“WWII Aces” fits perfectly into a Wii stereotype: The graphics are a bit weak and the campaign’s somewhat shallow, but it’s downright fun to play.
The game, developed by Arcade Moon for Destineer, re-creates aerial campaigns from the Second World War. It’s an arcade-style game so it doesn’t require intense practice just to get into the air.
You can fly as part of Britain’s Royal Air Force, Germany’s Luftwaffe or the Soviet air force. As you progress through each nation’s campaign, you can choose to fly a fighter, bomber, attack aircraft or, eventually, an experimental plane.
The game offers three control schemes. The easiest uses only the Wii’s motion- sensitive remote to control the plane’s direction, elevation and speed and fire its weapons. Two more-realistic methods rely on both the remote and nunchuck. In any case, the controls are easy to pick up and it’s not long before you’re rolling, looping and setting your sights on the enemy.
The campaign doesn’t offer much in the way of description or cut scenes, so it comes across as a series of random events. Despite that, the missions offer a variety of challenges — dogfights, ground attack, air drops and more — that keep you engaged.
However, the real fun comes in the split-screen co-op mode where you fly with a wingman. Ramping up the difficulty and filling the skies with enemies is guaranteed to get the blood pumping. You can also try some head-to-head dogfighting.
The game, which retails for about $10 less than most Wii titles, cuts some corners in graphic presentation. The aircraft models verge on lackluster and the backgrounds are very simplistic.
However, that doesn’t seem to be a big concern for the legions of inexperienced gamers who’ve flocked to the Wii. They just wanna have fun.
WWII Aces
Platform: Wii
