WW2 Tail Gunner

The second World War barely holds any more mysteries, given the fact that it was researched, documented and exposed countless times throughout the years. Movies approached the subject from a wide variety of different angles, but the video games industry definitely deserves its spot at the top of this particular food chain, thanks to the huge amount of titles that portrayed the conflict and tried to simulate every major battle.

WW2 Tail Gunner is an arcade shooter with simple ideas and no grand plans to shoot for the moon, given the fact that it just tries to provide you with a few hours of relaxing fun sprinkled with a dash of historical accuracy. Hence, you play the role of a machine gunner at the board of the legendary B17 Flying Fortress and its Nazi counterpart, He-111. Using one of the multiple guns available on board, you must fend off enemy fighter jets and protect both the mission and the plane itself.

Since planes can be attacked from basically any direction, the artillery is cleverly arranged as to allow you to snipe enemies from whatever angle they might be shooting at you. This translates into a fast-paced gameplay mechanic that requires you to quickly change between the different gun positions, in order to return fire and take down every last one of the planes that pursuing you.

The game quickly gets you hooked and it's a good thing that there are plenty of missions to undertake over the course of the campaign, although the replayability level is pretty low. However, the scenarios increase in difficulty as you advance through them and your skills are seriously tested toward the end of the campaign. Quick reflexes are a must, not to mention the ability to withstand a great deal of frustration and anger.

Visually, no one is liable to break any jawbones, but they are decent enough not to put a strain on the eyes, which is commendable. Moreover, the planes are nicely modeled and they hold enough detail to be confused with the real thing, or at least with a low-poly cousin. The terrain and the environments would not be able to pass as anything else other than stretched textures, on the other hand, which can sometimes hurt the experience.

In the end, WW2 Tail Gunner can definitely have a place on your computer, especially if you get bored often and you run out things to do. The gameplay is not revolutionary, the action is not exactly top-class and the graphics are lacking, but you can still have fun with it if you give it a chance.