View All (6)

View All (1)

If only this was in production for a few more days.

When I heard that I would be reviewing another game about Pearl Harbor I was thinking, “Hasn’t everyone else already proven that this is an impossible task?” I can’t think of a Pearl Harbor game that was a wild success. I mean, heck… even Hollywood can’t pull this one off.

I have to say that with Attack on Pearl Harbor I was more than surprised, I was shocked. This game was more fun than I had possibly imagined it would be.

You start off either choosing to fight for the United States or the Empire of Japan. At the beginning of each mission you get to choose whether you’ll be doing fighter escort, torpedo run or bombing run. Each one has its own separate objectives and strategies. Most of the planes handle the same. The only noticeable difference is weapon load outs.

The name of the game is misleading because although the game starts with the attack on Pearl Harbor, that is not the main focus of the game. For the U.S. campaign you will fight your way across the pacific in places like Midway, Guam, Iwo Jima and Japan itself. For the Japanese campaign you fight a strategic withdrawal as you try to keep the U.S. forces from invading and devastating your homeland.

The first thing that needs to be stated is this is NOT a flight simulator. It’s an arcade style shoot-em’ up that can be described as Blazing Angels meets Over G Fighters. The game play is fast, easy and beautiful. The graphics in the game are stunning. The maps are a good size allowing enough freedom to battle, but not big enough to get lost. The lighting effects and texture mapping are exquisitely done. As far as performance goes once in you’re in the game, it couldn’t be smoother. The real problem is everything outside the game.

The first problem I came across with Attack on Pearl Harbor was when I tried using my mouse to control the aircraft. There was a glitch that would cause the plane to get stuck in an upward left hand climb. No matter what I did to correct the problem, about 2 minutes into a mission there I was climbing a beautiful corkscrew path towards the heavens, never to be unbroken. Since I knew that this wasn’t the kind of game you want to play with a flight sim controller like the X51, I had to find a more economical solution.