Air Warrior II Demo

Back when computers were not yet a necessary appliance in every home, video games were much tougher to figure out, since they were designed for a rather select audience and no one took mercy on beginners. However, fun was still the most important factor, so once you managed to understand how to play them, it was all about having a good time and shooting a few things.

Air Warrior II is a flight simulator in which you get to be a part of the greatest aerial missions from both the first and the second World War. Hence, you also have the opportunity to fly some of the most iconic planes ever designed, all of which have been modeled and programmed to come as close to the real thing as it was possible back when the game was released.

The available scenarios spread from the first World War until to the end of the second one, with plenty of interesting missions to test your pilot abilities. Not only that, but the locations range from Europe, to Pacific and even the Australian coast, which means that there’s almost no front you do not get to visit throughout the campaigns. The graphics are pretty rough, on the other hand, so don’t expect to recognize any of the places.

As far as the actual flying is concerned, the physics are pretty realistic and you can really get into them, as long as you have a joystick handy. Controlling the planes with the keyboard alone is not indicated, although it is entirely possible to do so. A variety of forces act on the aircraft when you are up the air, so a lot of care is needed in order to perform maneuvers and avoid losing control.

Visually, the primitive graphics may not look like much today, but a lot of work went into them back in the day. Most of the planes are pre-rendered, which means that there are little to no animations involved. The cockpits are pretty detailed as well, although they are mostly static too, which might break the immersion from time to time. Not a lot can be said about the sound department either, because there’s no music and the effects are very basic.

In the end, Air Warrior II is not very attractive nowadays, especially since there are much better titles out there. On the other hand, it can be the perfect choice for a lazy afternoon, in case you want to remember the old days, or you are just curious about what transpired in the genre before DirectX 10 was a thing.