I’m sure that we all remember Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic from the papers, and also holiday specials that would air on TV. Well, one of my personal favorites from that show is when Snoopy decided to hop onto his doghouse and go in hot pursuit of the Red Baron. Well, years later, we now have high tech computer games to play so that we don’t have to hop on doghouses or whatnot, and I’m sure that Snoopy wouldn’t have to either. Dawn of Aces III is one of the new flight sim / combat games which allows players to hop into WWI combat on their PC.

At the time of this review, Dawn of Aces III is still in its Beta stage. There are more aircraft to be added and DoA III will also allow players to dabble in some scripting of their own to create scenarios on just about anything that they can imagine, like swooping in and taking out airfield supply lines or reserves which of course will place limits on plane fueling and ammo, etc. In addition, the flight controls are already smooth, but more things are being added in like a transparent map to constantly monitor direction and ensuring accuracy of flight. One feature that I liked was how the game will actually go into an autopilot mode to avoid nose dives or crashing if you need to check on a keyboard function or whatnot.

One really neat element of DoA III that has been done is the usage of ground vehicles rather than taking to the air. Most flight games that are out of course focus only on aerial vehicles and combat, with AI controlled ground defense, but DoA III will also allow gamers to hop behind the wheels and turrets of trucks, tanks, and .50 caliber guns to help their team win by shooting down opposition rather than just going into dog fighting. This is especially good for players who don’t feel too comfortable in the air and can make them effective as well by just staying on the ground.

Another nifty feature of DoA III is the multiple airstrips and spawn points that you can use, including aircraft carriers floating around at sea. The map that you can bring up in flight will also list and detail out these different points in color coding for the different countries as well so that you will know where both allies and potential enemies can be found.

While there are some changes to DoA 2 like graphics, ground vehicles, and modeling upgrades, there are a couple of things that could have been done a little better. While online, you are kept in a cockpit view vs. being able to eliminate the cockpit from the screen or go outside the plane. While this adds to a realistic gameplay experience, there are gamers (like me) who like to avoid having a large portion of the screen taken up by a console and such. This also provided some problems periodically during takeoff, since I couldn’t see what was around me and crashed into trees or barns sometimes. 

Secondly, while it was nifty to play WWI vehicles like Biplanes and Triplanes, some of the fun of online war flight sims is using bigger and heavier planes like bombers to lay waste to ground targets or in this case, players who will be on the ground firing up at you. WWI of course did not have B-52’s or big bomber planes like that, and it still remains to be seen as to how the combat of Biplane vs. tank online will play out in the end. Obviously, this is me being somewhat nitpicky since the game is supposed to be in WWI, but I also felt it should be mentioned for all of you bombing fans out there.

Graphically, DoA III is looking pretty good already with some really nice ground details and little things that are being done to add to the realism. Flying in amidst defensive ground fire was a real blast, and the sky began to get peppered with black flak clouds as I flew overhead. Damage effects also were looking good, with small debris flying off of planes that I shot or smoke trails lingering out from planes about to bail. In addition, the environment is based around real world 10 meter satellite data to try and make everything look as realistic as possible. The new rendering will also allow MAC players to experience the same quality as PC players while in DoA 2.75 they were limited to 2-D only … so you Mac fans need to rejoice.

Overall, DoA III is a fun and solid flight sim with some good new elements added in which should prove enjoyable for you flyboys and girls out there that are looking for new titles to give your flight sticks a workout. There are a lot of other combat flight sims out that offer a lot of the same, but there is enough new here to make it stand out on it’s own and be enjoyable for a while.   

Gameplay: 7.8
The controls were good, and the developers really tried to make it as easy to use and interface with as possible, including the transparent (but not in the way) map option. In addition, the ground vehicles were a great touch to this kind of game, and will open up some new possibilities for strategy or players who maybe don’t feel like they are the best pilots or dog fighters out in the gaming world. The scripting option will also be a nice feature to allow players to set up their own missions and scenarios as they see fit to do.

Graphics: 8.0
Graphically, DoA III is looking good, and there are some really good details done in the environment, plane models, and the damage effects as the bullets fly. There were some good touches to add to the realism that were added in as well, like flak clouds as you fly over enemy territory or the destruction up close as someone (or a building) gets nailed by a tank shell.

Sound: 7.5
There were good sound effects for the planes themselves, and the guns gave off satisfying cracks as you tailed and tried to blast enemies out of the sky. The ground vehicles also didn’t sound too bad, and there was no background music while playing or flying to distract you from what you need to do.

Difficulty: Medium
The controls are easy to get into, and you can also go in and assign certain functions to the various keys and whatnot how you see fit. Flying strictly by keyboard is of course clumsy and feels ineffective, but any flight sim out feels that way once you’ve used a joystick.

Concept: 7.7
Flight sims have been done before, and while this one has a lot of similarities to other titles … the change in time period and additions of things like ground vehicles make it a pretty unique experience all in its own.

Multiplayer: 7.8
The multiplayer beta version was a lot of fun to play, looked great, and provided some good player to player dog fighting action. The ground vehicles had not been added in yet, but will also play a fun part in the finished version of the game.

Overall: 7.7
Dawn of Aces III provides a good, solid flight sim title that deals with the vehicles and combat during the 1^st World War. Fans of flight sims will probably have a good time with it, even if it has a lot of similarities to other titles, and even players who aren’t as comfortable as others hopping into a cockpit can still find themselves useful by jumping behind the gun barrel or cannon of a tank to provide support and assistance that way.