SKY SESSIONS: Aerowings 2 on Dreamcast – Landing Gear Optional

Andrew Stevens from Fanbolt.com periodically shares his “Sky Sessions” and thoughts on flight sim with Saitek. 

This week I was in the mood to play a little Dreamcast and return to the skies in one of my favorite flight games on the console, Aerowings 2: AirStrike. This is a game I played a lot when it first came out, but never much afterward. So, I decided it was time to once again take a flight down memory lane.

Aerowings 2 might actually be one of the best console-based flight simulation games ever created. Flight games on consoles usually lean more on the arcade side, but this one is pretty hardcore. Aerowings 2 certainly offers some of the finest flying I’ve ever experienced on consoles.

The hardcore aviation that Aerowings 2 pushes on players is witnessed right from the beginning as players spend quite a bit of time going through basic training. Players are forced to take off, land, make precise turns, rolls, and other maneuvers; all while being graded on their work. If players don’t meet the expectations, such as staying within a certain G-force range or specific altitude, they will have to redo the short mission again.

Nope! There is no getting straight into the action in this console title! It’s all about flying perfectly first. This even includes formation flying, including formation take-offs and rolls. However, players can jump into a free flight mode to simply get some relaxed flying time.

The first video I created is one of my early-on free flights with an F-16. The controls feel very touchy in spots, especially when I made my high-speed pass by the tower. I actually got a lot lower to the ground than I intended. At least it turned out looking alright!

Make sure to watch the beginning of the video to get a feel for what it’s like to fly around in Aerowings 2, but also watch the replay of my flight at the end which is a lot more exciting to view. That’s mostly because it looks absolutely amazing. When did this game come out?

During my first flight I suffered from having the expectation that I could still be a perfect pilot in Aerowings 2 even though I haven’t played the game in a long time. I was actually far from being a good pilot. I can’t expect to be the aviator I once was when I originally played Aerowings 2. I’m sure most of us understand how it goes when returning to a game for the first time in quite a while. That same fancy flying ability is no longer in one’s repertoire of skills! Not without spending at least a few hours of basic flying first.

It’s easy to tell that I am still getting used to the controls and feel for Aerowings 2 as my first landing is a complete joke. That’s why I decided to take off again immediately. However, my second attempt at landing was pretty much as good as it can get! It was a thing of beauty! All except that I completely missed my gear going back up… WHAT!

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