Ace of Aces war game

Ace of Aces (1986)

Categories: dogfight gamesflight simulators

1986 computer game published by Accolade and developed by Artech Digital Entertainment for Commodore 64 (and later transfered to other 8-bit platforms). Ace of Aces is unusual game - it is in a way flight simulator, in which we take command over de Havilland Mosquito multi-role airplane in missions over Europe during World War 2. As I sait it is "in a way" flight simulator, because the game is very simplified (afterall it was made for 8-bit computers) and there is no actual simulation of flight physics.

Our Mosquito is represented by 5 screens - cockpit used for steering and attacking the airborne targets, two screens of engine control (including the fire control and switching off the engines), navigation screen and the bomb bay (where we control weapons and the extra fuel tanks). There are 4 types of missions to choose from - intercepting V-1 rocket, intercepting Ju-87 Stuka bombers, attacking POW train somewhere in occupied Europe (making sure not to hit the wagons with red cross on them) or attacking U-Boat wolfpack leaving the base on Baltic Sea. Of course most of the targets will have the Messerschmitt Bf 109 escort, not to mention those enemy fighters just patrolling the area, so the mission could get tough.

Even though the game was simple there were tiny details that made it stand out from competition - first of all it was only game that simulated the operations of multi-role fighters and thus we had the chance to fight enemy planes and drop bombs on ground targets. Second important detail was the control over the engines, f.e. switching off damaged engine and transfering the fuel to the other one or switching from the internal fuel tanks to the external. And the third detail was the freedom - within fuel limitations you could chose any way to fulfil the mission, at the beginning of the mission you could choose the weapons loaded aboard the plane.

For 8-bit computers this game was a high quality game that offered interesting content based on the real missions that crews of Mosquito airplanes had to take during the war. Of course there is a small flaw with time - missions against bombers would suggest that the game takes place early in the war (f.e. 1941), but V-1 rockets entered the service in 1944...

Ace of Aces videos