We'll start with the fact that this game is a fraud, you look at cartoon graphics, you don't delve into the subject too much, you give the child to play, and then he throws pots from the 10th floor at the neighbours. Okay, I'm overreacting a bit, but don't be fooled by the three-year-old's fairy tale. This game is serious, damn serious.
In the game we play in the crew of Avro Lancaster, a heavy four-engine British plane. The game presents itself as a simulator, so naturally we can control any character from a 7-person squad. Each soldier has a level of experience in operating a given position, and so the mechanic will better manage the fuel, and the shooter can load the cannons with incendiary ammunition. However, there is nothing to prevent one person from replacing another. Bomber Crew is based on similar missions, and from time to time the so-called "Critical Missions", which are at the heart of the campaign's main plot. However, the plot is residual and the main joy we derive from performing these essentially repetitive missions - it is a good example of a grind that is cool.
In the intervals between bombing Germans, we can improve our aircraft by installing more effective weapons, advanced systems, etc. We can also improve our aircraft. Adding armour can make it possible for us to successfully return to the base, but it will increase the mass, so we will have to give up better weapons or radar. So this is balancing between different aspects in order to achieve the best possible results. We also have access to the crew equipment, and changing the outfit can make them able to withstand higher temperatures or survive more gunshots. On the other hand, their speed usually slows down. Anyway, we have to think about who will not leave the post during the whole mission and who has to be mobile. In my case, the only "flying" members of the crew were shooters (who were going for ammunition to the depot) and a mechanic who was also a rifler and a doctor. So everyone except them carried heavy armour, because they didn't move anyway.
But that's not all. In the game, there are three levels at which a plane can operate. There is a lot of oxygen and heat on a low level, and navigation is very simple. On the other hand, we are within range of all enemy anti-aircraft guns and the fighters will not let us live. Next is the mid level. Here it is still quite warm, but there is a lack of oxygen, so it is necessary to equip the members of the squad with life support systems. Navigation is a nightmare, because if there are clouds (and there are almost always clouds), we will not set a course and we can only fly forward. Nevertheless, we are beginning to feel some advantages of our position. The number of bandits is decreasing, and only the Flak gun can reach us. The real fairy tale starts at a high level. The temperature drops so much that without good clothes the crew starts to freeze, there is no oxygen long time ago, and navigation is impossible (although not entirely...). However, a high position is a blessing because it provides relative peace of mind. Shooters safely destroy enemy fighters flying helplessly at medium altitude, and guns don't even count on us. However, altitude can also be our enemy, after all, we are not an air taxi to move from A to B, but a bomber. So it will be easier for us to bomb the target if we can see it, which on high ceilings is hampered by the ubiquitous clouds.
The most interesting aspect is definitely the fact that the crew acquires new levels of experience and thus unlocks new abilities. It is the increase in the experience of the crew along with technical progress that makes us feel from mission to mission progress - once we improve the engines, the second time we give better suits to the radio operator and targeting officer, etc. However, all this can be lost irretrievably when our aircraft crashes. Of course, we can equip the crew with parachutes or equipment useful behind enemy lines or in the sea, but such a choice is programming defeat and instead it is better to take additional first-aid kits or fire extinguishers, and the squad for a better cover.
And there's a lot of ways for an airman to lose his life. We'll start with a banality, i.e. death by shooting - then we have 1.5 minutes to resuscitate using a first aid kit or return to base. Another way is death by hypothermia or suffocation. We can also die in a disaster, then part of the crew dies immediately, and the "lucky ones" end up in agony. This happened to me in the last mission, in which I had to land in an emergency after the loss of the chassis. We can also kill the crewman ourselves, sending him to the wing, while performing a dive maneuver (here I lacked animation of grinding the body in the engine).
But it's not just the health of the soldiers we have to worry about. Much more important, even than the life of the pilot, is the plane itself. During the fight, the mechanic has his hands full by repairing the electrical system or patching up the engine during the flight. The consequences of losing a given system deserve attention. While the failure of oxygen cylinders is not terrible as long as we are at a low altitude, so when the hydraulic system starts to leak - we are done, because the rifles will not move even an inch.
In general, every mission, even the simplest one, despite its frequent repetition, gives satisfaction. We start calmly, from the start. Slowly we reach a given altitude and observe the radar in search of enemy planes. At the French coast we start our first clashes with fighters. The action reaches its peak in the vicinity of the target, when the firing intensity is the highest, and we have to focus on the barracks. When we drop bombs, we have to escape, which is even more difficult than getting to a given factory or cantonment. Finally, often with one engine and holes like Swiss cheese, we reach the other side of the Canal, where a safe airport awaits us. Occasionally we also fight against the Aces, for whose heads we get extra money and take spy photos.
When it comes to disadvantages, both graphics and music are at most average. The models are simple, not to say vulgar, and on average they fit the game. Developers could use a similar, but more atmospheric low-poly than pixelosis. The sounds of the crew are also annoying, especially after a few hours of playing. A certain downside is that there is only one kind of bomber in the game (unless we have a DLC), which affects the sense of progress. Missions have quite an uneven level. While survival is rather easy, in some flights one miss makes it possible to go home, while in others we have several bombs, of which one has to hit.
Final score: 7/10
@jarunik - ARK Delegate
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