Review: Wings over Europe: Cold War: Soviet Invasion

What if the Cold War weren’t cold at all, but instead uncomfortably hot – particularly in the skies above us?

Well, that’s precisely the question posed by this new combat flight sim, which labours under the curiously multifaceted title of Wings Over Europe: Cold War: Soviet Invasion.

The what if? premise is, in essence, just an excuse for a spot of air-to-air combat involving some of the coolest planes of the 1960s and 70s.

Throughout the game’s three main campaigns – multiple one-off missions, and network or online multiplayer – you’ll be able to hop into the cockpit of 12 different jet fighters, including the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-4 Phantom and, of course, the Harrier jump jet.

The first thing you’ll notice on starting the game is that its presentation values are markedly lower than those of most modern games. Cheesy, compressed rock music greets you as the very basic opening menu screen appears. And things don’t get much better.

Even at the highest quality settings, the in-game graphics are distinctly unimpressive; detail is low and textures are blocky and bland. On the upside, the game’s basic visuals and audio mean you don’t need a jet-powered PC to play it. However, we would expect a lot more from a full-price, non-budget title.

The game’s designers have attempted to make Wings Over Europe a pick-up-and-play experience, cutting out a lot of the complexity associated with flight simulators in the hope of broadening the game’s appeal.

In doing so, however, they seem to have created a hybrid game that’s too crude for true flight sim fanatics and equally unappealing to casual gamers.

Consequently, Wings Over Europe is likely to crash and burn with almost anyone who plays it.