Release Date : 12/01/2018

Published By : Ace Maddox

Approximate Download Size : 3.54gb

Price : £15.19

Reviewed on : Xbox One

Available On : PC and Xbox One

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Overview

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Flying Tigers Shadows Over China is an air-combat action game based on the true events of America’s secret volunteer squadrons that defended China against Japan in World War 2. The action packed campaign tells you the story of the operations of the American Volunteer Group in fighter, bomber, gunner, reconnaissance, torpedo and night missions. Flying Tigers recreates some of the most legendary events of the China – Burma – India. Historical missions such as the Christmas raids on Rangoon, the Battle of the Salween Gorge, the surprise Invasion of Malaya and many more accurate historical missions are included in this action packed history lesson. Giving you the different modes of Campaign single player and a vast online multiplayer this game has got it all … Or hasn’t it ? Read on to find out.

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Gameplay

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As I first go to load up the game I am somewhat sceptical about the graphics and gameplay as I have played some games from this genre in the past and those has left me less than impressed but as a self confessed history and war buff I ploughed on and donned my headset to immerse myself into the experience I was about to witness.

To start off I tried out the free flying mode to get me used to the controls, I am mainly a run and gun fps gamer so this took a bit of getting used to. After a few runs in freeplay I was ready to take to the open skies as one of the American Volunteer Group to take down the Japanese threat. The main campaign story mode takes you through many historical events, I personally found this more interesting to be taking part in the reenactment of these epic battles.

The gameplay itself is pretty intense from the word go with you having to concentrate on where the enemy is whilst also trying not to crash into the mountainous terrain which is a challenge in itself. Trying to shoot the enemy is at first hard as you try to balance the control of your plane with the aim of your guns, but after a while as you get used to controls the enemy soon starts to fall from the skies. As you progress through the levels you get the chance to pilot different planes from fighters to bombers, the bombing levels can prove difficult as you not only have to contend with airborne threats you have to bomb targets on the ground and dodge the shots of the anti aircraft guns a lot to contend with but gets your heart pumping that’s for sure.

The game comes with a choice of views that gets you even more ingrosed in the experience, you have the standard plane view or third person mode as you may call it (my personal favourite) or you have the cockpit view giving you the proper pilot feeling.

Personally I like the third person mode as I find it easier to see targets and where you are going. The game itself is split into your standard single player and multiplayer modes (the multiplayer mode I will get to shortly). The single player is split down into sub categories; Campaign which is your story mode where you play through historically accurate maps and situations. Dogfight is where you can fight to the death in the skies of the map of your choice. Challenge mode gives you a list of maps and challenges for you to work through, and lastly we have Free Flight which is a kind of a training area where you can use the map of your choice to polish the skill before you head up against the enemy.

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Multiplayer

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Here is where Flying Tigers has the potential to go from a great game to an awesome game. Unfortunately I found I was spending a lot of time sat in lobbies by myself waiting for other players. I did manage to get an online dogfight going in an intense 1v1 battle with the first one to 5 kills winning. There are a few different modes for you to get your teeth into, we have dogfight (and team dogfight), rocket match (and team rocket match) then lastly you have flagbusters which is basically capture the flag but in the skies, all have great potential to make the game a great online experience.

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Graphics

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The game graphics have surprised me from the off, I like the arty stills of the Flying Tigers at the different menu sections at the main menu it gives a good feel and touch to the game. In game the attention to detail in the planes are incredible and pairing that with the breathtaking mountain tops and woodlands we have a very slick and smooth looking game and it gives a kind of authenticity to the whole thing.

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Summary

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To summarise I absolutely love this game, it’s a great history lesson flying you back in time by the seat of your pants. The only let down for me is the lack of players for the online part of the game but I am sure this will grow with time. Having played through the campaign it would be great if Ace Maddox would release different battles as dlc packs, I mean a Battle Of Britain doc would be epic on so many levels. To finish off, if you like flying games or, like me, love most war related games, you most definitely need to check this out!