by Joseph Luster & James Hart

Options for World War II-related gaming run pretty thick if you do the majority of it on PC. The same can be said, albeit to a lesser (and more action-oriented) extent, across most of the major consoles. I say “most of” because the original motion-control innovator, Nintendo, often gets left out of the wartime action its high-end competitors enjoy. And the major Nintendo game releases that do cater to military gamers tend to be neutered to some extent.
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Take the Call of Duty games for instance; I’d wager most people choosing to play those on a Nintendo console rather than Xbox, Playstation, or PC are doing so because, well, there’s no choosing involved. It’s their only option.

Can A Nintendo Platform Really Deliver?

So does that leave those with a Nintendo system as their primary platform completely bereft of ways to wage their own personal take on World War II? Not entirely. While you may never see in-depth strategy simulations on the aim-and-click tip, there are still some titles appropriate both for those with thoughtfully itchy trigger fingers, and silicon soldiers who just want to take to the skies.

Take for example Combat Wings: The Great Battles of World War II. As the title implies, it’s all about experiencing the greatest airborne battles of World War II, from the Battle of Britain to the Pacific Theater. With those battles comes the assortment of mission types one would expect from a high-flying excursion through history.

Combat Simulation a No-Brainer for the Console

There are your straightforward dog-fighting sorties, of course, as well as bomb runs and escorts, all spread out across more than 20 missions. The 25-plus aircraft in the game can be upgraded as you progress, and flown via two distinct styles of control: arcade or simulation.

Nintendo could use more ace examples of air combat on their console, as those that have graced it thus far have fallen into mixed camps. Motion control in flight games can be finicky unless the utmost care is provided, but conceptually it’s a no-brainer. Hopefully, we’ll see more titles like Combat Wings that help fill that aching void.