Heroes of the Pacific Xbox Review
WWII still has a story that interests people which certainly explains why there are a ton of games that are based on the events of this war. The events that happened at that time rocked everything the USA stood for. It shook the foundation of our beliefs and played on the fears of those who lived during it. Any company can make a game with the history being accurate. That’s easy enough, but trying to create one that really lets you feel what survivors of the war went though is an accomplishment.
It’s a matter of balance; fans of the war genre want action but they also want a story or reason for the actions. In other words, a reason to play. Throw in too many details or get carried away and the game suffers due to the story being too deep. Base it all on action and the game can become boring. When I started to play Heroes of the Pacific and saw the opening intro based on a real life event, it got my attention. The real question is does Heroes have enough to compete with all the other WWII themed based games out there on the market today?
Gameplay
The game starts off introducing the Crowe brothers and a brief history of their dad as a pilot. The game really sets up the main mission mode right away. Their dad saved a pilot who crashed at an air show. His heroic deeds saved the life of the pilot but left him badly burned and unable to fly. So the family had to scrape on his pension and the boys learned to fly using the old crop duster. The one brother had his dad’s gift and became a hot shot fighter pilot. The attack on Pearl Harbor finds the pilot trying to save the fleet. His brother has been signed to one of the ships in the fleet. Taking out the Japanese pilots was no easy task and when it seemed like the Americans were about to win, they got a deadly surprise and the Crowes lost another member of the family.
This all takes place while you are in the air doing battle and makes the game really flow well. You start to care and feel the anger of this young pilot. He wants revenge for his brother, his country and his own self. Here is where the story takes a turn and affects the actual mission from here on. Crowe is talented but at times he can decide to ignore an order and seek revenge. If he succeeds, he gets rewarded and an earful about following orders. If he blows it, he fails the mission and gets called worse. The language is colorful and adds to the realistic story. The game is really an air combat war game plain and simple but with enough of a story to add some different angles not found in similar games.
The default setting for those used to air combat games may need to be adjusted. Once I had a few missions in, it was easy and I had to change the level myself. The game is made for those used to flying controls and offers simpler controls making the game playable for any gamer’s level. The missions are well designed and a few are very tough but veterans of flying games may want more advanced controls. They tried to add the right mix and for the most part succeed in the balancing act of adding enough for die-hard fans while making the game for anyone to play.
Heroes adds enough planes and extras to make it interesting and worthwhile to keep playing. There are plenty of real life stories mixed throughout the game. You will earn new plans as you gain medals and experience points. You can enter the historical mode and fly some of the more famous missions and this mode is interesting and adds to the main mode. Overall, this is a good dog fighting game and a decent single player mode with a few others to play after beating the main objectives.
Control / Playability
There are two sets of controls: the basic and the advanced with a learning curve of about 35-45 minutes. You can use the tutorial if you are new to flying games or it has been a while and it will help you brush up on the controls. They did add stalling, overheating the chain guns and other realistic parts of a air combat games. There are a few places where the game just seems like an arcade and that may turn off those who are die-hard dog fight fans. They did make the controls respond well and you can pull of some cool maneuvers if you take the time with the game. The targeting system is well done and works nicely for this type of game.
Xbox Live
The lobby is basic and has options for dog fights, team matches and a capture the flag game types. Online the gameplay is decent and lag free but finding a game can be a little hard since the rooms fill up rather quickly. I would have liked to see a few different modes or options on the online mode. It just seems to get a bit old once you learn each area and know where the best attack points are. There were no issues with hearing other players even if they were further away like some games like this. Once again, if you know a certain plane down pat, you will have an advantage. It’s is enjoyable, however, I would have liked to see a way to add more of a challenge as it tends to get old unless you are online with friends. Its a basic online lobby and more time should have been spent on the online mode.
Graphics / Presentation
The graphics used in the game switches and for any game like this that is common. At times the graphics are very detailed and really stand out, then they tend to look a little plain. Overall the planes look great and there is a wide range available to unlock. They added a replay mode and it looks very cool seeing the fight from different angles. The games camera does a great job and that is hard in any flying combat game. The sinking of the ships is remarkable and the explosions at times look very realistic.
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View all Heroes of the Pacific Xbox Screenshots
Audio
The voice acting is well done and fits each character. The actors seem into their roles and this helps make the story angle work. The planes each sound different from one another even if its a small difference. The guns all sound very realistic. The game clearly tries to capture what people feared and felt during this war.
Replay Value
The whole game adds enough to add replay value but the die-hard fans may be content in beating the game and then playing online for a while. It has plenty to unlock and modes for those who want to try and beat everything. It’s packaged and designed well but the online mode lacks depth and that may be a turn off to some.
Overall Score
Overall Score: 8.0/10 [not an average]
Additional Comments
Heroes of the Pacific really tried to tell a decent story and add plenty of action and for the most part it pulled it off. The game may not appeal to die-hard vets of air combat games but has something different that few games offer. The online play could have been better however. Overall, it is a fun and well made game that is interesting and at times offers fast-paced action. A solid single player mode and plenty of game types.
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