GamesRelay

Name: B-17: Fortress in the Sky

I doubt many people will remember the classic B-17 Gunner: Air War Over Germany back on the PC in 2001, this port titled B-17: Fortress in the Sky for the Nintendo DS may have a different name, but it doesn't make the game any less repetitive than its previous incarnation.

The game is an arcade style shoot-‘em-up where you control various turrets in a World War II - B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. The various missions you play each follow the same automatic take-off sequence where the computer controls the take-off procedure and then the flying over various enemy occupied territories in Europe. Unfortunately the only time you actually get to control the aircraft is either when your destroying the anti-aircraft guns or during a bombing run, even then, you can only increase or decrease your height and bank slightly left or right. Theirs never any full control over the aircraft which is mildly disappointing, but then this is a shoot-‘em-up, not a flight simulator. During the course of the 25 missions you play through, it's mainly a case of switching between the various turrets and keeping your finger on the trigger while trying to shoot down Messerschmitt's and Focke-Wulf aircraft. The next part of the mission is the top down attack where you need to destroy the anti-aircraft emplacements firing at you. Lastly you're in for the bombing run which is similar to the top down attack but instead of .50 calibre machine guns, your now dropping bombs while trying to hit various buildings, it's simple gameplay at its core.

While the graphics on the original PC version were not the greatest in the world, this game is the same, they don't do much to improve upon the experience you'll receive while playing. The German planes you'll encounter are difficult to distinguish what they are apart from planes unless they're right next to you, while it doesn't make it difficult to shoot at, it just looks like your firing at a blocky mess floating in the sky, especially when they explode. While in the top down view, the ground is the same, buildings are hard to distinguish, U-boats and AA guns don't move either making it dull to look at. Thankfully the turret where you'll spend the majority of your time isn't too bad, it's rendered in 3D which gives a good sense of the scope of the B-17 and its various turrets, however, when you actually see outside the B-17 during a bombing mission, the plane is rendered in 2D which is terrible considering what could of been done with it.

With the DS having two screens, their could have been various different methods of implementing something into the second screen like an alternate turret view to check your six while firing from the front, alas, it wasn't meant to be. The only thing the second screen is used for is to display which turret you're in and how much armour you have left before being shot down while in game, it does however use both screens fully during the mission briefing..

While the graphics are disappointing, the sound on the other hand actually isn't. Since this is a shooting game, it's all about the guns. The .50 calibre machine guns are loud, the bombs when dropped have the slight whine as they fall to the earth, the planes when passing by let you hear the sound of their engine as well and the crew let you know the position of enemy aircraft as they're incoming. It's surprising that where the rest of the game isn't to a high standard, the sounds are fairly realistic, it's just a shame that not much thought was given to the rest of the game.

Controls in B-17: Fortress in the Sky involve using either the stylus or the controls on the DS, the stylus isn't really needed however since using the controls on the DS are far simpler and faster, such is the case when switching turrets, it's just easier to switch using the shoulder buttons than using the stylus.

All in all, B-17: Fortress in the Sky is a fairly sub-standard shooter, the game will be fun for about 20 minutes until the novelty wears off, and since the 25 missions the game includes are all the same, it becomes too repetitive all too fast, kudos should be given to anyone who can manage to sit through the entire game.