Snoopy Flying Ace Gameplay Video and Impressions

JudoChinX

June 6, 2010

Here's a taste of the action from Snoopy Flying Ace. First impressions review is below.

So you've been craving some of that Crimson Skies flavored action? You say that Dark Void didn't do it for you? Well, then you might want to check out Snoopy Flying Ace just released for the Xbox Live Arcade.

To help explain the gameplay a bit, you begin by selecting an airplane, a character from the cast of Peanuts, then finally your weapons loadout. I was impressed with the number of customization options available. You have a machine gun for use at all times, but in addition to that, you can select two weapons for alternate use while playing. I selected the shotgun and cluster missiles; but there's something here for everyone. If you become bored of your selection, or decide that your current loadout isn't working for you, you can opt to switch weapons while waiting to spawn after death. From there, you go forward to compete in a 16 player death match or several other modes, which include capture the flag.

As I played more and more, the similarities between Crimson Skies and Snoopy Flying Ace became more apparent. In deathmatch, you have one goal: to defeat other players who presumably parachute to safety. Controls are simple enough, and should be familiar to anyone who's played Crimson Skies. Accelerate, decelerate, fire your machine gun, fire secondary weapon, and that's about all you have to keep track of. When playing with a full 16 players, battles become quite a spectacle. When participating in a dogfight, or observing from a distance, it's hard not to get excited when the action begins. Opponents dive, loop, and barrel roll in an attempt to dodge incoming attacks while artillery fills the sky. Death comes fast, but so does revenge. The gameplay isn't particularly deep or involved, but it is fun, and that's what this kind of game is about. I should mention that there's a single player mode, though it doesn't do much more than teach you how to play. The real fun is found in competing with other players, so unless you need some extra help in getting started, you're probably best off skipping this mode.

Snoopy Flying Ace is one of the best looking Xbox Live Arcade titles I've ever seen. Animations are fluid, colors are vibrant, and explosions are innumerable. Environments are surprisingly large and well detailed. You'll be hard pressed to find another Xbox Live Arcade title to trump this one on a visual level. To further visual fidelity, the game runs smoothly, even when there's a lot of hectic action on screen.

I'm not clear as to why the developers decided to use the Peanuts license for a game like this, but it works, and isn't used to the point of being distracting. I personally never envisioned these characters to be suitable for World War I re-enactments, but Smart Bomb Interactive had the license and must have decided that they were better off using these characters than new ones. They may have also been trying to get people who enjoyed their first game, Snoopy vs. the Red Baron, interested. All 10 of them. Again, it doesn't detract from the game, but it's an odd choice nonetheless.

As with all Xbox Live Arcade titles, there is a demo available to Gold subscribers, so be sure to check it out. Snoopy Flying Ace is a fun little game that can be picked up and dropped just as quickly as it's played. It's a perfect solution for when you've got nothing else to play or only a little time to spare.

Is this a game you're going to buy?