Do you guys remember European Air War?
I still have it on my hard disk.
It was a typical boxed game, with all the boxed game problems of of stupid AI and stuff... but come to think of it, I think it was the first WW2 combat simulation game that really made you feel like you were fighting in a part of the war.
The missions were long and repetative, but EAW was the first game after a long line of simulation games from Microprose, Dynamix, Sierra.. etc etc.. (the best simulation game makers during those early years of computer gaming) that integrated a certain type of gameplay, good graphics(for its time), and massive combat missions that made you feel like a part of the war effort.
Aces of the Pacific and Aces of Europe, from Dynamix games was good, but it still had so many limitations due to lacking computer technology that the most planes you saw in the game were not more than 10 planes.
EAW was the first time I saw something like 12~50 bombers in the air, 12~24 escorts, and 20 interceptor planes in a single airspace.
The pure awe of closing in towards a massive formation of bombers was incredibly inspiring during those years. Even nowadays, in a much more advanced game like IL2/FB or Aces High, seeing more than 10 bombers in the air in a tight formation is still a rare thing to happen. But in EAW, with the help of latter-day, 3rd party utilities like "EAW Control", the numbers of buffs, escorts, and interceptors could easily go over 100 planes total. It was just an incredible experience that's hard to forget.
I realize not all the flight-sim/combat-sim enthusiasts like pure 'historical gameplay', but I believe even skeptics must feel something when a battle rages on a scale like this.
With full-realistic options under work, the number of planes and pilots in your squadron would dwindle until new recruits/planes arrive. Seeing the names of KIA/MIA fellows in the chalkboard, despite they were merely AI pilots, made you feel quite sad.
And with the gaps here and there in your formation, you really begin to miss a good pilot who was killed a few missions ago, especially when your formation that lacks numbers has to face a full-scale aerial offensive from 50~60 B-17s in formation.
Every time a pilot would go down, you'd feel dismayed.. every time the radar operatives announced "no reinforcements are available" you would start feeling cold and shaky. And in some events, as you can barely hold your own in such a hectic battle, and then when you see from a distance the planes of another friendly squadron coming your way, you feel that incredible relief, think to yourself "we're saved!".
The incredible thing about EAW, is that despite its a game from such a long time ago, it's still about the only game that really made you feel like fighting in an aerial battle of WW2. Not even IL2/FB comes close.
The adrenaline rush, when your formation of 16x Bf109E-4s close in against 12x Spit1s and 12x Hurri1s head-on in a BoB campaign..... you see everyone scatter into all directions, and briefly a chaotic battle where you just can't keep track of anyone, commences.
For both sides the radio is full of pilots asking for help or going down screaming, and as you look around outside you see planes trailing black smoke, falling into the dark seas of the English Channel one by one.
...
IMHO, for a boxed game, this was the best experience I've ever had with WW2-based games. No boxed game before, or after EAW comes close. The fights were breath-taking, but the long missions that went on everyday was tiring. And when finally the campaign is over, you let out a sigh of relief, knowing that you've survived.
...
If HTC's ToD can replicate that kind of experience in the arena.. I just know it's gonna be good. It's been a long wait since ToD was announced, but I think it's gonna be worth it.
So kudos to HTC for bringing us new sources of inspiration in the game. I know a lot of people feel this way, and are also eagerly waiting the arrival of ToD.
