Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII

About Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII is a flight combat video game for Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. It was developed by Ubisoft Bucharest during the second fiscal quarter of 2006 for both the North American and European regions. The game features 46 different World War II fighter planes and allows the player or players to take part in several World War II events as a fictional squadron. Online support allows 16 players to take part in head-to-head and co-operative battles.

The Wii version was released in March 2007. The PlayStation 3 version came as a launch title in December 2006 for North America and March in 2007 for other markets, while Japanese version came in July. This version features all-new missions, a 16-player online mode and support for PS3 controller's motion sensing functions. In line with other online-enabled games on the original Xbox version, multiplayer on Xbox Live was available to players until 15 April 2010. Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII is now playable online again on the replacement original Xbox Live servers called Insignia.

The Angels of Dunkirk is the name of the player's squadron in the game. It is made up of the player, Tom "the shield", Joe "the mechanical wizard" and Frank "the hunter". The player's name is not revealed in the game, but some pilots call him "Captain". Also featured is a German Ace, that the player first encounters during the Battle of Britain, throwing insults at the squadron. He appears again in the final mission of the game, 1945 Berlin leading the Nowotny Squadron also known as Jagdgeschwader 7, a squadron of elite German aces flying the experimental jet planes Germany was trying to create. The Ace is shot down by the player when he nearly kills Tom.

The story varies slightly from console to console. The story followed the player's squadron, nicknamed the Angels of Dunkirk, as they go through various World War II battles and missions. Battles include the Battle of Britain, the Liberation of Paris, The Battle of Midway, D-Day, and the Battle of Berlin. In the Wii and PS3 releases, the story changed slightly, adding more depth to the characters. Scenes narrated by the main character were added before the level to explain the battle. The player also talks during the actual game, shouting commands and conversing with the wingmen. Other changes included Tom being Joe's brother-in-law instead of a random pilot the player saves from a German fighter squadron and Joe getting shot down on D-Day.