Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII

by UBI Soft

Product Features

• WWII's most epic and famous air battles. Experience the greatest air battles of World War II in famous locations from across the globe. Whether it's London, Berlin, Midway or Pearl Harbor, the player and his squadron will be tasked with turning the tide of war. The single player campaign has been expanded to include two all new missions that take place in the North Sea and New Georgia Island in the Pacific.
• Innovative use of the controller. With 4 alternative control configurations, Blazing Angels will take full advantage of the motion sensor/tilt feature. Both arcade and simulator modes are included. Players can easily maneuver the plane just by moving the controller
• Intense squadron-based gameplay. Command AI-wingmen and make use of each one's special abilities. The pilot's heroism and leadership will grow during the course of the twenty mission campaign. Engage in legendary air battles and lead a squadron of Blazing Angels to victory
• Up to 16 players online
• A large variety of realistic-looking WWII aircraft. Pilot 46 authentic WWII aircraft including the famous P-51 Mustang, and the British Spitfire, and planes like the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitt, and the Japanese Zero in multiplayer. Ten new planes are included. From the wing rivets, to the nose art, to the detailed cockpits, these planes look like the real thing

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000HGKEZS
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches ; 3.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 20, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #886 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #4 in Video Games > Wii > Racing
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Nintendo Wii

In Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII players test their air-combat skills as they experience the most famous battles of World War II. As a squadron leader players can fly up to 38 WWII aircraft in both single-player and multiplayer missions. The game features squadron-based combat in which each artificial intelligence wingman's specialized skill can be used to the pilot's advantage.As a squadron leader and ace fighter pilot you take command of your fighting craft with the Wii controller to experience intense dog fighting in the famous air battles of WW II. Pilots fly in close to Germany s industrial terrain during a bombing raid or emerge from the fog and cloud cover over London to engage the enemy.Format: WII Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 008888172642 Manufacturer No: 17264

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

118 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is fun to shoot down Nazis., April 23, 2007

By 

Luke Meyers (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Video Game)

I got this game a week or two ago and wanted to share my endorsement of it. I have very fond memories of Sierra's Red Baron games on the PC and Mac, and the WWII dogfighting action of Blazing Angels strikes the same chord. I haven't gotten terrifically far in the missions -- 5 or so -- but with one exception (the sandstorm level, which is apparently the worst of the bunch by far based on forum posters' complaints) they're fun and present a good amount of challenge.

There are several non-campaign modes. One-on-one dogfights with an "ace" flying the same plane (chosen from all those you've unlocked) pit you against a fairly tough opponent. I've found the difficulty to depend a lot on the kind of plane, though -- the ace dogfight for the very first plane is pretty tough because the weapons are underpowered, but I had other fights that were over in the first 15 seconds. There's an "arcade" mode that pits you against waves of less-challenging opponents. And then there are little "mini-campaigns" which are like one-off versions of the campaign missions (haven't tried them yet).

Then there's multiplayer. I was initially annoyed because I read on Amazon that you could play with up to 16 players online, but there's no mention of this in the game or on the box. From what I've read, Nintendo is starting up its online play service in June, with a Pokemon title as the big launch hoohah, so hopefully Blazing Angels will be updated at that point for online play. Without online, there's still very satisfying 2-player split-screen play, both versus and co-op.

Now, the question for all Wii titles -- how are the controls?
Basically, I like them a lot. Several control schemes are available, and they vary along a couple of axes. First, you've got the choice between arcade-style and simulation-style. Arcade-style makes it sort of simpler to turn, but you can't do barrel rolls; I strongly recommend using simulation and never looking back. There are several different control configurations. There's a single-controller config (no nunchuck), a "classic" config (with nunchuck) which doesn't use motion sensitivity, and the default style which uses both controllers and tilt sensitivity for pitch and roll. You can have the tilt sensitivity on either the remote or the nunchuck (I think the default was the nunchuck, but I liked the remote more).

I did most of my initial play with the wiimote-sensitive version of the default scheme. I really like the feel of turning the remote around in the air to control the plane. Takes some getting used to, but there's a nice nimble feel to it once you do. However, there were certain things that really nagged at me about this control scheme. In particular, the targeting controls are very poorly placed. The analog stick on the nunchuck is used for throttle (up and down), but left and right on the same stick are used to select targets. This is a horrible thing because you're constantly using the throttle during fights, and it's extremely easy to let the stick slip to the side and lose your target. Holding the A button makes the camera track your current target, which makes fighting a *lot* easier, but this advantage is lost if you're constantly switching targets.

Fortunately, it turns out that the dark horse -- the single controller with no nunchuck -- is a vastly superior control configuration. I wound up trying this during multiplayer and can confidently say I'll never switch back. It has the same basic flight feel as the default -- better, actually; there's something very natural about holding a horizontal controller and tilting it around, sort of Excite Truck style, in the way that one might when getting a little excited about a game with no motion sensor controllers at all. The big advantage, though, is that the less-commonly-used functions are out of the way. The B button
(trigger) is used as a shift button to enable these lesser-used functions. It just works a whole lot better, and you don't have to fuss with the nunchuck -- love it!

So... yeah. Fun game if you like flying around and shooting down Nazis.
And who doesn't?

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I have mixed feelings about this one, June 27, 2007

By 

bixodoido (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Video Game)

in Blazing Angels you play the part of a WWII pilot and guide him through his war experience, through training and in several missions in key battles during the war. While the game makes innovative use of the Wii's control system, the game falls short in graphics and lacks a real addictive element to draw in the average gamer.

Audience: I thought, with the Wii's control system, that this game would be a blast for anyone, but I was at least partially mistaken. I'm not a flight sim fan, and it turns out the game couldn't really capture my attention for very long despite the cool control setup. This game would probably appeal to WWII fans and/or fans of flight games, but its appeal outside those demographics is limited.

Graphics: Definitely a shortfall here. I don't expect stellar graphics from the Wii, but I had a difficult time even identifying ground targets at times. I guess the red boxes that outlined my targets were supposed to make up for that...

Gameplay: The missions I played (and I didn't get all the way through the game) were pretty standard for this type of game--escort something, blow up a convoy, protect a bridge, etc.

Control: This is the game's strong point for sure. There are several control options, which let you choose between using the motion sensor capability on the Wiimote or the nunchuck and give you a wide variety of other options for controlling your craft.

Challenge: Some parts of the campaign are really challenging. There is also a single player dogfight mode that offers a wide range of difficulty.

Storyline: The campaign storyline was enjoyable, and the scenes in between fights were well done.

Overall this is a...well, an adequate game. Despite the game's excellent use of the Wii's controls there was nothing in the game that really made me want to continue playing it. If you're into WWII games or flight sim games I'd definitely recommend giving this one a shot--if not it may be just worth a rental.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graaak gak gakcak....., May 16, 2007

By 

P. Webb "Trajedi" (Bozeman, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Video Game)

What Blazing Angels for the WII does right far outweighs the few downsides. Capturing the thrill of flight and the adrenaline rush of dogfighting the controls are EASY to pick up initially (I like the Nunchuck sensitive arcade control in my right hand with the wii mote laying on my leg like a control panel. This leaves all the primary plane controls (pitch, angel, acceleration, both weapons)in one hand and it just feels right to me, the downside of this control scheme is that you need to use your other hand to make formation adjustments and camera changes, but I find it works great. Gameplay is fun with the standard issue WWII action and dialogue and the SFX are terrific in this game as you unlock more powerful planes and guns. The game has a great amount of unlockable content, and is the perfect combination between aracade and sim. Many experienced fliers might find the options a little thin eventually. There doesn't appear to be any online (yet?) so don't buy it for that. Recommended heartily.

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