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The original Blazing Angels was a decent, if uninspired, World War II aerial combat game. There wasn’t any competition for it though, which helped sales enough to apparently warrant a sequel. Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of World War II is, thankfully, a much better game than the original and strong enough to stand on its own merits.

Returning Angels

While much the same as the original, there are enough tweaks and enhancements in this version to make Blazing Angels 2 feel like a sequel instead of just a new set of missions. Most of the 18 missions in the single player campaign take place in a relatively realistic and historic atmosphere, yet others go beyond the wild blue yonder. Ironically, this distinction makes the game much better than the original.

Almost completely throwing away the idea of a sim, much of Blazing Angels 2 resembles a really complex version of old school 2D shooters like 1942. You’ll face incredible odds from the surface and the air, and battle huge bosses like a gigantic war zeppelin. The missions will take you from the traditional views of Europe—including Germany and France—to more outlandish locales like the pyramids of Egypt and even the Arctic Circle.

Men on Missions

Although markedly improved over the original game, Blazing Angels 2 can’t quite overcome all the flaws of the series. This time the missions have much more variety, but after a while, they still feel repetitive. Most of the action time is spent on arcade-like battles against virtually overwhelming odds.  Since the AI wingmen are nearly useless, the player always does most of the work.

Most of the missions revolve around simply flying and shooting things, and often go on too long. Flying in dull circles to target enemy planes, tanks, and AA gun emplacements can quickly get tiring, and many of the levels lay this sort of gameplay on a bit too thick. Other missions are much cleverer, however. In one, you have to defend a submarine with only a primitive sort of EMP weapon that disorientates enemy planes and, with proper planning, can cause them to crash.

Overall, the missions are a reasonably good mix of the creative and the familiar.  Due to the rather sluggish nature of the craft you fly, there’s plenty of frustration to be had. Obstacles abound, particularly at low altitudes, and it’s easy to get smashed out of the sky by a tree you didn’t even see. As you progress, you’ll be able to steal and use top-secret experimental German planes, like a rocket plane and the flying wing. These planes have a much different feel and even come with homing weaponry, adding much needed variety to the later missions.

Blazing Angels 2 is a great online game, with excellent multiplayer options and performance. The game supports up to 16 players over 11 different modes. There are three basic game styles—solo (free for all action), co-op, and squadron (team-based). Solo modes are variations on familiar games like deathmatches and tag. Plus, there is a creative variation where every player has to kill all the other players at least once. Co-op is a nice addition that lets up to four players take on the campaign, individual skirmish missions, or just endless waves of enemies. Finally, the squadron mode includes team deathmatch, capture-the-flag, and three other types of battles.

Almost Ace Combat

The controls feel more accurate this time around. The use of the right stick for the throttle is annoying, but targeting and wingmen communications are easier to use. Targeting is unique, in that the camera locks onto whatever you have marked. Learning to steer the plane while viewing the action from strange angles can take some getting used to. This system works well though, and the responsive plane controls are especially welcome in the heat of combat, when being able to aim easily is key to survival.

Other upgrades in Blazing Angels 2 include the visuals. The missions take place over vast landscapes that are ripe with detail. The planes and other vehicles look exceptional, and there are plenty of great looking special effects to check out along the way. In between missions, you’ll be treated to pulpy comic book-style narration that drives the story along, giving the game a nice, early 20th century cinema feel.

The voice acting is better this time around too, with more variety to the pilot sound bits. The soundtrack is typical of WW2 games, but does the job, and the sound effects are well suited to the action.

Blazing In

More often than not, the action is fun and intense. The game looks excellent, and until Ace Combat hits the 360, there’s still no competition for Blazing Angels—unless you count Crimson Skies on the original Xbox, which is far better than both these games. Regardless, excellent multiplayer options and a lengthy single player campaign manage to add up to a commendable air combat experience.

Review by: Jason D'Aprile
Video Produced by: Jeanne Goshe