The Cold War Starts Again in 2006

Wings Over Europe – first screens.

Posted by Staff
The Cold War was SPOnG’s favourite war in many ways, as there was never actually a war, just lots of preparation whilst we were at school, which consisted of being told to get under the tables should the Communists decide to eradicate us all with their unbelievably destructive nuclear bombs. Which, when you were twelve, was both mind-bogglingly frightening and also - perversely - quite a lot of fun!

So, whilst there is a veritable glut of WWII themed flight sims and action games, it’s good to see that Britsoft value publisher Xplosiv plan to bring us something a little different later this year with a Cold War flavour to it.

What better way to celebrate our 'Mercan cousin's glorious Independence Day by remembering how their glorious nation destroyed our collective childhood through active encouragement of a pervasive fear and paranoia of 'the Commie threat' throughout our culture.

Xplosiv has just announced the plan to release Wings Over Europe in their bargain-ous £19.99 PC range this September. You can see the first screens from the title right here.

So what’s new about it? How is it going to fare in what many consider to be a pretty crowded market? SPOnG caught up with Xplosiv’s lead Flight Lieutenant (General Manager) James Spice to ask him these very questions.

“Wings Over Europe enters the period in the history of military aircraft that lends itself particularly well to the fixed wing flight sim genre. The years between the '60's and '70's when MiGs and Phantom's ruled the skies and that saw the new emergence of exciting aircraft such as the F-15A and the Harrier. It's a time when pilots and not computers were in control, where skill and daring were a pre-requisites of the job,” Spice told us.

He continued: “Just as with other major publishers, we are starting to re-visit the fixed wing flight sim market and see benefits to the dedicated and loyal following to this genre. We feel the time is right to offer a premium value product at the £19.99 price point, and believe that Wings of Europe has the action and quality to make excellent addition to our premium Xplosiv range.”

Well, despite Flight Lieutenant Spice sounding like he is secretly reading the press release, SPOnG is keen to see and know more about this title, as it has always been a childhood fantasy of ours to fly some of the legendary Cold War fighters that appear in Wings Over Europe – specifically, the F-100 Super Sabre, F-15 Eagle, F-105 Thunderchief, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-4 Phantom II, the British Hunter and the daddy of them all - the vertical take-off and landing Harrier Jump Jet.

The game boasts a random mission generator, decorations, awards and promotions which can be won from successful flight campaigns. There is also open architecture for mod support, and you can also download thousands of user-created skins, aircraft, terrain, missions, and campaigns.

Check out our dedicated Wings Over Europe page for more screens and info.
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Comments

Joji 4 Jul 2006 16:51
1/2
Sounds cool and i'd invest if i had a worthwhile pc to play it on. Would be nice to get this on PS2, but I guess Ace Combat and Blazing Angels will have to do.

Mines an A-10 Thunderbolt, prepped and ready for a tank busting takeoff.
BlackSpy 5 Jul 2006 10:18
2/2
I just wish someone would do a decent helicopter sim again, it's been ages since Commanche Hokum.
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