As you may be able to tell from the full title, Blazing Angels is a flying game set amid the conflicts of World War Two. You assume the role of an American pilot who has joined the RAF to give old Adolf a bloody nose, there were a few of these chaps flying alongside British and Commonwealth pilots in reality, so this isn't just a Hollywood-style history rewrite in order to get American audiences interested in the game.
You are joined on your missions by up to three fellow pilots who make up your squad, your wing-men are very intelligent and can be directed in three basic behaviours: Formation, Attack and Defend. Formation will keep your planes flying in a box and ensure your colleagues keep close to you, heading in the same direction. Attack enables them to pursue their own targets as they wish, and Defend has them sticking close to your plane in order to keep you alive.
In addition, you can make use of each of the three other pilots in more specific ways. Tom can be made to draw off enemy planes; Frank can be let lose to attack on his own no matter what the general flying instructions for the squad.
Your exploits are hindered by the enemy, be they German bombers attacking the Palace of Westminster, or Japanese aircraft carriers dispatching Zero fighters to take you down. The enemy units act together with what appear to be very well co-ordinated tactics.
The missions have a mixed bunch of objectives, from the classic dogfight to the more exotic torpedo runs or photographic reconnaissance flights. In order to execute your missions, you will have to fly a large host of aircraft and master a wide set of weaponry. Each plane has a set of guns, which are your primary weapon and most have a secondary weapon, be it bomb, camera or rocket. Each secondary weapon has its own targeting system, with the more complex belonging to the camera and torpedoes, which require you to fly straight and true in order to reach the optimum point to use them.