Jane's Attack Squadron

Forget B17 Flying Fortress II (The Mighty Eigth), this one has all the action that particular simulator claimed to offer but failed to deliver, plus an awful lot more as well. Honest!!! More planes, more missions, an interface that works and which doesn't take months to fathom... Yes, the graphics are dated by comparison to some recent releases such as Lock On and IL2 Sturmovik, but what the heck, this is 1943 for goodness sakes!!! Having said that, although the plane models can look a bit polygonal, (is that a real word?), the rendering of the sky and clouds, particularly at sunset or dawn, is one of the most beautiful pieces of programming I have seen in any program, anywhere. The ground detail is pretty spot on as well. Jump to an exterior view of the plane and no, you won't see quite the same loving detail in the rendering of your plane. However, I see this as a positive thing, as I believe the programers have kept the flight models relatively simple in order to increase the game-play factor. And boy, have they got it right!!! Everything from the reflected glint of the sun on the cockpit of an approaching enemy plane, to the vapour trails of all aircraft when you reach a certain altitude... it's all there. The flash of the guns on the inside of your gun-turret, even the smell of cordite... well no, not quite. But believe me, this is a belter of a flight sim. Hard-core sim fans may not be too thrilled as the game appears to be rather simplistic on loading - the more in-depth features have to be dug out of options screens and a manual printed out from Acrobat files.

All said and done, I love this flight sim. It delivers top-notch fun, action and entertainment. I have IL2 and B17, along with F18 Hornet and Falcon 4.0, and what do I put on if I want a good old scoot about the skies??? Yep, mi ol' Janes A S.

It's almost as good as tea and crumpets on the lawn on a pleasant Summer's afternoon!!!


Jane's Attack Squadron   May 13, 2002
45 out of 47 found this review helpful

To put it simply, this is fun. IL-2 Sturmovik is the more realistic and pretty game but Attack Squadron keeps the realism simple and the game more accessible. The graphics aren't as good as IL-2 but they'd be the best if IL-2 wasn't around. As such the whole game flies at great speed, making dogfights exciting and keeping you hooked. The best thing is... you can fly a spitfire and not take off in a russian plane you've never heard of.
The controls are just at the right level to put it above an arcade game but slighty below a serious sim, leaving you free to fly and fight.
Great fun.