Battle Of Europe

You Know That feeling, as you watch an installation progress bar, thinking, 'this is a tunnel at the end of which there is no light?' And you want to hurl yourself under your mouse - but even in your desperation, you're aware that a computer mouse will have no crushing effect on your vast torso?

Black Bean were responsible for Iron Warriors, a tank simulator so joylessly realistic and unbeautiful as to briefly ruin my working life. So, it was a pleasant surprise and considerable relief to play Battle Of Europe, which is considerably betterlooking and firmly plumps for arcade action. Take-offs are absurdly short, shooting down a non-mission plane leaves behind a bunch of floating power-ups, along with not-strictly-1940s technology such as superbullets, turbo boost and a one-key Immelmann manoeuvre.

It's not all cuddles and kisses, though. Despite being instantly simple and enjoyable to play, Battle Of Europe loses out in a number of areas. For a start, it's quite restrictive in its strict campaign progression, lacking the skirmish-y flexibility and multiplayer options of IL2. The storyline also takes the form of between-level diary entries, which read like an explosion in a badly translated cliche factory. Expect lines like: "I used to hate heights, but now I can't wait to show them what side our bread is buttered on." Finally, and this might seem like a minor point, but I'm of the unshakeable opinion that - of all the fonts - Comic Sans has no place in a game with flying Nazis. Typography aside, Battle Of Europe is an enjoyable game that simply fails to distinguish itself as a particularly great one.