World War II: Pacific Heroes is a 3D action/arcade shooting game for Windows, developed by Oberon Media. Rather than focusing on actual events or realistic settings, World War II: Pacific Heroes drops you in a plane with simple controls and unlimited ammo and lets you play the role of war hero. Across twenty missions you'll pilot a few different types of planes as well as man a heavy turret. It's an arcade game distilled down to its most basic elements, tossing many conventional limitations out the window to let you focus on the action.
Your first mission is an attempt to rescue stranded Marines inside enemy territory. As always, you fly it solo and must take on foes with nothing more than missiles and an on-board machine gun. Arrows point you to the bad guys and aiming is a simple matter of moving the target over an enemy and firing. Things will get a little hectic when opposing planes fly in close and you chase each other exchanging fire, but what's a little gaming without competition? Simply cut back on the speed throttle and make a sharp turn. They'll never know what hit 'em.
Realism takes a firm backseat to pure entertainment in World War II: Pacific Heroes, so don't walk into this game expecting to become a history expert. Conventions such as unlimited ammo and a remarkably resilient aircraft weigh the odds heavily in your favor. It's also easier to hit planes when they're farther away, allowing you to wipe out several enemies before they get a chance to start pummeling you.
Where World War II: Pacific Heroes really excels are the visuals and game controls. The graphics are very well done, striking a balance between realistic scenery and arcade-style backdrops. You won't be shooting coconuts off palm trees, but you will feel immersed enough to get into the game. The entire screen tilts as you bank your craft around tight corners. You'll lean your head sideways on more than one occasion. Controlling the plane is handled with the mouse, as are firing missiles and the machine gun. The learning curve is practically non-existent, so by the time you've installed the game you're ready to roll.
For all its arcadey goodness, World War II: Pacific Heroes does have a few shortcomings. First of all, it's a rather brief game. The 20 missions you're presented with are standard fare and offer little surprises. While this helps to keep things simple and action-packed, a twist or turn here or there would have been great. The difficulty level is also quite low, so you'll breeze through most missions without a scratch.
Analysis: I've never been a fan of war-themed games, but World War II: Pacific Heroes grabbed me with its no-frills gameplay and nice looking graphics. The fact that it's set during World War II is immaterial, it could just as easily have taken place on Mars in 2142 or as a gun-toting fly trying to take out other insects. It's a straightforward arcade shooting game, and a surprisingly good one at that.
The clear-cut missions were also appealing to me. Just read a short briefing and hop into the game, no strategy planning sessions or multiple objectives to complete at once. Not having to worry about running out of ammo or missiles is also quite nice. Of course this really cuts into the feeling of realism, but to be honest, in the middle of a close-quarters dogfight, I didn't really care. World War II: Pacific Heroes is about winning, not trying to win and failing miserably.
For some straight-up shooting action, World War II: Pacific Heroes is definitely the way to go. It offers enough action to keep you busy for many hours and won't frustrate you with cheap enemy AI or limited resources. Just hop in the plane and start saving the day.
Windows:
Download the demo
Order the full version
Mac OS X:
Not available
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Comments (may contain spoilers)
great game!
love the site!
Posted by: str33tfury
|
October 22, 2006 7:01 PM
Well, I think this game would be great for kids, or maybe a coffee break game for teens or inexperienced adult gamers - but its a bit too easy and simplistic for others
Posted by: mermermer | October 22, 2006 7:04 PM
Hmm. if you manage to collide your plane with an enemy plane in midair, you explode but no game over appears
you just stay on teh same screen where you hit th eplane, with no plane and immobile
Posted by: biggles | October 22, 2006 8:40 PM
I am beginning to suspect these arecadetown games just plain aren't worth it. I bought virtual villagers because the trial time wasn't enough to figure out wtf is going on, and I thought the game had potential. I was wrong :P
PH is the same way. Too short, too easy, too plain.
The AI wasn't cheap, it was non existant. The planes appeared to hit themselves frequently with friendly fire because I couldn't be that lucky. I was never really pursued, and when someone did launch a couple of shots, I could easily shake them. Maybe it gets better in the later levels...but at 20 levels, there is no time for a warm up.
Simple isn't bad...You just need solid elements.
Posted by: Tinesthai | October 22, 2006 9:36 PM
Nice enough game, I managed to fit someone without blowing myself up :-)
Demo lasts for 60 minutes, which was enough for me to get to about level 13.
Posted by: Fraser | October 23, 2006 12:12 AM
Error message on clicking play...seemed to be in Russian...So no joy Jay
Posted by: merlin121 | October 23, 2006 3:08 PM
I thought the game was a nice distraction for a little bit, but definitely wouldnt be worth buying. In the hour that i got to play i already finished at least 15 levels.
But it might be worth something if they added some kind of difficulty setting. although i still dont think i would buy it.
Posted by: chris | October 23, 2006 9:47 PM
Belated review...
Like Fraser, 60 minutes was enough for me to get to mission 13 (although I did fool around quite a bit along the way, like blowing up buildings I was supposed to be protecting), so I wonder how much playing time I would get from the remaining third of the game. Even if the difficult did ramp up quite a bit, I can't imagine getting more than another hour of playing time out of it.
It is a fun little diversion, but the complete lack of difficulty sinks it. For one, unlimited ammunition, fuel, and damage takes away any challenge. If you had to manage your resources in these missions it would be a lot more interesting.
Graphics-wise the game is pretty, but that's about the only redeeming quality. It's just not enough to make the game worthwhile.
I agree completely with Tinesthai's final comment: "Simple isn't bad...You just need solid elements."
Posted by: Suho1004
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October 25, 2006 9:23 PM
its a good game but I need help on the mission 20th..... yes I´m a real pain in the ass with video games, I´m not that good. Thank for the help and understanding
Posted by: daniel | November 4, 2006 2:35 AM
level 20 is hard unrealistic to expect you to take out thirty plus planes and five or six boats
Posted by: kth | November 21, 2006 5:28 PM
A fun little game. Great for a diversion, but not for hard-core gamers. Levels 1-19 are pretty easy, level 20 is impossible.
Posted by: mike | November 22, 2006 7:53 PM
I am 54years old airforce high rank officer(colonel)
retiered 5 years ago .I play this game and like it very much it is a real good game and have a lot of fun
in it thanks the producer
Posted by: Amir | December 6, 2006 7:37 AM
An enjoyable game. We've tried to play this on multiplayer, with no success. We've turned on all firewalls on both pc's, just no luck, really disappointed. any body had any luck hosting a mulitplayer game, as im sure it would make a good shoot em up.
Posted by: paul | January 18, 2007 10:43 AM
CAN ANY BODY HELP ME WITH A HINT ON HOW TO BEAT LEVEL 20
I KEEP GETTING KILLED, I HAVE TRIED FAST, SLOW, LEFT, RIGHT
TERRY S
Posted by: terry | January 20, 2007 5:34 PM
While I havnt actually beat level 20, I came pretty close a couple of times. One secret that I discovered is that the enemy planes have a hard time hitting your plane if you are right on the deck. That works fine for killing the ships, but then you have to figure out how to kill all the planes.
Anyone else have any luck?
Posted by: MJ | March 21, 2007 2:26 PM
I know its hard to beat 20th round. but there are some small tricks
1. keep your gun point sliter above the enimy plains.
2. dont move your gun point too much.
3. dont try to hit the ships. first put down all the figher plains.
4. increase you speed if you see any enimy plain. first put them down and then decrease the speed.
it took my lots of hours to discover...
Chears...
Posted by: Neeraj Deswal | April 16, 2007 2:15 PM
This game is beatable in only a couple hours. It is really very easy.
The final level (20) takes a few attempts.
When you start off you can get about 3 or 4 torpedoes in the water before you see any real action.
The real key is to take out the planes from as far away as possible aiming slightly above them.
Groups usually come in waves of 3 or 4 planes normally from the direction you start off in, some come in from the left and right.
Don't let them get behind you. If too many are behind you it becomes to difficult to both take out incoming planes from a long range and maneuver successfully to kill the ones on your tail.
Once all the planes are gone then take out the boats at your own pace.
Posted by: Jonathan | April 28, 2007 1:02 PM
I downloaded the free version of PH, and upon loading I get a white screen, sound, but no game. any thoughts? I have directx9, not sure about 3d accelerator though.
Posted by: Ron | July 3, 2007 8:25 PM
hey i love the game but i am stuck on lvl 2 can anyone help?
Posted by: robert | October 27, 2007 4:51 AM
hey, how do you pass level 20, it is impossible.
Posted by: FAN | February 16, 2008 10:22 AM