| Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Games | |
| Written by Olin Coles | |
| Tuesday, 28 August 2012 | |
Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWIIMad Catz arms pilots with Saitek's WWII-styled Pacific AV8R FlightStick
Manufacturer: Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Mad Catz. Aerial warfare first became a major component of combat during the Second World War, amidst a transitional period in motorized flight that had only been created forty years prior. There had been mixed results in the previous World War, but the enormity of WWII pushed Nations to invest their best engineering into airborne combat operations. The fight was everywhere, but it was most efficient from the air above. Mad Catz captures this historical time in the flight simulation video game Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII. Each collector's edition kit includes the popular Saitek Pacific AV8R FlightStick, imposing realistic flight controls into action for either simulation or arcade modes. World War 2 offered one of the most original assortment of aircraft ever conceived, thanks to the quickened pace in advances to aviation. Everything from fighters to bombers and flying fortresses were used to fight enemy, and for the first time in history pilots helped create progress towards victory. Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII offers modern-day gamers a unique opportunity to experience wartime flight using period-specific mechanics for added realism. Available with the Collector's Edition kit for PC, XBOX360 and PS3, the Saitek Pacific AV8R FlightStick seamlessly integrates control with Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the Saitek Pacific AV8R FlightStick with the new video game Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII. Using 68 variations of 32 unique aircraft we make strafing runs in 'Dogfight', and then drop bombs on the enemy's aircraft carrier in 'Scratch One Flattop'. Arcade mode allows new players to easily adapt to flight controls without the need for prior experience, while flying Aces can switch to simulation mode to mimic real-life flight mechanics and aerial controls. Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII features more than 20 missions consisting of hundreds of objectives in 11 different campaign areas, and is claimed to consist of 12+ hours of single-player campaign missions.
Damage Inc. Game Specifications:
Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWIIDamage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII offers three distinct play modes for gamers: head-to-head dog fights, partnered missions, and single player story mode. Of the three modes, single player effectively trains the player on flight controls and maneuvers while immersing pilots in a historically-driven story. The game's story is the results of lengthy interviews with WWII historians from the USS Midway, and was made to replicate the details of actual battles and missions. Combined with period-correct fighters, torpedo planes, and dive bombers that have been accurately recreated, Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII does an excellent job of taking the gamer back in time to a different era.
The control system is advanced enough that flight simulation enthusiasts will find it easy to adapt, but even those players familiar with first-person shooters should have an easy time understanding the aiming mechanism used in Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII. From within the third-person tail view, pilots are assisted with a round target reticule that's controlled by the aircraft's pitch orientation. Additionally, those planes equipped with bomb/torpedo weapons receive a supplementary landing zone reticule that defines ground targets.
There are multiple vantage points available, from a zoomed-in first-person cockpit view all the way out to third-person tail view. The pilot can also free-view 360° around the entire aircraft to survey the entire battlefield. Colored 3D markers differentiate team equipment, with traditional red markers hovering over enemy craft and blue for friendly forces. Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII integrates a real-time radar mini-map with directional navigation poles, similar to the heads-up display found on FPS-style video games.
Some aircraft are purpose-designed for specific missions and have special secondary weapons. Primary guns come standard on each aircraft, while others may equip rockets, bombs, dive bombs, or torpedoes. These armaments also vary in size and capacity between planes and nations, such as it did during the actual Second World War. Each aircraft is then graded with a rating for guns, armor, agility, and speed; but because each pilot has their own unique flight style it will take time to find the aircraft that best compliments your tactics.
For hardcore fans of flight simulation games, Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII includes a realistically detailed first-person cockpit that recreates the restricted view that real pilots had to overcome in WWII. The Saitek Pacific AV8R FlightStick (included with the Collector's Edition package) offers pilots is the ability to pilot the aircraft in one direction with the main stick, while looking in a different direction using the POV mini-stick to track surrounding friend and foe.
The first-person cockpit view raises the difficulty level, but for those air Ace's who can master it this 'zoomed-in' vantage point offers improved weapons aiming benefits. One vantage point doesn't fit all situations, however. In dogfight mode, I found it useful to begin my view from the cockpit until enemy were spotted, and then back out to third-person view as I began maneuvers. Bombing from the cockpit view is especially challenging, lending perspective to the difficulty real pilots overcame in battle. Pacific Squadron WWII Game ModesSimilar to ground combat video games (such as Medal of Honor or Battlefield) that feature unique soldier classes and special weapon combinations better suited to some missions than others, Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII shares in this same philosophy. Dogfight mode, in particular, demands the ability to quickly maneuver and evade, which factors aerodynamic design, speed, and weight into consideration. Objective-based missions are a bit more forgiving and put more emphasis on rockets, bombs, and torpedoes.
Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII offers multiplayer head-to-head and co-op 'Dogfight' modes, allowing players to challenge other pilots into online battles with support for up to eight concurrent players. Dogfight's can be death match style against seven other players, or teams of 4v4. 'Survivor' and 'Team Survivor' modes are dogfights that begin with a set number of lives, and function like a battle royal until only one survivor (or team) remains.
Mad Catz integrates a slow-motion feature called 'Reflex Mode' into single-player missions, giving pilots more time to aim at moving targets and score difficult hits. The opposite perk is also available in Pacific Squadron WWII, termed 'Warspeed', which boosts airspeed and allows the player to quickly move from one objective to another.
Mad Catz should be proud to offer one of the more original goal-oriented play modes: 'Scratch One Flattop'. Two teams battle in dogfight combat, but must sink the other team's aircraft carrier to win the round. Players can use dive bombers and torpedo bombers to attack the enemy's carrier, but should do so with the coordinated support of their teammates in agile fighter planes.
Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII features 68 variations of 32 unique aircraft, including: P-51 Mustang (A, B & D), P-38 Lightning (D, F & L), F6F Hellcat (3, 5 & 5N), SBD2 Dauntless, P-40 Warhawk, B-25 Mitchell, F4U Corsair, J7WI Shinden, J2M2 Jack, VS-29 Dragon Fire, and the Japanese Zero (A6M, A6M2, A6M2-N & A6M-8). Pilots unlock upgraded versions of each aircraft, both American and Japanese, as the timeline progresses. Mad Catz expects this to provide a feeling of "technological advancement from 1941 to 1945 as well as increased difficulty shooting down enemy planes as they become more agile and better armored". It's a unique upgrade path, but one that rewards Ace veterans and puts rookies at a disadvantage.
If sinking battleships or shooting down enemy aircraft happens to get old, there are hidden awards in every mission just waiting to be discovered. Like other console titles, Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII features an award system that supports Xbox 360 Achievements and PS3 Trophies. Saitek Pacific AV8R FlightStickSaitek's Pacific AV8R FlightStick comes bundled in Collector's Edition packages of Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII, and really adds to the game's level of realism. Saitek has styled the Pacific AV8R FlightStick after real-world WWII combat aircraft, although functionality is similar to other AV8R FlightSticks. Ideal for gamers who want to play in simulation mode, the AV8R FlightStick gives pilots access to more control than they'd normally get from a gamepad. Mad Catz includes a custom decal kit and detachable leg supports to further customize this perhiperal device to match the era.
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PACIFIC AV8R for Microsoft Xbox 360
PACIFIC AV8R for Sony PlayStation 3
PACIFIC AV8R for PC 
At the time of launch, Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII is available at Amazon for $39.99 in Standard Edition on 
Comments
I have 2 different flight stick setups, and neither could be properly configured in the default setup menu. Throttle and rudder inputs defaulted to the keyboard and could not be changed. I have the saitek USB Gold, and the X52 flight control system.
Control of the aircraft is very (wonky) and jerky. Good luck lining up for the attack runs, as flight control was very limited, for me anyways.
I do not recommend this arcade shooter to anyone.