First Eagles: The Great Air War 1918 (PC CD)

still being used

I have been fairly generous in grading this game as it's currently the best of a pretty feeble bunch. Other reviewers have commented on the very limited selection of 'planes and I concur with this. Also I have been wondering why with service ceilings of 20,000 feet for most fighters by 1918 most of the combat seems to take place at under 1000 feet! Even at this low altitude my guns seemed to jam every few seconds. The good points are that the graphics are reasonable, you can create different pilots - even though there is little sense of involvement with them - and at least you can use a joystick! I agree with Trenchfoot that none of the current WWI Flight Sims comes anywhere near "Knights of the Sky" on the old Amiga - which gave the player a real sense of involvement with their pilot as he progressed through the war with new 'planes becoming available as the years unfolded. It also had inflight combat damage, proper navigation and realistic fuel and ammo supply. Why can't modern Game Designers at least do as well? Perhaps "Flyboys" is the one - though I have my doubts!

Excellent reconstitution (for the time), quite lot of planes, but not so fun to play. Hard to fly, but quite realistic.

Sorry guys, but this is a bad game at best. Save your money and get Rise of Flight for free (You get a couple of aircraft and then buy those that you want) off the web. I've played many a flight game....no not just the sim types, and this is not a good game. I was looking for a great WWI sim/shoot em up on the lines of Microprose's Knights Of The Sky. I thought the reviews looked promising but alas this game just fails to deliver. You only get 3 planes to fly (althought the games company promise add-ons. Obviously realised how lacking this game is in it's current form)The landscape is so samey just like the limited missions. You do get medals and rewards as your rating tots up but it just doesn't feel like you are involved. (Those of you that remember Knights of the sky will know what I mean) It's bug ridden and collision detection virtually non existent, the disintegration of the planes when shot is blockey and the crashes and explosions are laughable added to this the dire graphics. I cannot believe it even needs a pentium III to run this. Should be able to run on an old 486 DX2. That's how bad the graphics are. To be honest I wish I'd gone on ebay and bought an old Amiga 512 and a copy of Knights...It would have been money better spent and I would probably still be playing that. Seriously though wait for somethig better. I gave it 1* as you get a free DVD with it.

The game play of First Eagles is weak: not much difference between the Campaigns, Single Missions and the Instant Action. Not enough programmability in the system - customization of control! You can fly the aircraft well enough with a good joystick and the graphics are fine but trying to keep a target in your sights is frustrating to say the least.Its like a pea on a vibrating drum and by the time its large enough in your sights to hit you've passed it even with the throttle reduced to the lowest you dare. MORE CUSTOMISING OF CONTROL!! Take a look at BOB II Wings of Victory! I have three other Flight Sim games inc BOB II Wings of Victory and IL 2 The Forgotten Battles and have excellent control choices. Maybe further Patches or Expansions will rectify my gripes but at the moment I'm sticking with WWII.

very good price, well packaged , quick delivery, really good ww1 flight sim easy setup and very good graphics, will recommend to family & friends.

Again as a newcomer to all of this I find after wings of prey this is child like but ok .

First Eagles is one of the best dogfighting games I've played in ages. Whilst comparisons to Red Baron are bound to be made, the game is a decent competitor to take the crown as the WW1 flight sim for the next gen PC flight simmer. The gameplay is smooth, fast and historically accurate without being overly complex as to deter the mosre casual players. Strafing tanks in an SE5 being a highlight that never gets old and the air to air dogfights are stuff of legend! I'm no modder, but it looks like the game supports the architecture of new units and campaigns quite heavily. I'm looking forward to seeing what the community can do with new campaigns and scenarios. If you're looking for some great historical combat, then First Eagles would be a decent addition to any collection.