Wings • Cinemaware 1990 (Amiga 500 / 1080p)

This is the original version of Wings developed and released by Cinemaware for Commodore Amiga 500 in 1990.

The remastered version was released in 2014 and you can check out the gameplay here:
   • Wings Remastered Edition  

The game is an arcade flight themed shooter set in the Great War, spanning from early 1916 to war's end in 1918. You enlist in 56th Squadron based initially in Luxeuil. You fly a variety of mission types in 3 different view modes:
• Aerial Combat Missions in 3d view mode: patrols, ballon busting, bomber intercepts, escort bombers, protect ballons/base;
• Strafing Missions in isometric view mode - you can't die here, only shot down if taken enough damage, you have to hit at least 50% of primaries to succeed;
• Bombing Missions in top-down view mode - can't die here either;

But first you have to earn your wings by finishing one of the 3 types of missions randomly selected. In remastered version this was changed into tutorial - you had to complete all 3 types.

When you enlist into a squadron you are chosen to write the Squadron's Journal which acts as a story telling device. If your current pilot dies you are able to enlist as a newcomer and proceed with the timeline and story but with mission and kill count reset. The game features over 230 missions, so there's enough to keep the player occupied for several hours if not days.

The game received high marks in the press at the time of the release, with small cons like the need for excessive disk swaping if not equipped with second floppy drive (the game came on 2 disks). It has aged like a good wine - the gameplay still holds up, there are plenty little details present - like the pilot body reacting to g-forces.

I'm running this with the help of WinUAE emulator at 2x Amiga 500 speed (Motorolla 68000 @14MHz).

Other Amiga flight sims:
   • Amiga Flight Sims  

#RetroFlightSim