BATTLEHAWKS
U.S. GOLD ($49.95)
Battle Hawks 1942, attempts to re-enact the
Pacific battles which raged between the in
vading Japanese and United States naval
forces. At the dawn of 1942 the Japanese navy
dominated the Pacific and perpetrated a series
of stunning victories, including the sinking of
five battleshiups of the U.S. Pacific fleet at
Pearl Harbor. As the Japanese increased their
Pacific territory, U.S. forces were forced to
retaliate after Pearl Harbour, but the
devastating attack on the fleet and a squadron
of antiquated Brewster fighter planes, unof
ficially nicknamed 'flying coffins', as well as
Vindicators, or 'Vibrator' to the crew, they
could do little to thwart the might of the
Japanese. Battle Hawks simulates the four
epic naval clashes of 1942 which would deter
mine the turning point of the war: the Battle
of the Coral Sea; Midway; Eastern Solomons;
and finally, Santa Cruz, Admiral Yamamato's
Waterloo.
Before clambering into the cockpit there are
decisions to be made, such as, aircraft
weaponry configuration and mission selection.
The screen shows a Wildcat on the deck of
a carrier with a menu where you can arm the
training and five active duty missions.
Historically, the first Pacific battle was the
Coral Sea, 'a duel of the flat-tops' the first time
a naval battle was fought entirely with air
power. Although the
U.S. fleet lost more
ships, a Japanese
invasion was pre
vented. In the battle
of the Coral Sea you
can choose which
side to fight on. For
the U.S. you can pilot
a dauntless from U.S.
Lexington and dive-
bomb the Shoho car
rier, scramble into an
F4F Wildcat in an at
tack on the Shokaku
or defend Lexington
or Yorktown against
a dive bomb attack.
The alternative is to
turncoat and fly a Japanese Zero fighter to
intercept the U.S. attack or dive-bomb
Yorktown or Lexington in a Val bomber.
Patriotism overcame curiosity and I found
myself at altitude in the cramped cockpit of
a Dauntless in a dive-bomb attack on the
already damaged and burning carrier, Shoho.
There is no takeoff procedure and you are
literally hurled into conflict. The conventional
cockpit instrumentation comprises, an
altimeter, compass, pitch/bank and climb/dive
indicators as well as airspeed and RPM
gauges. The mouse simulates the yoke with
back and forth movements raising and lower
ing the nose and left adn right for banking the
aircraft. Weaponry consists of fore and rear-
mounted machine guns and a single warhead.
10,000 feet below, the Shoho burns and
smokes like a giant flare on the water and your
squadron leader suddenly drops like a hawk
to dive-bomb the stricken ship. With the smoke
billowing like a guiding beacon, pushing the
mouse/yoke forwards sends the plane into a
dive. The Shoho explodes into flames, but
miraculously a survivor mans the great guns
sending a volley of fire thumping into the
fuselage. At 7000 feet and in a 70% dive,
there's no pulling out, and tapping the 'F' key
opens the dive flaps to speed up your descent.
The aircraft sustains more hits, and at 2000
feet clicking the right-hand mouse button
releases the warhead. Quickly pulling back
on the mouse sends the battle-torn Dauntless
into a faltering ascent and the spluttering
engine warns of imminent stall. Tapping the
'2' key reveals a rear view as the single bomb
smashes into the Shoho. Suddenly, the
Dauntless begins to spiral down ... sky ... sea
... sky ... sea. Quickly pressing the 'J' key,
you clear the cockpit and parachute to safety.
The most famous Pacific conflict was un
doubtedly Midway and for this there are seven
scenarios, although I felt compelled to defend
Yorktown from the yellow navy.
The U.S.
flagship
has suf
fered a disabling Val
attack and a follow-up
assault from Kate
torpedo bombers will
sink her. Piloting a
Wildcat, the task is to
intercept the attack
and pick off the Kates.
Yorktown lies smoking
below and a pack of
Vals darken the
horizon. The Wildcat
is fast if a little cumber
some, but far less
vulnerable to stall. The
best tactic is to climb
above the enemy, use the speed of descent
to attack and retreat and then repeat the
manoeuvre. The Japanese squadron is
massive, and historically the valiant Wildcats
were defeated and Yorktown was sunk- this
is your chance to rewrite history.
'''Do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give the signal.' 
Reassuring
words from General Eisenhower on the eve of the Battle of Santa Cruz,
(Oct 26-27 1942)''
I'm still rather undecided about
Battlehawks. It is neither a
dedicated flight simulation, inthe
mould of Gunship or Falcon, nor is
it a straightforward shoot'em-up.
The closest thing that I can com
pare Battlehawks with is Night
Raider. The game's presentation is
exceptional, the numerous options
are easily selected and the
gameplay both challenging and ex
citing. The sound is adequate, con
sisting, for the most part, of the
engine's low hum. The graphics
whilst being a little blocky, move
nicely and create a good impression.
Overall, Battlehawks is most
definitely a good game, one with
which the player will become more
adept the more he plays.
Although it takes a while to initialize
the program, thanks to ages of un
neccesary disk-swapping, Bat
tlehawks is a playable little game. I
think the thing I liked was that, not
only could you tackle difficult mis
sions, but you don't have to worry
about silly things like running out of
ammo, thanks to the game's many op
tions. The graphics are chunky but
effective, and the sound is the typical
droning noise that accompanies this
style of game. If you want a flight sim
that doesn't require too much think
ing, I recommend you take a look at
this. It won't appeal to fans of
Mirrorsoft's state-of-the-art Falcon,
but it do nicely for a simpleton like
me.
Battlehawks is an aircraft simulation of sorts, but the emphasis is very 
much placed
on out'n'out assault and shoot'em-up rather than painstaking simulation. 
Perhaps this
because the aircraft in question were basic and there was literally no time 
to waggle
flaps and check wind speed. But the game doesn't suffer for its lack of 
flight protocol
and can be best described as a fringe simulation with non-stop action - the 
sort of
game that ol' blood 'n' guts', General Patton, would have approved of. I 
particularly
like the chance of experiencing the war from both sides. My only criticism 
is the lack
of variety in game-play.
Piloting a Dauntless you take off from Yorktown and head towards the 
already damaged Japanese
carrier Shoho - objective to sink her.
At 12000 feet, you see smoke billowing from Shoho like a giant beacon.
Pushing forward on the yoke, the Dauntless goes into a rapid dive. 10,000 
...
9,000 ... 8,000 - miraculously, a survivor mans the Shoho's guns and 
shells
thud into the Dauntless fuselage. A click of the right-hand mouse button 
drops
the warhead and pulling back on the yoke takes the aircraft into a climb.
 