Reviews / previews
Dynamix's Red Baron franchise has been a standard
bearer for the WWI flight sim since it first hit the
shelves in the early '90s. The most recent
chapter--1ast year's Red Baron 3D--brought a much
needed facelift to the series by adding overdue 3D
acceleration to complement the 22 flyable aircraft,
dynamic campaign and multiplayer environment.
The hardcore stick-and-rudder set ate up these
features but, for a lot of casual flight sim fans, it was
all a bit too challenging. RB-3D rewarded novices with
death and
embarrassment,
whether at the
hands of the sim's
highly proficient AI
pilots or deadlier
human foes.
Enter Curse You!
Red Baron, a
de-fanged and
reconstituted
version of the old warhorse with a friendly flight model
built with the gamepad crowd in mind. (The box
proclaims proudly that no joystick is required).
Although an unabashedly stripped down version of
RB-3D with only eight flyable planes and no campaign
or multiplayer support, it still has enough going for it
to merit the consideration of casual pilots.
Four easy-to-play modes are provided: Training,
Dogfight, Red Baron Challenge and Hot Seat (in which
up to six players take turns replaying the same
scenario for top-score bragging rights). By simplifying
the flight model and offering arcade gameplay options,
casual gamers can experience the immersive Red Baron dogfighting
environment without the need for hours of
training.
Despite Dynamix's claim that Curse You! is
"fun for the whole family", the game shouldn't
be confused with conventional
action/adventures. No splashy pyrotechnics
or special effects accompany your attempts
to down an AI opponent and terrain graphics
are singularly bland and unexciting (as befits
the war torn French countryside during
WWI). You control a single aircraft and your only goal-- regardless of what
game mode you choose--is to shoot down another plane or planes before you
get shot down yourself. Although this activity might be appealing to closet
flight-sim fans who consider hard-core titles too difficult and inaccessible,
gamers seeking coin-op style eye and ear candy should look elsewhere.
Neverthelss, Curse You! Red Baron may well be the beginning of a new trend
among flight sim publishers. By generating extra mileage from the expensive
graphics and physics engines developed for their signature titles, additional
revenue can be created to seed development of new, full-featured sims. In this
respect, games like CYRB can offer a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Hard core sim fans get better titles and the
arcade crowd an combat flight game-one in
which the dogfights are actually winnable.-- Andy Mahood / GamePro
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