B-17: Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th
$14.95		(Win95/98/Me/XP) (OEM w/ manual) (B17PO)

Publisher: Microprose

Game

Ratings:

7/10 from Eurogamer

The Mighty 8th!

They called it `The Mighty Eighth', the US Army Air Force 8th Bomber Command that flew daylight missions over occupied Europe, striking at specific military targets with pinpoint accuracy. B-17 Flying Fortress 'The Mighty Eighth' grabs all the latest revolutionary 3D graphics technology to recreate that period and gives you total control of every aspect of this strategic air war (including the opposition). Command one B-17 or a squadron of twelve in full battle formation, look after 10 or 120 crewmen and jump into the shoes of any one of them. Plan strategic missions based on reconnaissance you have requested. Fly in the escort planes or even the Luftwaffe fighters who are trying to shoot the B-17s down!

The Complete Flight Simulation:

• Learn to fly the legendary B-17G `Flying Fortress'
• Become one of the escort fighter pilots in the P-38 Lightning, the P-51 Mustang and the P-47 Thunderbolt.
• Take on the role of the Luftwaffe and jump into German interceptor's cockpits: the Bf 109, FW 190, and Me 262

Take On Any Crew Position

Battle through the mayhem of flak and cannon shells as the pilot or co-pilot. Become the bombardier, and identify the target by setting data into, and controlling, the revolutionary Norden bombsight. As the navigator you'll have to get the B-17 there and back using your detailed map and you'll have to provide vital wind drift information for the bombardier. As a radio operator you'll be in charge of messages to and from the bomber. Finally, as a gunner you've got to defend the aircraft by scanning the skies, spotting and destroying enemy fighters with the help of gun sights and realistic tracer round. Each of the Crewmembers has an AI, which uses the individual skills and characteristics of the crewmember to determine his behavior. Experience, ability, injuries and panic modify this AI so that the crewmembers behave in the most lifelike way possible. Back at base each crewmember has his own entry in the personnel files, kept up to date with efficiency reports, mission histories and information on medals, injuries etc. Medals and promotions are awarded through a points system and reflect the achievements of the individual.

The Best in Flight Based Gameplay:

• Undertake a realistic 25 mission tour of duty based on historical scenarios and targets

Requirements:

Windows 95/98/Me/XP Pentium II 300 Mhz, 128 Mb RAM, CD-ROM drive, 700 Mb free hard disk space, DirectX 7 compatible video cards: 3dfx, Voodoo2 (with 12MB VRAM), Voodoo 3 or higher, Matrox G200 or higher, Nvidia TNT or higher, ATI Rage 128 or higher, S3 Savage 4, 3D Labs Permedia2 or higher, 8 Mb VRAM, compatible sound card, compatible joystick, DirectX 7.

Recommended: Windows 95/98, Pentium II 400 MHz, 256 MB RAM, 700 MB of free hard drive space, DirectX 7 compatible video card, 16 Mb VRAM.

Tested Okay on Windows XP. Do not install the sound or DirectX Drivers on the CD.

Reviews:

Eurogamer by Ian Boys

"B-17 is a brave attempt to do something new with the flight simulator genre. Let's face it, there is not much flying to be done in a B-17 beyond taking off, holding her steady for hundreds of miles, and then landing..."

"Wayward have therefore decided to make the game a B-17 crew simulator - a game where the player can act as pilot, bombardier, navigator, radio operator or gunner in addition to being the aircraft commander, with a total of eleven positions in the aircraft for the ten man crew to take. Anyone who has seen the film 'Memphis Belle' will feel immediately at home..."

"The core of the game lies in the campaigns, where you can name your aircraft and crew and track them from mission to mission. In one campaign my aircraft 'Little Susie' was crewed by friends from work, with myself as bombardier. During the first mission I was wounded, along with the navigator and co-pilot. While we recovered in hospital, Little Susie was tasked with hitting oil refineries in Hamburg and flew through a shredder of flak and enemy fighters, hitting the target but losing lift on the return leg over Bremerhaven. All the crew were injured and spent the rest of the war behind wire, which certainly made those of us in hospital in England feel lucky. This game really brings home to you the cost of combat."

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