Red Baron II - PC Review - Gamecenter

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Red Baron II

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She's Breaking Up
Unfortunately, those that play beyond the graphics and those that play beyond the fun will find a deeper level to the game: the bugs. Put simply, this game was released too soon. I'm not worried about historical inaccuracies like misrepresentation of planes, pilots, or missions (which are present). But I have serious problems with basics like the flight model, Red Baron II squadmates who constantly fly in circles, aces who come back to life, key presses that go unnoticed, and rudder problems.
The largest bug, however, can be summed up simply as Red Baron Multiplayer. Sierra is still working the kinks out of its new online gaming service, World Opponent Network (won.net). But I'm not sure if the problems lie within the new service or Red Baron II itself. Aside from the usual lag you would expect, crashes are a constant problem. I also flew several battles where my opponents thought they had shot me down, but I never saw them, heard them, or died on my computer. There is a bug that causes your wings to rip off for no reason, and it's a requirement to reboot your computer after each game. Even if multiplayer was working perfectly, it is not a leap of technology over the original. There is a maximum of four players per game on won.net, and there is no ability to join a game in progress. This isn't any better than the original Red Baron, and we were using 9,600-baud modems at the time. The biggest addition to multiplayer is the historically inaccurate, but wholly necessary, in-flight chat.
So it seems that seven years wasn't enough time for the Baron to recover. If he would have waited another three to six months to reappear, things might have been different. Instead, I've been forced to review a beta release masquerading as a final. I genuinely believe that Sierra will continue to patch this game, and it will eventually become a classic. The problem is that RBII will get so much bad press and word of mouth over the next few months, that it will never achieve the following it deserves. By the time it is a fully functional game, interest will have waned for all except the hard-core fans. I will be one of those fans still playing in a year or two, but I'm going to move on for now. I want to re-emphasize that Red Baron II has great potential and, even with the bugs, is a truly enjoyable single-player game. However, the Baron is not feeling well enough to have visitors yet. So I will ask the musical question once again, shaking my head ruefully this time. "What has become of the Baron?"
Tips
-Most Allied planes have rotary engines, which have no throttle--the engine is either off or on at full speed. If you're flying for the Germans, use the throttle to your advantage and change speeds often. (Red Baron lets humans adjust the throttle on rotary planes; however, don't count on this advantage in multiplayer mode).
-On the topic of rotary engines, because of their gyroscopic effect, rotary planes generally turn better to the right than the left (especially the Sopwith Camel). Keep this in mind when turning.
-If an enemy flies across your nose, you generally don't want to turn in the same direction (which is the novice pilot's first instinct). Turn in the opposite direction and try to get on his tail.
-In heated dogfights, don't think two-dimensionally and turn only horizontally (another tendency of novices). To keep fighters off your tail, you should constantly climb and dive as well as turn.

If you like this type of game, you might want to check out Flying Corps.

Hugh Falk believes that all video games are really tests in which the best players will one day be swept up by aliens to fight for the freedom of the universe. He has dedicated his life to critiquing and hopefully improving games for the sake of Earth and the universe. Agree or disagree with the review? Let us know.

Facts

Red Baron II
Sierra On-Line, 800/757-7707
Price: $50.00
Pentium-133, 16MB RAM, 130MB disk space, SVGA, 4X CD-ROM drive, Windows 95; Sound Blaster or compatible sound card

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