Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII Review
Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII
Developer(s) By: Trickstar Games
Publisher(s) By: Mad Catz
Rated: “T” for Teen
Price: $49.99
Release Date: August 28th, 2012
Platform(s): Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3
Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII had a lot going for itself. Promising gorgeous visuals, immersive gameplay, and a distinctive multiplayer option, sadly Damage Inc. fell a bit short from its expectation and decided to fit into the averageness of what it is. Developed by Trickstar games, Damage Inc. is still sure to please a general audience, whether you’re a fan of WWII games, flight simulators, or if you’re just looking to playing something new. Damage Inc. can and most likely will still entertain, but for how long? Will Damage Inc. soar through the skies or crash into in the ocean abyss? Read on to find out!
Like many WWII games, historical accuracy isn’t hard to come by, but Damage Inc. manages to deliver a lot more historical content than any other WWII game I’ve ever played. This isn’t a bad thing; the game is truly realistic with the amount of information that comes before a general mission, giving the player that authentic feeling. The game offers 38 different aircrafts with options to upgrade each craft as you go along the years 1942-1945. The player is allowed to witness the advancement of technology through WWII as newer weapons or aircrafts are implemented into the game’s later years. With up to 20 missions, Damage Inc. is actually a long game. With that said, keep in mind that you’ll most likely have to replay missions because of the tiresome gameplay.
The biggest problem with Damage Inc. is the repetitiveness of each mission. They may all look different, in time of day or the area, but they all feel the same. You either have to take down the enemy before they reach an objective or shoot at the enemy soldiers or their ships in the ocean. This gets quickly boring and you’ll find yourself just picking up the FlightStick or the controller for a bit then setting it down. At its best, Damage Inc. is much more like an arcade game that you’ll play from time to time, or to show off the FlightStick.
Surprisingly, Damage Inc. plays interestingly well. The game is smooth with turns and evasions, which you’ll be doing an adequate amount in this game. Firing your weapons, and controlling your airplane will come at ease, this is of course after an hour or two of vigorous and tortuous training that you will most likely find difficult. Aside from that, the game will eventually become less difficult and you’ll soon find yourself maneuvering and shooting down the enemy.
The Collector’s Edition throws in what Mad Catz does well, a gaming peripheral. With the Pacific AV8R FlightStick, Damage Inc. was an entirely new experience. Controlling your aircraft with the FlightStick was fun and exciting; it really worked well with tracking the motion of your aircraft along with the sensitivity of maneuvering your airplane. The FlightStick feels nicely put together and features a soft rubber finish on the stick. This makes long sessions comfortable and responsive. The FlightStick takes realism to a new level by integrating toggle switches, a twist rudder, and a throttle. For those who want a realistic aerial shooter game, then you can’t go wrong with the Collector’s Edition.
Damage Inc.’s visuals may look outdated or budgeted but they still look fairly decent. The airplane models were nicely detailed and each aircraft was diverse in design, allowing the gamer to really want to choose between an aircraft for each mission. However, I was disappointed with the lack of detail and texture in the environment though. The game delivers bland surroundings and leaves very little to the imagination when playing. For example, the Ocean is vast and blue but there isn’t any real motion or life to it. The clouds and sky are mere murals that look cheap and tacky. Overall, visuals are disappointing because I was expecting a game heavy on simulation to interpret a realistic atmosphere. Conversely, I did notice that with the lacking visuals it was clear who your targets were, something I thought the game did very well at interpreting. This minor observation is actually what allowed me to forget about how outdated the game looked but helped me in my pursuit to complete each mission.
The multiplayer is simple, but I found it to be a lot more fun since you are now up against real people who know what they are doing. This also ups the difficultly as you’ll find yourself dodging and spinning aerially like never before. With up to five different gameplay modes, the online portion does what the campaign should have done, diversify the missions. Online takes the fight into either the classic deathmatch or team deathmatch modes, or even to the fun Scratch One Flattop mode that puts two teams against each other trying to sink each other’s aircraft carries. The multiplayer is fun and brings a livelier feeling to the lifeless campaign.
In conclusion, Damage Inc. isn’t a bad game; it offers some detailed models, a solid set of controls, and hints of originality. With some minor setbacks, Damage Inc. still manages to sore the skies but just a tad above the sea. The game’s faults are heavy and may sway one’s decision when purchasing, but keep in mind that there is still a lot that Damage Inc. has to offer. If you’re looking to pick this up, then I recommend getting the Collector’s Edition because it’s probably the best version to get. Damage Inc. is the perfect pick up and go game that for the time being, will truly let you sore the vast skies.
