Each mission also includes secret stunts you can find for a little extra credit from your crew. Fly through that small outcropping and your buddies will ‘ooh' and ‘ah' with respect. On top of that it's just good practice, New York is an unforgiving level that challenges you to track bad guys while chasing them between buildings. This is why the game wasn't made like a flight simulation. It bears more resemblance to Larry Holland's X-Wing series or Wing Commander in its arcade style flight modeling. There are neither flaps nor instruments to consider. Don't worry about such real-world intricacies like rudder, blackout, wind shear and, seemingly, gravity. Just move the joystick and fire the trigger and hold on to the edge of your desk. This may anger flight sim fanatics but it suits the game's style to a tee. Who expected realism out of those “two-fisted Air Combat” comics back in the 40's?

The graphics are gorgeous, detailed and very colorful. Whether you're flying over the jungles of Hawaii or through volumetric clouds somewhere over the Pacific Ocean you'll likely whistle as you see the detail fly by at top speed. Most fights take place very low to the ground, making for harrowing combat and stunts, to be sure.

The audio is equally engaging with period music and quality voice acting. One gripe is that some phrases are repeated a little too frequently during the heat of battle and the in-game music is made all the more repetitious due to the long load times.

Multiplayer is fun, frantic and furious and playable on the Zone with a 56k connection. The Instant Action mode is set up ‘Mad Libs' style where you, literally, choose your own adventure on the fly (pun intended).