Description:
Despite the Red Baron, the Sopwith Camel, zeppelins, and other famous reminders of the oft romanticized aerial battles of World War I, the conflict has been grossly underrepresented in the gaming world. That's a shame, because when a game as fun as Red Baron 3-D comes along it only leaves us wanting more. This upgraded version of Red Baron 2 is vastly better than the game that preceded it, from the improved 3-D graphics (if you have a 3-D accelerator that supports the Glide API) to the new flight models. Flight simulator fans used to screaming around the sky at mach 2 will be in for a bit of a shock. Few of the planes exceed 150 mph, and most of your time will be spent at double-digit speeds. However, the slow speeds do not make for a boring game. Thanks to a handy time compression feature, climbing to a reasonable altitude doesn't take too long, and the inherent instability of these crates means active handling is required at all times. Many of the 22 flyable planes in the game are extremely fragile. You can actually hear the wing spars creak and groan as you pull tight turns, often followed by a sickening "snap!" when novices are at the controls. Players can fly a variety of single scenarios or participate in complete campaigns, but the real fun of Red Baron 3-D is the online play. No matter how good you are at the single-player game, an experienced human player will pull off moves that make your head spin. Fortunately this is one of those games where practicing is actually fun, and the game's low price (and free multiplayer component) only adds to the appeal. --T. Byrl Baker Pros: - Much improved flight model
- Graphics look great (if you have a Glide-compatible 3-D video accelerator)
- Online multiplayer battles are a blast
Cons: - Players without a Glide-compatible video card will have to make do with older graphics
- Fragility of aircraft and lack of radar and advanced weapons make the game difficult for beginners
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