Customer Reviews

Rowan's Battle of Britain

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I purchased this game for my Dad (who's a pretty savvy computer user in his own right), based upon our mutual enjoyment of Rowan's "Mig Alley". This game WON'T install, we can't uninstall it, and to add insult to injury, Mig Alley now crashes when we try to run it (so there's obviously some kind of heinous conflict going here).

Just another case of a game, delayed ad infinitum, and finally foisted on the public so that we, having paid full retail, can debug it for the developer.

Don't believe the reviewers that say the game doesn't work. I found that to be true at first. Then I went to the Talonsoft webpage and downloaded FAQ and patch. The patch wasn't needed, but the FAQ clued me in that my machine's settings were way too low. Beware, you will need a higher end machine--1078X840 whatever, is required at minimum to run the game. Resetting to that solved all the problems and man does the game run smooth. Lots of planes in the air, chatter, and gorgeous graphics.

I don't usually like flight sims. I have a hard time with them. So, the ability to lock out "true" aerodynamics is a must for me to enjoy it. B-o-B has a "novice" setting that allows this, yet keeps the unique nature of the planes a game factor. Brit planes stall out in dives (no fuel injectors), Germans don't (injected). You can also set the various settings for unlimited ammo vs. limited, backout, whiteouts (glare)etc. The views take a bit getting used to (can see why that Mustang bubble top is a big plus later in the war) and that is why I don't usually like flight sims; but this one is functional completely from the joystick. A ten button joystick is best but my 8 button works fine (but no airbrake, dang).

I like the game alot. I like Red Baron 3d but did not like Rowan's other game I bought (Mig Alley). Guess I just like prop action--a little slower than jets.

But don't be lulled--those Spitfires and Focke Wulfs really move!

Don't hesitate to buy this one--just be sure to get the FAQ from Talonsoft's website (and the patch if you have graphic cards problems)

If you are a fan of the period, you ought to try this....

BoB realistically recreates England and the huge scale of events of the Summer of 1940 in full authenticity. There is no other title that allows you to manage an entire airfleet (Luftwaffe) or the whole of RAF figher command, and then jump into the cockpit of your Spit or Hurri to face over 200 enemy aircraft. The attention to detail is stunning, and since the game's source code has now been released it is now being developed and continues to mature.

Once you have it running it is quite unique.

Superb.

This title sucks big time. I can not get it to let me fly the planes. It's looking for some kind of a dll. file. bob.dll or something like that. It should not have to be rocket science to make these games work right. I gave it to a frind at work and he could not get it to work on his pc.

This sim causes many system problems and their teck. support is a joke. I have the most up to date system available in the market. What a pain!

First, the people who have this game at the bottom of their closets are right. Unless you have just the right vid card, monitor, and memory you can forget it. Second, what comes in the box is incomplete. You will need the version .973 from the Battle of Britain Developers Group. There is no key card (CFS@ comes from Amazon with no manual or card) so you will have to get on the forum there and ask where to download the most up to date, and then you will have to deal with the the fact that the European keyboard needs to be hand marked to match yours, if your from the USA. On the plus side the people on the forum are very helpful.

You will find the learning curve daunting. If you want to fly Spitfires and you start learning on them, you will probably fail. You need to master the Hurricane first. The flight sim is harder than CFS2 and IL-2. B-17 has a tough learning curve but that has to do with it's complexity and all its quirks. BoB has a tough curve because of the flight sim. I've been "flying" sims since Lucas Films BoB. Then the Dynamix trio and the stuff from Microprose (all DOS). Picking up again a few years ago in Windows I found that much has changed. But I have yet to meet a learning curve as steep as BoB.

My copy too sat at the bottom of the closet until my old machine fried and I had to get a new one. So far I haven't had the CtD problem, but if I do it will be back to the BoBDG forum.

You have to be really interested in the Battle of Britain to buy this one. So don't buy unless your frustration level is high. Of course the BoB add on for CFS2 is a joke (misnamed for one), and I don't know of any others.

30+ at angels ten bearing 261 degrees

...It is still difficult to fly and even experienced simmers would be advised to start with the "novice" flight model. The AI is a lot better than in, say, CFS2 but it's not perfect. The best thing to do is to get the aftermarket patch form BDG (Battle of Britain Developers Group) which solves almost all the problems whilst improving the graphics and gameplay and is a free download. Check at SimHQ.com for details. The overall improvements to the game, along with the dynamic campaign, suddenly make this worth having...as long as you're prepared to spend a lot of time setting it up.

After reading all the major reviews like avault.com and gamespot.com I was expecting a fun, engrossing, exciting flight sim about the historical battle of Britain. I was severely disapointed. I have a Wingman 3D joystick and even after alot of calibration the controls were still a little ify. The graphics were nothing special, the planes had reasonably good rendering the ground was a flat texture tiled over and over hundreds of time which is to be expected but still disapointing. The only real fun i could find besides taking my Spitfire into huge drones of Luftwafe bombers was playing the gunners on the German bombers. This was loads of fun. You can play as a tail gunner, top, belly, and front gunner. The interface for the campaigns(the primary portion of the game) was dificult to understand and took a lot of getting used to , and most controls were not exactly intuitive. Overall the game has strong and weak points but on the whole you would be better off buying a Jane's flight sim over this one. By the way don't even try this game if you don't have a joystick it is unbearable.

I will not say much about this game, but here are a few words:

1 - No command reference card for a flight simulator? It is almost as if the publishers never played one.

2 - It will perform poorly on your machine, if it starts at all, even if your machine far surpasses the recommended specs.

3 - Graphics are jittery and controls are way too sensible even if you try different joystick settings, or different joysticks. I tried both analog and digital joystics, and 2 different game pads, and all perform terribly.

4 - Do not buy it. Wait until the publisher puts out a serious fix patch and wait for feedback.

You will be better off spending $... at the local Wal-Mart and buying Jane's WW2 Fighters, which is far superior to anything on the market today, and that game was released on 1998.

If you really want to spend some money on a flight simulator and do not mind being somewhat disappointed, buy B-17 II, at least it will provide some entertainment value. If you want something decent, get Crimson Skies, CFS1, CFS2, or any of the semi-free on-line simulators.

I cannot believe I bought BoB. I thought I would have had as much fun as I had with Lucas Arts 1990's "Their Finest Hour" or "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe". I think even the infamous "Luftwaffe Commander" is better than this.

My final word is - This gets negative 5 stars.

I wish I had read these reviews before buying it. Its a mess. So many bugs its unplayable. I have the latest 1Gb machine with 64Mb video etc etc and its still hopeless. Longest run is about 2 minutes before it crashes. Save your cash.