Customer Reviews

Secret Weapons Over Normandy

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a very enjoyable game that is very easy to pick up and play. I've heard and seen some complaints about the arcade style physics engine, but I think that it makes the game very fun and fast paced in a way that can not be accomplished in a hardcore flight simulation.
While well designed flight sims can be quite engaging, I frankly prefer the more open and fun mechanics in Secret Weapons Over Normandy.
Secret Weapons contains a great catalogue of World War II era planes to be unlocked and used. I found the Spitfire, Mosquito, and the Me-262 to be the best choices for almost all of the missions.
The bottom line is if you're looking for a realistic flight sim, give IL-2 Sturmovik a shot (it is a great game). But if you are looking for an entertaining game that you can pick up and play at anytime, you can not do much better than Secret Weapons Over Normandy.

This game is the best and most fun flight game I've ever played for the PS2. The controls aren't hard to master after the first training mission, although I'd always recommend training before just jumping into the game. The training missions are actually fun though, as opposed to many other flight games.
The graphics aren't the best, but they aren't bad either. The graphics for the planes you're fighting are much better than anything you're shooting at on the ground.
Gameplay is a lot of fun, and targeting isn't hard and neither is remembering that the left analog stick controls direction and the right controls throttle. In targeting, a red circle shows up when you've got a plane close enough for a kill. im for that and not necessarily directly at the enemy plane, because the opponent is obviously moving and you have to make them "run into" your bullets.
Another unrealistic but fun aspect of the gameplay is the opportunity to slow down the game speed during a mission, or speed it up if you're on a long mission and don't have any enemies around. That enables you to get an advantage on your enemies in dogfights when slowing down time too, which is really cool, and necessary on some missions. Additionally, the biggest problem I've found using the PS2 controller in aircraft games, landing, has been solved. While there is no autopilot because WW II aircraft didn't have that, there is an option that appears in the sky over your base once you lower your wheels, of a big white arrow and all you have to do is fly through it and the A.I. will land the plane for you. While it's not realistic, it does eliminate the most frustrating part of past PS2 flight games I've played, the landing. If you're into realism though, there's also an option where you can land your plane manually at your own airfield, which I've found very difficult using the small joysticks on the PS2 controller.
There's a range of missions I've played so far in my first campaign, from shooting down fighters to piloting a salvaged German bomber into France to destroy the transports full of troops for Hitler's planned invasion of England. There's even one part of a mission that has you manning a flak gun shooting down German planes that attack your base. The fact that the game doesn't always have the same type of mission adds I think to the fun. Missions also take place not just over Normandy and France, but also over China and islands in the Pacific.
Some of these missions are obviously fictional, but they're at least loosely based upon history which is cool for history students like myself. The research into the game shows because there's actually a mission to destroy cargo given to Japan from Germany, which really happened.
Your wingmen, when you have them, are pretty intelligent, as are your opponents, even on the lowest difficulty. The really cool thing is if you complete not only your primary but secondary objectives, you get plane upgrade credits and can upgrade your armor, engine, airframe or weapons. On certain missions during a campaign, by completing bonus and secondary objectives you can also unlock different planes which will be available in your hanger to fly in future missions.
While it's not totally perfect, and the graphics could probably be upgraded a bit, this game is well worth a purchase.

OK, I realize that this wasn't marketed as a "flight simulator", but let's be a little more up-front about it: it's less than an arcade game. It is *strictly* linear. Unlike "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe", you can't pick sides or what plane you want to start flying. You are stuck in a "do this, get this upgrade, then do that" sequence. And although it is rated "Teen", I'd say it's aimed more at the 10-12-year-old crowd, someone who would buy into the stereotypes from "G-8 and His Battle Aces". Your initial instructor is a stereotype pompous English twit who would make a Terry Thomas accent sound downright Cockney. YOU play the part of a stereotype Southern-drawl "aw shucks" American pilot, complete with moronic diary entries. The Hurricane "airplane" that you are forced to start with flies as though it was glued onto the end of a stick rather than ANYthing that actually flies, and you start off chasing a bunch of "Hogan's Hereos"-level "German" (as in a lot of "Achtung! Mach' schnell!") pilots, all conveniently pointed out to you so you don't hurt yourself while looking for them. Have game players gotten that much dumber since "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe" came out 12 years ago?

The folks that are put off by the more complex (and realistic) flight simulators won't find what they're looking for here, but I can't figure out WHO this game is aimed at. There's not enough shoot-em-up action for one end of the spectrum, there's DEFINITELY no intellectual challenges or puzzles for that kind of gamer, and the graphics (c'mon, this is LucasArts we're talking about!!!) are ho-hum AT BEST.

My advice: if you are looking for a "flight simulator" but are intimidated by the complexity, I'd STILL go for "IL-2 Forgotten Battles" and set it to it's built-in "Arcade" setting. Full freedom of choice in sides and aircraft, and the most GORGEOUS graphics you'll see in a game.

I heard that this is not a flight sims game that you all seemed to think. This is more of an action fun game designed for the console rather than the more intense flight sims that's from this company. I find the graphics impressive looking and very detail oriented and easier to play for beginning gamers like me. I'm so hooked. I think you would enjoy this more if you know what the game is intended to do from the sites below. Try out the demo and see for yourself!

Official site: http://www.lucasarts.com/products/normandy/
Mini site: http://www.totallygames.com/games/swon.htm

SWON is a great game. I rented it and played it only a few times, but I found it to be addicitive. If you love WW2 genre games (and flying games in particular) this is worth your time. Gameplay is smooth, the graphics are sharp, sound fx are very realistic and the musical score is real. What I mean is that a guy composed and recorded an actual symphony just for the game. If you are looking for the ultimate 'real' flying experience you will be dissappointed.
There is no true cockpit view and when you fly you have the assistance of a heads up type display. This works to help you aim and lead your shots, identify freindlies and enemies alike, and prevents you from becoming hopelessly confused while in a dog fight.

Game play can be fairly challenging but after a few cracks at tough levels you can succeed. Then there are tons of unlockable items (from different planes you can fly to video vignettes about the planes and the war). I played the game for about 20 hours in the time that I had it but I don't think I made halfway through. The game also follows a pretty good storyline and introduces you to some interesting characters. You get fly in just about every theater the war had to offer (the battle of britain to the battle of midway to the assault on stalingrad). There is also a wide variety of missions. One hard mission (but fun) was to help the nuclear scientist Neils Bohr escape occupied Europe (where you fly close air support and waste anything *like tanks, ships, guard towers and other planes) that gets in his path.

There are also optional training missions that not only advance the storyline but train you to be a better pilot (dive bombing techniques, torpedo runs, how to use cannons effectivly, etc) and you are rewarded with options to upgrade your aircraft. Of course it is not realistic to have a supermarine spitfire out fitted with forty bombs (as one upgrade allows) but it makes the game a lot of fun. It reminds me of one of my all time favorite old school world war 2 flying games "Wings of Fury" (by br0derbund) for my old Apple IIgs.

I have read a few negative reviews about how the game is not very realistic...well they may be right...but the game is fun. End of story. If you are looking for 'real' go out to your municple airport and take some flying lessons or join the navy. It's video GAME and it's great FUN!

I love this game, and have plenty of reasons to play it over and over again. The planes are excellent, the explosions are the best. This is also one of the best soundtracks ever in a video game. My only wish is that there were a true cockpit view, where the view is of the pilot looking through the canopy, with gauges, dials , controls in full view. I used the view-behind-the-plane. The bubble turret mission in the B-17 is really cool, as is the mission where you man the AA gun at the airstrip. There is a really cool weapon, the guided bomb, in the last mission. I loved taking out the enemy aircraft with this weapon! The missions are interesting and exciting, there is an air of urgency throughout the entire game. The ship and submarine sinkings are also really cool looking. When you buzz a sub, you hear the diesels knocking! I look forward to the sequel, and starting my second time around through the game.

I have played many PS2 games but none of them rivals the amount of fun in this game. I have always hated flying games. They always seeemed lame, or boring, or too easy. I mean, shooting a heat-seeking missle is no where near as fun as two planes going at it in a dogfight with bullets. This game rox! The graphics are amazing. Some people keep saying that the flying isn't that realistic. Sure you have to shoot down more planes than you would in real life, but its not 48 like the one guy said. The flight controls are realistic. You have to shoot at a red target thats in front of the plane. In real life you don't shoot directly at the enemy. You're both moving so fast that the bullets seem to "curve". If you're a beginner, you can slow down time which makes it a little easier to aim and shoot. Also, when you're flying into combat and the enemy is far away, instead of waiting 30 seconds to get there you can speed up time too. Its realistic so not only you're plane speeds up but everyone elses too. Bombing is a ton of fun especially using torpedos. Adding cool upgrades such as 37mm cannons is awesome. My friend brought it over one day and the next day I wanted to buy it. Its really easy to learn. The controls are simple but fun and effective. This is a great game for someone who just wants a fun realistic flying game to just pick up and start playing and have fun. Its WWII so it encorporates real battles and scenarios into the game. However, it doesn't overload you with information about WWII. Enemy AI is great as is your wingmates. All-in-all, this is a great game and I think you should buy it.

This is a game that I truly enjoyed. No, this game is not a flight sim, rather it is an excellent story driven romp through WWII. The game is challenging yet engrossing with quite a variety of tasks and complexities.

This was perhaps the most fun that I have had with my PS2 yet.

It's an overall fun game, but it could be better if it had more fun, more multiplayer rounds. I put four stars on fun because I thought the levels could be a little shorter. I also thought it could be easier than what it is. Like the clash at Coral Sea could have more fighters to protect the torpedo and divebomber planes. I gave it an overall five star rating because as you go through the missions you can steal Japanese and German planes from their hangers and take them back to your hanger and fight with them in different battles. I recommend this game for people who like WW2 and military aircraft.

The graphics are good for a game that was made in 2003 or 2004. If you saw this game at Blockbuster and thought of renting it, but didn't, you should go back and do so. You can fly a number of planes, and they are all cool, especially the Spitfire. One good about this game is the circle that appears around your enemies. This saves you the trouble of findng them. All you have to do is follow the arrows and fire when the enemy is in your sights.