Make the First Strike and Make it Count in Aerial Strike: The Yager Missions

by Louis Bedigian

“There are peasants on donkeys, dolphins, birds, hang gliders, and numerous other effects to make the world feel more alive.” 

Once upon a time there was a legend told of a little mermaid named Ariel.  She didn’t have feet but could swim like a fish – primarily because she was one (more or less).  She was unhappy at first, but in the end she made her way to the surface, found the love of her dreams, and got married.

This legend dazzled the minds of young girls everywhere.  Little boys, on the other hand, weren’t so impressed.

Lucky for boys both young and old, Dreamcatcher is preparing an Aerial of their own.  And let me tell you: it’s no mermaid.

Aerial Strike: The Yager Missions is coming your way this month.  It’s got gorgeous graphics, lots of explosions and plenty of strike-action.  And we’ve got exclusive images of it for you to feast your eyes on.

Timo Ullmann (Yager Developments, Germany), Uwe Beneke (Yager Developments, Germany) and Douglas Boze (QA Lead, Kemco USA) talk features, aircrafts, missions, and more in this GameZone interview.

The Sagittarius is your first line of defense in Aerial Strike: The Yager Missions, but it looks like there is more than one aircraft in the game.  Is that the case, or is that an upgraded form of the Sagittarius?

Answer: The Sagittarius is the main ship in the single player mode; however, you do get to use some of the enemy ships in a couple of the missions. Also, in multiplayer, you can use several different ships against a friend via LAN.

The player can use a DST destroyer as a way to infiltrate an enemy base in single player as well as manning the turrets of captured enemy ships while an NPC flies the ship in a daring escape. In multiplayer, some ships are faster, more maneuverable, and some can take more damage than others but are slower.

How many different weapons does the Sagittarius have and what are they?

Answer: There are several different weapons to collect. Most of the weapons have a secondary weapon, which adds even more depth. For example, the missiles can either be fired as single, unguided "speed rockets" (primary weapon) or as a single shot, guided missile (secondary weapon). The rapid-fire laser is the main weapon of the Sagittarius, but it also has a secondary weapon. The laser will overheat if it is fired continuously but will cool down quickly and if you hold down the fire button, it will charge and fire a "shotgun" shot.

One of my favorites is the secondary shot for the machine gun. A gun will pop up from the top of the Sagittarius and will lock onto a target behind the ship, allowing the player to get rid of pesky guided missiles or persistent enemies off their back. Once done firing, the machine gun will fold back down into the ship.

There is a Rail gun which acts like a sniper rifle allowing the player to take out enemies at a great distance, especially since you can zoom in all the time. There is napalm that can catch an enemy (or friend in multiplayer) on fire and drain their health for a time.

In addition to having multiple weapons, the ship also includes a number of different capabilities that will aid you in completing the mission.  We'd love to hear about them.

Answer: The Sagittarius has two modes of flight, a hover mode and jet mode. Jet mode is what you would mainly use if you are in a dogfight. A player can also find boost pickups, allowing the player to get extra boosts of speed when they need it. By selecting hover mode, the ship will transform a bit and allow slow, stealthy movements for those low profile missions; it also helps to stop abruptly if it looks like you're going to crash into a mountain side. Also, there are repair pads throughout the world that the player will need to use. By landing on them, the ship will be automatically repaired. In one of the later missions, your ship gets captured by your enemy - they modify it with a "time warp," which gives you a cool bullet time feature for those dogfights!

In one mission, the player must mark a bunch of missiles that are used as defenses against naval ships. Once this is done, the friendly ship will launch missiles at the targets which look really cool coming in off the water to the unsuspecting enemy. You get the feeling you are in a battle which is really a great feeling!

With 22 different levels, there must be a wide variety of environments to explore...?

Answer: Yes, and they are huge! There are deep valleys, fjords, expanses of ocean, tropical isles, wastelands, and foggy rolling hills. The environments have little details that add a lot as well. For example, if you look closely, out in the ocean there is a whale swimming and when he breaches for air, there is an item pick up on his tail. There are peasants on donkeys, dolphins, birds, hang gliders, and numerous other effects to make the world feel more alive.

Even certain events during a mission change the landscape. For example, in one mission a civilian gets shot down by some pirates. If you follow him, you can watch him crash into a river dam, which destroys it and empties out a reservoir. You can actually watch the smoking ship crash, but you would never notice it if you didn't follow the ship. This is one of the many small details that add a lot to the game.

Suppose I'm playing the game for the first time.  I'm flying through the air, taking in all the scenery...what happens next?  Do I have a mission plan as I go into each stage?  Do any events occur during a particular level that could change the main objective?

Answer: The first level allows the player to get used to the controls of the Sagittarius. You will learn how to switch between hover mode and jet mode, how to fire, about the main character and his role and even get a practice dogfight. There are objectives throughout all the missions which are generally explained through cut scenes at the beginning of a level or added in the middle of a level via voice communication which there is plenty of. However, most of the time they are fairly open, not linear. Also, there are optional objectives that a player can perform. For example, in one mission, you have the option of protecting a friend while he is under attack or leaving him to defend himself while you complete your main mission.

So what kinds of missions are we talking here – shoot to kill?  Escort?  Rescue?

Answer: The missions vary. There are some escort missions, search and destroy certain enemies, defending bases, etc. One unique mission is where the player is in a fire fighting turret and he must use the fire hose to push blocking ships out of the way and put out fires as a side objective while the ship is being driven by an NPC. Another example is the scene where you chase an enemy ship with a hostage on board - you shouldn't shoot them down but chase and threaten the pilot so much that he releases the hostage, so you can pick him up from the water - then on the way home, while he explains to you from the backseat what happened. He will anxiously react to you engaging in more dogfights!

We can imagine what the dogfights will be like, but what are the ground attack objectives?

Answer: They range from marking targets for destruction to taking out enemy encampments and fuel depots, to trying to avoid enemies and only taking out very particular targets.

Players can exit the Sagittarius and use a gun turret to fight.  Is this part of the game more like a third-person shooter?

Answer: The game can be played in first or third person, which lets you enjoy all the animated details of your sleek Sagittarius fighter ship. While in a turret, I prefer first person view. I would say it is more first person than third. The missions are also varied, from escaping in an enemy ship, defending platforms, clearing the way for transport ships, stealthy reconnaissance, to putting out fires with a fire hose.

Mouse and keyboard is the preferred combo for RPGs, strategy games and first-person shooters.  For other PC games players usually like to have some kind of peripheral, in this case a flight stick.  Which do you prefer to use with Aerial Strike?

Answer: Personally, I like to use a joystick. Although the key board/mouse combo works easy enough, I tend to feel like I am actually flying something if I am using a joystick.

Are there any hidden aircrafts or secret missions in the game?  Any surprises that hardcore gamers can look forward to finding, or are those being designed for an expansion pack?

Answer: As a player finishes a level, they are graded on accuracy, optional objectives completed, etc. Depending on the grade, they get to unlock ship profiles. The profiles give information about the ships; both friendly, enemy and civilian ships and a nice model of the ship for the players to look at, rotate and check out the detail of them. Look closely at the ships and you will see the amount of detail that we added to them that you might miss in the heat of a dogfight. Generally, there is an animation for each ship in the profile screen as well as some text info. The player can return to a level at any time once it has been completed to get a better grade.

Thank you for your time.