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Not for you the slime and ignominy of the trenches, ratburgers for tea and mustard gas for cologne. Nope, you're an Allied fighter pilot, a glamour puss outfitted with a silk scarf and designer leather jacket. Your life expectancy may not be more than a few days, but you look good and that's all that matters.

But before you can experience that stylish going-down-in-flames death, you must complete flight school. First you must create your pilot by naming him and attributing a set number of ability points to four skills: flying, shooting, mechanical aptitude and stamina. Then you must successfully complete a training mission (strafing, bombing or flying) to join the 56th Aerosquadron.

Once in the squadron, your Commanding Officer, Colonel Farrah, will give you the job of writing the squadron journal - a diary which often contains useful information about your next mission. There are three basic mission types: a Zaxxon-style strafing run, an overhead-view bombing run, and a 3D aerial combat section. The first two have specified targets to destroy - a bridge, convoy, or even a moving train - while avoiding anti-aircraft fire.

Aerial combat missions include dogfighting with enemy planes (including Eindeckers and Fokkers), bursting enemy recon balloons, and protecting Allied bombers and balloons. For all these you're accompanied by one or more computer-controlled pilots. Your 'backseat' cockpit viewpoint shows the pilot's head turning to spot enemy planes - in addition you can look around using four external views. For such a basic biplane, controls are simple: bank left/right and pitch up/down - there's no speed control. Your only weapons are twin machine guns which have a tendency to jam every so often, leaving you a sitting duck! Like your enemies, you can take a number of hits before being downed. Sometimes you may be able to ditch your damaged plane and survive, though Colonel Farrah won't be too pleased - three warnings from him and you're thrown out of the force.

Back at base, your performance is evaluated and the league table of pilots shown with number of missions flown and kills. Do well and you could win a medal or even promotion. However, your real aim is simply to survive 230 missions until the end of the war. If you die, your next pilot starts off at that date, so you can play through the war with a number of different pilots.

Tally-ho chaps! Bandits at six o'clock, zero bravo, etc! Yup, once again Cinemaware's highly polished presentation generates such a fantastic, authentic atmosphere that you can't help but get deeply involved in Wings. Mission briefings, reports, journal entries and more set the scenes brilliantly, though frequent disk-swapping can be a bind.

Earning your wings is easy but things toughen considerably when you join the squadron. Zaxxon-esque strafing and 1942-style bombing runs are a hectic mixture of dodging and hastily aimed and timed firing/bombing - sit still for more than a fraction of a second and you're in trouble.

The dogfight flight sim (tongue-twister time!) is the *real* tester, however: I've embarked on many, many such missions but only scored one kill (embarrassing!)!

Although the 3D is a little slow and jerky, it's the dogfights which work best and generate most excitement, cries of "Kill the fokkers!" resounding around the office!

Some of the sprites are pretty drab but generally graphics are as professional and true to life as you'd expect from Cinemaware, as are the sound effects. Tunes are pleasantly patriotic, although there's a terribly irritating accordion piece every so often. Minor faults aside, Wings is a varied biplane bonanza that any potential scourge of the skies should take the controls of.

For me, this beats all those ultra-serious flight sims into the ground. The old bi-plane may not have very sophisticated weaponry but its simple controls make it a joy to fly compared with complicated modern jets.

Out of the mission typres, dogfighting is the most fun with a neat sitting-behind-the-pilot viewpoint and intelligent enemy planes which roll and dive to avoid your fire (in over forty missions as 'The Yellow Baron' I only managed five kills).

Even better is when an enemy sneaks up behind you, the viewpoint switching to behind both planes as you try and evade him. Though not as hectic, strafing and bombing sections are very playable with some nice graphics - especially the tiny, scampering infantrymen who take potshots at you!

To cap it all, the squadron diary gives a fascinating narrative including humorous personal anecdotes as well as atmospheric details of 'current' historical events.

Presentation 90%
Disk swapping a bit irritating, but slick intermission screens including the fascinating diary. Save option and effectively continue-plays with different pilots.

Graphics 92%
The 3D aerial combat section is the most impressive with a superb view of the pilot in his cockpit and excellently detailed planes.

Sound 80%
A variety of period tunes, some of which can become irritating - shoot that accordion player! Plenty of good sound FX.

Hookability 89%
Your biplane is very easy to fly while the great atmosphere draws you into the game.

Lastability 81%
Kills are quite hard to obtain and survival just as difficult. The 'continue-with-a-different-pilot' option avoids frustration. Maybe a tad repetitive in the long term.

Overall 83%
Highly enjoyable 'seat of your pants' flying.