FutureFive New Zealand - Consumer technology news & reviews from the future
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Thu, 1st Jul 2010
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Imagine if Snoopy's alter-ego as a biplane pilot came to life as a video game. That game would be Snoopy Flying Ace.

It's actually been done before; Snoopy Flying Ace is a sequel to 2006's Snoopy vs. The Red Baron, and there's an unrelated 1984 Atari 2800 game too.

Even if you don't know the particular comic strips in question, most of us have heard the popular holiday tune, 'Snoopy's Christmas'.

Everybody's favourite beagle faces off against Red Baron and his crew of misfits. The singleplayer campaign is over quickly, but this game was made for multiplayer.

The multiplayer modes include old favourites such as deathmatch, capture the flag, and hog the ball. You can choose your pilot from a bunch of Peanuts characters and even your own Xbox Avatar.

Next is your biplane, as well as the crazy secondary weapons you'll be using to tear up the sky. Flying a plane is simple to control, although chasing down a particular victim is made difficult.

With no lock-on you tend to switch targets rather often. While it is possible to barrel roll to get out of harm's way, I found that I had to choose a slower plane with more health so as not to die every 30 seconds.

 I'm impressed that the game is quite versatile, offering split-screen co-op and offline matches against bots, as well as online dogfights. But does it get old? The game seems perfectly made, but there's just something missing. It lacks that addictive quality and fails to hold my attention for very long. Perhaps I prefer having two feet on the ground.

The locales you fly over look a lot like World War I crossed with a Saturday morning cartoon. Even the orchestral music fits the mood; pretty, bright and colourful. While it may not hook you for long, Snoopy Flying Ace really feels like a whole package worthy of its own retail box