Wings Over Europe

About

"Wings Over Europe" is a combat flight simulator game set in World War II. Players can choose to fly for the Allies or the Axis powers, with a variety of aircraft and missions available. The game features realistic flight models, historical campaigns, and multiplayer options.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

51%

Audience ScoreBased on 159 reviews

story4 positive mentions

monetization2 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and engaging flight simulation experience, especially for fans of classic air combat games.
With the right patches and mods, it can run smoothly and provide a nostalgic experience reminiscent of older flight sims.
The game features a decent selection of aircraft and missions, making it enjoyable for casual players who want a less hardcore sim experience.

The game is poorly optimized for modern systems, often resulting in crashes and low frame rates, making it nearly unplayable without extensive fixes.
Players must manually download patches and mods to get the game to function properly, which can be frustrating and time-consuming.
Many users report that the game is essentially abandonware, with significant compatibility issues on newer operating systems and a lack of official support.

story
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
89%
5%
The game's story is primarily conveyed through its campaign missions, which are set during the Cold War and feature a variety of mission types, including recon and air support. While the mission planning and execution provide an authentic feel of historical air combat, technical issues such as crashes and black screens detract from the overall experience. Despite its moddability and potential for replayability, many players find the lack of a mission builder and frequent crashes make it difficult to fully enjoy the narrative aspects.
- “Another element is that there is something about how they have crafted it with mission background, situation briefings, mission planning, etc.; along with the flight dynamics and real-world limitations that make it feel authentic.”
- “Authentic to me feels like every time I play a campaign, and I'm planning and executing a mission, I get a glimpse of what it was like back then flying over the jungle in Vietnam to ripple off a load of 500lb Snakeyes...and completely miss; or erratically jinking over the Suez Canal desperately trying to avoid SA-2 SAMs...and having the stabilizer blow off...”
- “Most of the missions take place during the Cold War, so you won't be flying any stealth fighters such as the YF-22 or F-35.”
- “Very boring and unrealistic and no mission editor.”
- “My one complaint is that there really isn't a mission builder as to be expected in simulations like this included.”
- “Even though this is a classic and fun game, I can't recommend it because it crashes to desktop every time you try to end the mission.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The graphics of the game are widely criticized for being dated and choppy, reminiscent of 1990s simulations, with many users experiencing significant performance issues even on modern machines. Despite attempts to improve performance through various settings and patches, players report persistent lag and crashes, particularly in full-screen mode and when using multiple monitors. Overall, the graphical experience is deemed unsatisfactory and detracts from gameplay.
- “It has the feeling of 1990s sims with great graphics and voices.”
- “The graphics and gameplay hold up for certain.”
- “Graphics are also dated.”
- “This version... it doesn't really run smoothly on a modern machine - even at very modest graphics settings the view is choppy, and the game crashes when you try to exit a flight.”
- “I tried many different graphics settings, downloading the patch (because Steam doesn't automatically do it) and running it in compatibility mode for Vista and XP, but nothing improved the FPS to a level that made the game playable.”
- “Compatibility issues, the 2008 patch doesn't help either, the graphics are choppy and it's like watching a slideshow, laggy.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting choppy performance even on modern machines and frequent crashes, particularly when exiting flights. Despite some improvements and new features, the overall experience is marred by poor optimization, leading to a lack of recommendation for players.
- “That contains some optimizations, new features, and better modding capabilities (mostly).”
- “While it features a decent selection of classic jets, fun combat, and easy-to-pick-up sim characteristics, I cannot recommend Wings Over Europe for the simple fact that it's a poorly optimized mess and offers nothing over the Strike Fighters 2 series.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay is praised for its accessibility and engaging mechanics, making it appealing to fans of flight simulators focused on air combat and strikes. While it may lack precision in weapon management and flight modeling, the overall experience is considered enjoyable and visually impressive.
- “To fans of flight simulators that model air combat and air strikes in relatively easy-to-learn mechanics.”
- “It is not the most accurate in weapon management or flight model, but the gameplay is outstanding.”
- “The graphics and gameplay hold up for certain.”
- “It is not the most accurate in weapon management or flight model, but the gameplay is lacking.”
- “The graphics and gameplay do not hold up as expected.”
- “The gameplay mechanics are relatively easy to learn, but they lack depth.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express frustration with the monetization strategy, labeling it a "cash grab" due to the requirement to purchase new versions of the game for compatibility with updated operating systems. This has led to disappointment and a reluctance to continue supporting the developer financially.
- “I had a lot of fun with these games in the beginning, but now with the cash grab and the fact that you must buy the new version if you want to use a new OS, I am just left disgusted and will not give Thirdwire another dime.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
100%
Players highlight the high replayability of F117 Stealth Fighter due to its customizable mission dynamics and strategic flight options, which encourage varied gameplay experiences.
- “One of my favorite flight sims was F-117 Stealth Fighter by MicroProse due to its customizable mission dynamics and flight strategy with stealth technology; you were guaranteed replayability.”
- “One of my favorite flight sims was F-117 Stealth Fighter by MicroProse due to its customizable mission dynamics and flight strategy with stealth technology; it guaranteed replayability.”
- “One of my favorite flight sims was F-117 Stealth Fighter by MicroProse due to its customizable mission dynamics and flight strategy with stealth technology; it guaranteed replayability.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game generally runs well on Windows 7 (32-bit), but it occasionally crashes after missions. However, players appreciate that their progress is saved despite these dropouts.
- “I'm running Windows 7 (32-bit) and I've found that it runs great. It tends to drop out of the game after missions, but it still retains your progress.”

60%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Wings Over Europe
Eurogamer.net
60%

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Wings Over Europe
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