about Aerial Strike to provide $20 worth of entertainment to a good home. It may be a shaggy dog, but it is still a good dog.