Pearl Harbor - Zero Hour Demo

Pearl Harbor - Zero Hour is no longer supported, so it is now impossible to purchase the application. Nonetheless, you can still download it from Softpedia and use it with the limitations listed on this page. World War II was not a hoot for any of the countries involved, regardless of the side they chose. Certain events hit harder than others, however, which is why people remember incidents like Pearl Harbor, or the atomic bombs. Most of these tragedies have been thoroughly analyzed and deconstructed in movies and documentaries, but there are still many things that might have slipped through the pages of history.

Pearl Harbor - Zero Hour is not a very complicated video game, so don’t expect answers to history’s riddles. Instead, you are invited to have some fun with fighter planes and use them to complete a variety of dangerous missions, while shooting at everything that moves. The controls and the gameplay mechanics are as arcade as possible, which means that you do not have to worry about joysticks and a realistic flight model.

Instead, your only worry is to watch out for enemies and keep an eye on the fuel gauge, because things get nasty if you happen to run out of juice above the ocean. The missions are pretty varied, in the sense that you have a different objective every time. Obviously, they all involve destroying a certain target, but given the fact that you pilot a fighter plane, that’s to be expected.

Speaking of which, the variety of planes is quite satisfying, although the differences are only aesthetic in most cases, given the arcade nature of the game. However, it’s nice to have full control over jewels like the P-51 Mustang, the B-25 Mitchell Bomber, or a variety of other such examples. The missions take you to well-known locations as well, including Midway, Okinawa and Guadalcanal.

As far as the technical aspect is concerned, don’t expect too much in this regard. The game features a poor graphics engine, with washed out textures and barely any special effects to improve the atmosphere. However, the plane models are decent, as long as you do not expect too much realism. Lastly, the sound is more or less decent, although it lacks the ability to make you feel like you are actually flying a plane.

In the end, Pearl Harbor - Zero Hour may not be the best in its genre, but it can prove to be a lot of fun in the right circumstances. Hence, if you are able to get accustomed to the simplistic gameplay mechanics and you are not bothered by the crappy graphics engine, you can certainly get a bit of fun out of the game.