Secret Weapons Over Normandy

Other products by Lucas Arts

Product Features

• You have been trusted with the most dangerous secrets of World War II. The Axis' most heinous plans were revealed to you for one purpose - to help you destroy them from above. Fly the most advanced aircraft of the time, for the most dangerous missions of the war!
• More than twenty real WWII aircraft are featured here, all brought to stunning life, with real details, cockpits and flight physics - Japanese Zekes, German Messerschmidts, British Spitfires & more
• Over 30 action-packed scenarios filled with air-to-air and air-to-ground fighting, complete with real engine sounds, damage effects & landscapes
• In-depth storylines open up to you with the feel of a classic war movie, as you play
• Customize your aircraft as you play - carry more bombs, add armor plating, install rocket launcher and more. But remember these things will all affect your handling, effectiveness & flight speed -- think carefully, or you may not make it back home!

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000A1HW3
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches ; 5.4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 15, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,197 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

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  Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Simulation

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PlayStation2 | Edition: Standard

Product Description

Secret Weapons Over Normandy takes you to the front lines of the air war, as you battle the Axis forces and stop their most devious plots!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great arcade-style combat, November 30, 2003

By	"mark632" (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews

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.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely fun game!, December 6, 2003

By	Christopher J. Martin (Lynchburg, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

31 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not even as good as "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe", December 8, 2003

By	Mark Shanks (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

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