Air Conflicts: Vietnam (Video Game Review)

Kalypso and bitComposer Games have teamed up to bring gamers a new title that combines flight simulation and arcade fun with Air Conflicts: Vietnam. Players step into the shoes of the American pilot Joe Thompson in this single-player story that has our character fighting for his country during the Vietnam War. Air Conflicts: Vietnam manages to effectively balance all the counterparts of simulation and arcade to offer up an unforgettable experience full of intriguing story moments and intense combat segments.

Players start out in a tutorial that takes them to new heights in order to learn the ropes before stepping into the jungles of Vietnam for an adventure of a lifetime. Air Conflicts: Vietnam highlights the horror of war from 1,000 feet up through intense air battles and a wide variety of aircrafts that now includes the addition of helicopters. The single player portion of Air Conflicts: Vietnam mixes combat and support missions to deliver an engaging wartime narrative. The game's story is told through inner monologues inside the mind of Joe Thompson and the inspiring letters he receives from loved ones in the U.S. While the execution of the story is a little bland, it still manages to deliver an interesting perspective of how Thompson grows as a person during the tough times of war.

The missions within Air Conflicts: Vietnam takes players through some of the most memorable happenings in history with fairly simple gameplay that delivers an satisfying arcade flight experience. Players can customize over 20 planes and are tasked with mastering the reins of the cockpit to effectively navigate a variety of landscapes to conquer the Vietcong. However, many problems start to surface once you start navigating the skies such as pop-in issues and major framerate problems. While these issues can break immersion on occasion, Air Conflicts: Vietnam does manage to deliver some of the most realistic representations of aircrafts ever seen in a video game.



It is easy to see that portions of Air Conflicts: Vietnam suffer so other areas can shine. An intricate amount of detail has went into creating environments that realistically represent those found during Vietnam by offering a virtual representation of the time period brought to life before your very eyes. One of the best aspects of Air Conflicts: Vietnam is the game's exceptional soundtrack which is compiled of great music from the 1960's which definitely creates a more mellow mood after intense battles.

Air Conflicts: Vietnam allows players to go head-to-head against other pilots in the game's dog fighting missions which can get pretty intense since the AI are better than average in these missions. All of the planes handle differently with the helicopter being the most difficult to handle while the jets are a breeze to steer. When playing on the Xbox 360, players will notice that some aircrafts can be a little more infuriating to handle since it can sometimes be difficult to perform some actions simultaneously. The control schemes in Air Conflicts: Vietnam could use some improvements since some aircrafts make it too difficult to aim and fire especially when switching between them.



Animations and special effects are spot on in Air Conflicts: Vietnam with realistic effects that add great detail to destroyed villages and smoking, bullet-filled vehicles. The game's cockpit view also really adds to the game's immersion and makes players feel like they are a pilot fighting for their life. The game can become a bit repetitive since missions lack very little variety, but it was fun to pilot different plane models from the time period such as the F-105 Thunderchief and Cobra. The multiplayer portion offers a little more replayability by letting players go head-to-head with each other in simple aerial combats.

CLOSING COMMENTS
In the end, Air Conflicts: Vietnam is a decent title worth a playthrough especially if you love arcade simulation games. While the game suffers from pop-in issues, repetitiveness, and framerate drops, it however, does offer a realistic flight simulation experience from the time period. Air Conflicts: Vietnam offers gamers a fun and simplistic simulator experience as they fly through the intriguing history of the Vietnam War.

Air Conflicts: Vietnam is now available from all major retailers for the MSRP of $29.99 and can be purchased for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Air Conflicts: Vietnam is rated T for Teen by the ESRB for Blood, Strong Language, and Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Air Conflicts: Vietnam website.

Game Features:

• Single Player
• Online Multiplayer 1-8
• Realistic Aircrafts
• Trophy/Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer: bitComposer Games
Publisher: Kalypso
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (reviewed), PC
Release Date: November 26, 2013

Score: 7 out of 10



Pros:

• Realistic aircrafts
• Clever AI
• Interesting story execution

Cons: 

• Pop-in issues and framerate drops
• Repetitiveness

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