If you ask me, the best kind of flight simulators don't actually simulate gravity. I know, I know, many people prefer the realism of that whole taking off, landing, and turning thing, but I just prefer to stay put at one altitude, knowing all of my enemies are right there as well. It just makes it so much easier to not have to concern yourself with up and down.
Freeverse's Wingnuts follows this time-honored tradition. As the wingnut, you pilot a rather unique aircraft, ridding the skies of the the Baron von Schtopwatch and his time-travelling air force. You time-travel as well, and your airplane receives upgrades only slightly less often than those of his air force.
Of course, in games when gravity and phsyics are not of concern, quantity usually is. Wingnuts pits you against thirty levels of an air traffic controller's nightmare. Or actually, pretty much anyone's nightmare, since no one likes to fly when there a few dozen of airplanes within one square mile. It's just not a pleasant thing to do, made worse when they're shooting at you.
As with most arcade games of this type (think Time Pilot vs. Xevious), you're not well equipped at the start. Your aircraft has some decent shields and wimpy bullets, and that's about it. Luckily, the enemy is also poorly armed, and their numbers are quite easily thinned out. They fly in squadrons, and the squadrons stay in formation until attacked. Two or three can usually be destroyed before they split apart, and those who do break away settle into straight flight patterns until they're again attacked. Their movements are easily picked up on the radar, and you have afterburners to get quickly to your targets.
The trick throughout all of this is to destroy these planes without becoming an easy target yourself. Lining up for a good shot makes you a good shot as well, so the game is actually easier when there are more enemies on the screen. Towards the beginning of each level, the enemy planes are so abundant that you can fire pretty much anywhere and be able to hit something.
Of course, it does get more difficult. Quickly. The enemy aircraft get stronger, their weapons become smarter, and targets are added to the ground as well. Suddenly, down does become a concern as that's from where the anti-aircraft fire comes. Unfortunately, these stationary targets are much harder to hit than the airplanes. Hovering a few inches in front of your aircraft is your drop target, indicating where your bombs will land. Destroying the ground targets requires almost pinpoint precision, and lining up a perfect shot makes you an easy target for just about anyone on the screen. You'd think if your Air Force staffed only one pilot they'd be able to afford some better bombs. Where's that defense budget being spent? Social Security? Housing? Development of the human transportation tube?
And hey, whenever you see that a game has X amount of levels, you know that means level bosses. The bosses is Wingnuts are doozies; huge airplanes armed to the teeth with a wide variety of weapons. I never developed a real strategy to taking these guys on, save for patience. Get in a couple quick shots, then duck away. You can't take too long though, or you stand to lose your time bonus at the end of the level. Oh, and down also becomes a concern when you run out of fuel.
The Baron doesn't hold all the cards, however. Your fuel concerns are easily addressed by the takner jet that comes to refuel your plane when needed. If you line up behind the plane, you're automatically docked for a refill, which you can break off at any time if you believe you have enough fuel to finish the mission and get safely back to your aircraft carrier. Also hovering in the sky are various power-up parachutes. These contain extra shields, fuel, better weapons, etc., each indicated by a representative icon. There are also quite a few stray parachuters floating around, doomed to hover forever unless either rescued or shot down by you. Many of these people you many know, also. Pretty much the entire staff of Freeverse Software enjoys parachuting in war zones, apparently, and many other names seem to be drawn--perhaps coincidentally--from the Mac gaming community.
How do you know who you're rescuing? Jen tells you, of course. The always amicable and perky Freeverse mascot appears from time to time to offer warnings, give reports, and bolster your confidence. She'll sometimes chastise you as well, but not nearly to the extent of Baron von Schtopwatch himself. He hurls insults and threats with the rapidity of his planes' bullets, all of which contain the Freeverse sense of humor that is pretty much the staple of their games. Like classic Benny Hill, hearing the same jokes over and over doesn't really get old in Wingnuts.
Now this many sound hoaky, but it's personal touches such as this that make Freeverse games stand above similar titles. Clearing levels of planes isn't really anything new, but personally knowing your enemy and your friends is. My niece was absolutely thrilled when she rescued a parachuter named Amy because that's her mother's name. For the rest of the game, she quit worrying about shooting enemy planes and concerned herself only with rescuing others.
I don't recommend that strategy.
In Baron von Schtopwatch, Freeverse gives us a solid enemy upon which to focus our attack. This makes the game more interesting than it would be if were simply attacking a faceless army. They went one step further by making us like him. He's funny, he eats tacos, and he watches soap operas. Sure, he's trying to killing us, but so what? He's a good guy.
I can't believe I've made it this far without talking about the graphics and music. The graphics sit comfortably between the OpenGL technology of today and the classic look of the arcade games by which they were inspired. Colorful, fun and detailed, they're a perfect fit for this style of the game. The explosions and smoke are particularly cool to see, especially those of the boss planes. The music is nothing short of triumphant. It has a rousing quality you'd expect to find in a Spielberg funded war film, or at least yet another Michael Bay helmed mess of hyper-patriotism. It does get repetitive, I suppose, but the action in the game does a good job of diverting your attention away from this.
In the end, Wingnuts isn't so much a battle for life and death as it is a friendly competition between you and the Baron. And "friendly" here means "extremely difficult." After playing this game for a month, I still was not able to get past level ten. A couple things could be done here to make the game a little easier to manage, such as having larger explosion areas on the bombs or getting shield replacements when landing your aircraft between levels. Freeverse was kind enough to allow you to save your game between levels, so you don't have to start at the beginning after quitting a game or losing all your lives. However, booting up a saved game leaves your aircraft in its same condition and with the same number of lives. If you didn't kick major butt on the previous level, there's really no reason to save.
Perhaps moreso than any other development company, Freeverse understands what makes games fun. Their games are all pesonal, with characters you grow to know and like even if you're not controlling them. And of course, there's the humor. It's not often a game can make me laugh out loud even as I'm being pummeled by enemy bullets. Wingnuts combines arcade/action with the traditional Freeverse color and style. It's not a game that will consume your every waking hour, but it is one you'll come back to more often than you might expect. It fits comfortably into my category of "Airport Games;" games I'd play on the iBook while waiting at the airport for my delayed flight. I should point out, actually, that Wingnuts performed perfectly on my iBook where most of the testing for this game took place in both OS 9 and OS X. Although I experienced no crashes or troubles in either OS, you'll probably want to stick with OS 9 because games such as this pretty much demand a game pad.
And hey, after you defeat the Baron von Schtopwatch, why not invite him 'round to tea. Sure, he wants to rule the rule, but he's otherwise a decent chap, I think. After all, at least he doesn't fight dirty by bringing altitude into play.
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Wingnuts
Freeverse's Wingnuts follows this time-honored tradition. As the wingnut, you pilot a rather unique aircraft, ridding the skies of the the Baron von Schtopwatch and his time-travelling air force. You time-travel as well, and your airplane receives upgrades only slightly less often than those of his air force.
Of course, it does get more difficult. Quickly. The enemy aircraft get stronger, their weapons become smarter, and targets are added to the ground as well. Suddenly, down does become a concern as that's from where the anti-aircraft fire comes. Unfortunately, these stationary targets are much harder to hit than the airplanes. Hovering a few inches in front of your aircraft is your drop target, indicating where your bombs will land. Destroying the ground targets requires almost pinpoint precision, and lining up a perfect shot makes you an easy target for just about anyone on the screen. You'd think if your Air Force staffed only one pilot they'd be able to afford some better bombs. Where's that defense budget being spent? Social Security? Housing? Development of the human transportation tube?
How do you know who you're rescuing? Jen tells you, of course. The always amicable and perky Freeverse mascot appears from time to time to offer warnings, give reports, and bolster your confidence. She'll sometimes chastise you as well, but not nearly to the extent of Baron von Schtopwatch himself. He hurls insults and threats with the rapidity of his planes' bullets, all of which contain the Freeverse sense of humor that is pretty much the staple of their games. Like classic Benny Hill, hearing the same jokes over and over doesn't really get old in Wingnuts.
I can't believe I've made it this far without talking about the graphics and music. The graphics sit comfortably between the OpenGL technology of today and the classic look of the arcade games by which they were inspired. Colorful, fun and detailed, they're a perfect fit for this style of the game. The explosions and smoke are particularly cool to see, especially those of the boss planes. The music is nothing short of triumphant. It has a rousing quality you'd expect to find in a Spielberg funded war film, or at least yet another Michael Bay helmed mess of hyper-patriotism. It does get repetitive, I suppose, but the action in the game does a good job of diverting your attention away from this.
