In Secret Weapons Over Normandy, you play the role of James Chase.  You are an American pilot that has been enlisted in a secret division of the British Royal Air Force.   Not only must you help the Allied forces in World War II, but you need to prove to everyone that you belong in this elite division. By proving yourself to be a capable pilot, you will have access to 23 powerful aircraft and other top-secret weapons of World War II. 

There are two main gameplay modes available in Secret Weapons Over Normandy, Campaign and Instant Action.  Campaign mode is the story mode for the game and I will go over this mode later in the review.  The Instant Action mode allows you to jump right into a dogfight with an enemy pilot.  You can set different options for this mode, such as the number of “kills” for victory, time limit, environment and which aircraft you want to control.  You also have several different options you can change on the aircraft settings, such as a secondary weapon, wingmates, and the number of enemies & skill level.  Once you’ve adjusted all of your settings, you’re then put right into the action.  For the impatient gamer, you can start the game right here with the Instant Action mode.  But I would recommend most gamers hold off on the Instant Action mode and start with the Campaign Mode.

As mentioned earlier, the Campaign Mode is the story mode of the game.  This is where you learn about James Chase and what he thinks of the British Royal Air Force.  At the beginning of each campaign there is a short cinema display where James will discuss the next mission and what it’s like being in the Royal Air Force.   The cinema displays are well done, with pictures of different pilots and their airplanes.  The first campaign has a tutorial section that is helpful and very impressive.  The tutorial reviews how to control your plane and how to understand the in-game radar & maps.  The tutorial is broken up into several different missions that you can complete.  But, if you want to learn by experience, then you don’t have to complete the tutorial.

Each campaign has mission goals, broken up into primary, secondary and bonus.  The primary goal is what you need to accomplish to actually finish the mission.  The secondary and bonus goals are additional missions that you can complete, but are not essential to finishing the mission.  Most campaigns are broken up into several different primary goals, such as four different goals.  You have to complete all four primary goals before you can go onto the next campaign.  The secondary goals are additional missions that can be completed, which will then unlock the bonus goals. 

By finishing a campaign (or even the secondary or bonus goals) you can unlock different bonuses in the game.  The bonuses could range from new airplanes you can use in the game, upgrades for your plane or movies about the different planes.  As the new airplanes are unlocked, they are then available to use in the Instant Action mode.  When you unlock an upgrade, you can use the upgrade to improve the quality of your plane in the campaign mode.  There are several different upgrades available, such as the Armor level for the plane, engine speed or ammo capacity.  The movies that you unlock are about the different planes that were used during World War II.  You will see different pilots talking about the planes and how they were used during the war.

There are also Challenge Missions that can be unlocked in the game as well.  Some of the challenge missions offer additional tutorials to learn the different planes in the game.  Other Challenge Missions might have you competing against different computer controlled players.  Some of the Challenge Missions might have additional bonus goals that can be completed as well.  By finishing the Challenge Missions you can unlock additional upgrades for your plane or unlock additional aircraft.  The Challenge Missions where you have to compete against the computer (such as your trainer) can be very difficult.  These characters don’t play around with you and the purpose of the challenge is to improve your skills as a pilot.

All of these missions and goals wouldn’t be worth it if the combat weren’t any good.  Well, thankfully, Secret Weapons Over Normandy does a good job with the combat.  The game controls very well during combat, and the game offers a unique targeting system to help you.  You have a target lock option where you lock onto the enemies in the game and never loose track of them.  Once you have your target locked and you press the target lock button, the game switches to a different camera view.  The camera is locked onto the target, while remaining locked onto you as well.  You can see where the enemy is going at all times, while still knowing where you are as well.  The best way to describe it is a third person view of your plane that is fixed to your enemy.  There is also a red hit indicator (cross hair) that signals to you if the enemy can be hit by your weapons.  If the hit indicator is black, the enemy is too far away.  If the indicator is red, then you can hit the enemy.  The hit indicator and target lock system makes it much easier to follow and hit the enemy. 

Although the target lock system is a very unique feature, it can be a little confusing.  The hit indicator will almost always show red when you are locked onto an enemy.  But you still need to be lined up with the enemy to hit them.  So even though the hit indicator shows you can hit the enemy, you won’t be able to until you’re target reticle has a clear view.  For the slower enemies this isn’t much of a problem, but for the faster enemies it can be very confusing and frustrating.  You will keep moving all over the place, performing moves that most real pilots would laugh at, trying to get a clear shot of the enemy.  Once you think you have a good shot lined up and quit pressing the target lock key, then you realize that you’re way off target.  You can overcome this by keeping the target lock on at all times and then waiting until the target reticle has a clear shot of the enemy.  This way you have a better chance of hitting the enemy plane. 

There are a few other unique controls available in the game.  You have the ability to slow down time during a battle with the slow-motion Reflex Time controls.  This allows you to slow down time, and helps you keep track of faster moving enemies.  If an enemy is far away, you also have the ability to speed up time with the fast-motion Reflect Time control.  If you’re near the end of a mission and a group of enemy bombers are ten thousand feet away, the fast-motion Reflex Time control allows you intercept them right away.  If you’re using a flight stick (which I recommend that you do) you can also manually control the speed of you plane easier then with a keyboard.  Controlling the speed of the plane is essential during a dogfight.  You can turn faster and easier at a slower speed then a fast speed.  This is an essential lesson to learn to survive, slow down to engage the enemy.  You can control your aim and accuracy easier at a slower speed.

Secret Weapons Over Normandy is a great Aircraft game, with some unique features that will please most gamers.  If you’re looking for another way to cure that aviation war game itch, Secret Weapons Over Normandy is the way to go.

Gameplay 8.6 

A good combat game is always dependent on how well the game controls.  In Secret Weapons Over Normandy, the controls are well done.  With the Target Lock system, you’re never wondering where the enemy is located.  You’ll always know just how far away or close the enemy is to your plane.  As mentioned earlier, this is very helpful when engaged in a dogfight with one of the harder computer controlled characters.  Your planes are very responsive to the controls and handle well during the game.  The game will offer hints on how to control your plane better, and these hints work.  The only time the game felt unresponsive was during it’s strongest point, the target lock system.  Sometimes the plane you’re trying to take out is making so many different moves, that you’re constantly flying all over the place.  It doesn’t feel like flying a real plane.  It feels more like a science experiment in creating new laws of gravity and physics.

Graphics 8.4 

The graphics for the different planes in the game are well done.  Each plane has it’s own unique and specific look.  When flying up close to the different planes, you’ll have no problem making out the different models.  The stage graphics are detailed, but not as detailed as the different planes.  I could never tell the difference between most of the cities I was flying over.  Sometimes the only difference was one city would have more buildings then another.  There are additional graphics in the game besides the planes, such as tanks, cars, anti-aircraft guns, and other special weapons.  When engaging these weapons they are detailed and clear.  The frame-rate for the graphics would take a hit from time to time, but was smooth during most of the game.  The biggest problem with the frame happens during the target lock system.  It seems the computer would have a hard time keeping up with the enemy and your plane, causing the graphics to become jerky.  I only noticed the jerkiness during the target lock camera angle.  The camera would always remain locked onto the enemy, so you would never lose the enemy because of the jerkiness.

Sound 8.8 

The sound effects of the different planes and weapons are impressive.  The sound effects come across very clear during the game.  You can always tell when you’re hitting the enemy’s plane, cause you hear the bullets making contact.  Dropping bombs would always make a satisfying BOOM in the subwoofer of my surround sound.  The in game music is kept to a minimum.  There is music played during the mission briefings and cinema displays.  The music is the standard military style music that you’ve heard before in other games or movies.  Another impressive aspect was the voice acting during the radio chatter.  The voice acting is well done and the radio chatter during the battles makes you feel like you’re in the game.  You also hear the radio chatter of the enemy fighters as well, although they are usually in German.  Thankfully the enemy chatter is translated on screen for you to read.

Difficulty Medium 

The difficulty during the game ramps up to a harder difficulty as you get farther along.  While in battle, it seems the computer will try and perform the most death defying, impressive move in the book, every time.  This adds to the difficulty, but with the target lock system you never have to loose sight of the enemy.  The hardest part during the game were the enemy boss fighter pilots you had to take out.  Some of these pilots are incredible to a fault.  As soon as you think you’ve caught up with them, they pull away and you’re playing catch up.  Some of these boss battles were a test in patience.  You might only hit the enemy every 1 out of 3 passes.  So you have to have patience, don’t waste any of your ammo and wait for the best shot.

Concept 8.8 

The target lock system is a unique concept for this type of game.  Sure, as the name suggests, you have the opportunity to use some secret weapons of World War II.  But, what does that matter if the game doesn’t play well.  The target lock system will always keep you in the action.  The slow motion and fast motion options are also an impressive feature to help you during battle.  Instead of worrying about an enemy being too far away and having to waste five minutes just to fly over to engage in battle, now you can speed up time.  Unlocking the different planes, upgrades and movies is also a cool feature of the game.  Now this reward system is nothing new, the way the game presents a different challenge system before each mission is unique.  You automatically earn a bonus when you finish a mission, but if you complete the challenge mission, the bonus missions, and secondary missions, then you can unlock all of the items in the game.  Another impressive feature is the fact that you might not always fight the enemy in your plane.  For example, one mission has you controlling the anti-aircraft guns while the enemy launches an attack.  There is an option for custom-built missions, but I was unable to test this feature. 

Overall 8.7 

Secret Weapons Over Normandy is a great game that should please the appetite of gamers.  The target lock system, time shifting controls, excellent sound effects and smooth controls were a pleasure to this gamer.  Always being engaged in the battle is what this type of game is about.  You’ll never have to worry about being left behind in a battle, since you’re always given clear directions from your fellow pilots.  However, as great as the target lock system is, the graphics can take a nosedive during an intense fight.  The camera will become very jerky when following a faster moving plane.  If you don’t use the slow motion option, the jerkiness can become very annoying.  You never lose sight of the enemy, but camera movement might leave you with a headache.   Also there was an occasional drop in the frame-rate during heavy action.  But even these minor faults shouldn’t sway a gamer from taking the chance with Secret Weapons Over Normandy.