Wings (1990 video game)

Last updated
Wings
Wings cover.jpg
Amiga cover art
Developer(s) Cinemaware
Raylight Games (GBA)
Publisher(s) Cinemaware
Producer(s) Jerry Albright
Designer(s) John Cutter
Programmer(s) Dan Pinal
Tim Hays
Artist(s) Jeffrey Hilbers
Writer(s) Kenneth Goldstein
Composer(s) Greg Haggard
Platform(s) Amiga, Game Boy Advance
ReleaseOctober 1990 (Amiga)
18 October 2002 (GBA)
Genre(s) Shoot 'em up, Air combat simulation
Mode(s) Single player

Wings is a World War I video game developed and published by Cinemaware. It was released for the Amiga in 1990. The action sequences are similar in style to those of the 1927 silent film Wings .

Contents

An enhanced version was released for the Game Boy Advance as Wings Advance in 2002. A remake of the original, Wings! Remastered, was published in 2014 and 2015 for Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS.

Gameplay

In Wings, the player controls a World War I fighter pilot, including flying, firing the machine gun, and dropping bombs. The game is played from a first-person perspective, and the cockpit view shows the plane's instruments and the surrounding landscape.

The game features many types of missions, such as escorting bombers or having dogfights with enemy planes.

The game has a variety of planes to choose from, each with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. Some planes are faster but have weaker armor, while others are slower but can withstand more damage.

Plot

Reception

Wings for the Amiga was well received by critics. Computer Gaming World called it "a whopping good arcade experience ... exciting, novel, and addicting." [1] In a survey of four World War I flight simulations, the magazine stated that Wings was the best choice for 'arcade' (action) gamers; [2] two surveys of strategy and war games gave it three and a half stars out of five. [3] [4] Review scores in other magazines included 78% from Amiga Action , 79% from Amiga Format , 82.5% from Advanced Computer Entertainment , 87% from Zero , 90% from Amiga User International , 91% from The One , 94% from Computer + Video Games , and 94% from CU Amiga . [5]

In 1993, Amiga World ranked Wings third on their list of all-time Amiga game hits. [6] In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked Wings for the Amiga as the 65th best game of all time for its "masterful combination of arcade action, flight simulation, and cinematic story." [7] Retro Gamer included it on their list of top ten Amiga 500 games, stating: "You couldnt ask for a more varied game than Cinemawares Wings ... that was way ahead of its time. Its hard to believe that the game was made in 1990 as the 3D sections looked absolutely incredible and far in advance of anything that had appeared on consoles, PC or even the arcades at the time," and adding its story "told of the main characters eerily realistic wartime experiences, provoking an emotional response in the player that is all too rare in retro and modern gaming alike." [8] In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 68th in their "Top 100 Games of All Time." [9]

Wings Advance was well received too, receiving an averaged Metacritic score of 80. [10] Craig Harris of IGN, who did not play the original Amiga version, gave the game an overall score of 7.5/10, calling it "a cool collection of three different game designs that, while fun in their own right, can't stand on their own because of gameplay limitations." [11]

Legacy

Wings Advance

The Game Boy Advance version, Wings Advance, is roughly the same game as the original, although it has been updated with improved graphics, new features, and increased gameplay options. The main difference is that the player can now opt to fly missions as a German pilot, experiencing the war from the opposite perspective.

Wings! Remastered

A campaign to create a Wings remake was put on Kickstarter at August 10, 2012 by Cinemaware with an intent to recreate the game in HD for mobile and desktop platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X). It aimed to recreate the original games experience and appeal. It was announced to be developed by Raylight Games, authors of Wings for the GBA, under Cinemaware's production leadership and coordination as Cinemaware first title in development since 2003s Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown . The Kickstarter project was to be funded if at least $350,000 was pledged by September 11, 2012, but was unsuccessful, reaching only $51,740. [12] In November 2013, a second attempt (this time under the title Wings! Remastered) on Kickstarter was successful; earning $91,380 by the end of its 30-day run.

The game was officially released by Kalypso Media for Windows and MacOS on October 27, 2014 and was immediately available for Windows on Steam and GOG, though the MacOS version was only available for the game's Kickstarter backers until it was released on the Mac App Store on May 6, 2015. [13] [14] [15] [16] The game was also released with touch screen controls for Android and iOS in May 2015. [17] [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Wasteland</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Wasteland is a role-playing video game developed by Interplay Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1988. The first installment of the Wasteland series, it is set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic America destroyed by a nuclear holocaust generations before. Developers originally made the game for the Apple II and it was ported to the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS. It was re-released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux in 2013 via Steam and GOG.com, and in 2014 via Desura. A remastered version titled Wasteland Remastered was released on February 25, 2020, in honor of the original game's 30th anniversary.

<i>Beneath a Steel Sky</i> Cyberpunk science-fiction point-and-click adventure from 1994

Beneath a Steel Sky is a 1994 point-and-click adventure game developed by British developer Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment for MS-DOS and Amiga home computers. It was made available as freeware – and with the source code released – for PC platforms in 2003. Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future, the player assumes the role of Robert Foster, who was stranded in a wasteland known as "the Gap" as a child and adopted by a group of local Aboriginals, gradually adjusting to his life in the wilderness. After many years, armed security officers arrive, killing the locals and taking Robert back to Union City. He escapes and soon uncovers the corruption which lies at the heart of society.

<i>Boulder Dash</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Boulder Dash is a 2D maze-puzzle video game released in 1984 by First Star Software for Atari 8-bit computers. It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who collects treasures while evading hazards.

<i>Defender of the Crown</i> 1986 video game

Defender of the Crown is a strategy video game designed by Kellyn Beeck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games.

<i>Superfrog</i> 1993 video game

Superfrog is a scrolling 2D platform game, originally developed for the Amiga and published in 1993 by Team17. Later releases were handled by Ocean Software and GOG.com.

VisualBoyAdvance is a free emulator of the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance handheld game consoles as well as of Super Game Boy and Super Game Boy 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinemaware</span> Video game developer

Cinemaware was a video game developer and publisher. It had released several titles in the 1980s based on various film themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bitmap Brothers</span>

The Bitmap Brothers are a British video game developer founded in 1987. The company entered the video game industry in 1988 with the scrolling shooter Xenon. They quickly followed with Speedball. Prior to becoming the publisher of their own games, early Bitmap Brothers titles were distributed by Image Works and Konami.

<i>Star Wars</i> video games Video games based on the Star Wars franchise

Over one hundred video games based on the Star Wars franchise have been released, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on films while others rely heavily on the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

<i>The Three Stooges</i> (video game) 1987 video game

The Three Stooges is a video game released by Cinemaware in 1987 for the Amiga based on the comedy trio of the same name. Players control Stooges Moe, Larry, and Curly in minigames based on Stooges films with the aim of raising enough money to save an orphanage. It was ported to the Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, NES and Game Boy Advance. The game has been praised as a faithful adaptation of the Stooges films, but has been criticized for repetitive gameplay and limited replay value.

<i>Airline Tycoon</i> 1998 video game

Airline Tycoon is a business simulation game by Thomas Holz and Robert Kleinert, in which the player must successfully manage an airline. The original was developed by Spellbound Entertainment, and published by Infogrames Deutschland, however, the succeeding versions were published by a variety of publishers.

Asphalt is a series of racing video games developed and published by Gameloft, Clickteam and Microsoft. Games in the series typically focus on fast-paced arcade racing set in various locales throughout the world, tasking players to complete races while evading the local law enforcement in police pursuits.

<i>The Pinball Arcade</i> 2012 video game

The Pinball Arcade is a pinball video game developed by FarSight Studios. The game is a simulated collection of 100 real pinball tables licensed by Gottlieb, Alvin G. and Company, and Stern Pinball, a company which also owns the rights of machines from Data East and Sega Pinball. Williams and Bally games are no longer available since June 30, 2018, as FarSight had lost the license to WMS properties, which has since passed to Zen Studios.

<i>Armello</i> 2015 video game

Armello is a 2015 digital role-playing strategy board game developed by League of Geeks. Announced as an iPad title in September 2012, the game has been in development since mid-2011, with music by composers Lisa Gerrard and Michael Allen. Between April and May 2014, a successful Kickstarter campaign was started to help fund a port to Microsoft Windows as well as stretch goals to bring the game to Android and Windows tablets. The game was chosen to receive additional support from governmental funding agencies Screen Australia and Film Victoria.

<i>The Quest</i> (2006 video game) 2006 video game

The Quest is a role-playing video game developed by Hungarian studio Redshift for PDAs in 2006. The game was ported to modern mobile devices three years later, and a remastered version was released in 2016. The remastered version added support for Microsoft Windows and macOS.

References

  1. ↑ Greenberg, Allen L. (December 1990). "World War I? Enjoy the Flap from Wings". Computer Gaming World. No. 77. p. 84. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Weksler, Mike (June 1991). "Dogfight at the PC Corral / WWI Air Combat Simulations in Review". Computer Gaming World. p. 31. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  3. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (December 1991). "Computer Strategy and Wargames: The 1900-1950 Epoch / Part II (M-Z) of an Annotated Paiktography". Computer Gaming World. p. 126. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  4. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (October 1993). "Brooks' Book Of Wargames: 1900-1950, R-Z". Computer Gaming World. pp. 144–148. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Wings review from Amiga Action 13 (Oct 1990) - Amiga Magazine Rack". Amr.abime.net. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
  6. ↑ Amiga World 12/1993.
  7. ↑ "150 Best Games of All Time". Computer Gaming World. November 1996. pp. 64–80. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Top Ten Amiga 500 Games". Retrogamer.net. 2014-08-18. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
  9. ↑ "Top 100 Games of All Time" (PDF). GamesMaster (44): 76. July 1996.
  10. ↑ "Wings for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
  11. ↑ "Wings - IGN". Uk.ign.com. 10 February 2003. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
  12. ↑ "Wings: Director's Cut by Cinemaware Kickstarter" . Retrieved 2012-11-22.
  13. ↑ "Wings! Remastered Edition - General Update". Cinemaware. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  14. ↑ "Wings! Remastered Edition". Steam. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  15. ↑ "GOG - WINGS!™ REMASTERED EDITION". GOG. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  16. ↑ "Wings! Remastered Edition". Apple. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  17. ↑ "Wings Remastered" . Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  18. ↑ "Wings Remastered". Apple. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.