Review by: Dave VanDyk

There are a number of factors necessary for an air combat game to work. For example, there needs to be "air" - that being the concept of working from a certain measure of altitude above the ground in a variety of aircraft - and there needs to be "combat", which should be self-explanatory. However, these elements only provide a baseline level of functionality, and with the variety of games in the air combat genre already saturating the market, extra touches are needed to set new releases apart from the crowd.

So what unique touches set Heroes Over Europe above the rest? The game's initial hype placed it as an "ultra-realistic seat-of-the-pants tactical flight combat game", and of course it serves as a sequel for 2005’s Heroes of the Pacific. The original game was heralded as a fairly decent release in its own right with an interesting storyline, but suffered from repetition and shallow gameplay. Sadly, while the sequel has a (very) fresh coat of paint applied to it, much of the same problems are still there.

The game offers several missions focused on some of the key dramatic points of World War II. Prior to each, you're shown a blissfully retro news reel summarizing the current status of the conflict, followed by a specific briefing outlining the mission at hand. You're then given the option to select which plane you want to fly and are thrust right into the conflict. (Similar to games like Ace Combat, there are no considerations for nation-specific limitations and are instead able to choose from any plane you've 'unlocked' thus far.)

The missions themselves often challenge you with completing several different kinds of objectives, so one moment you might be engaging in a pitched air battle, while the next tasked with strafing several key ground targets, or escorting a naval battle group. There's also all sorts of well-written dialogue and banter that occurs over the radio, which provide a compelling reason to advance through the campaign so that you can hear more of the story.