Previous Next

So what does the Fourth Dimension's sly invasion of the Archimedes flight simulator market have that Interdictor II doesn't? Well, a two-player mode is the obvious answer, another is the spotter plane view of your Tiger Moth.

But Chocks Away is not really a flight sim, as 4D admits, and it's very easy to fly. There are three ways to play the game - in practice mode, dogfighting with a friend and a third involving completing the missions, alone or with a wing-man.

All three are enormous fun, but playing two-player missions is particularly enjoyable. Another very nice feature is the 'black box' flight recorder. With this it is possible to save flights to disc and replay them later. When replaying, there is a fast forward feature and the facility to take over control at any point. This is something I've always wanted to see in a game.

The missions take you over both land and sea, and later it is necessary to land on aircraft carriers - well, try anyway. The missions are not interconnected, as with Interdictor II, but are completely isolated from one another. This does prevent a certain sense of strategy in the game as a whole, but that's not a major gripe.

Explosions and smoke are nicely detailed but enemy planes put up a good fight before they let you see these! I think there is a supernatural protection field around the church though - it won't blow up!

Chocks Away is slow compared to the smoothness of Interdictor II - it was unbearable at first but I soon got used to it. The ground detail is pretty minimal and the graphical resolution is generally fairly coarse, especially in two-player mode. Otherwise, the game is very playable.

Sometimes long flights before the target is reached can become boring, and with no auto stabilisers I often crashed because I wasn't watching the screen. However, it's easy to load back in the flight data and fast forward to just before the fatal five, so no major worries. Chocks Away is a brilliant game. It is actually very different from Interdictor II, and rich readers are recommended both! On a value for money basis they rank equal, and I like both for completely different reasons. My main complaint is that Chocks Away is too easy. After five hours I was a confirmed Flight Lieutenant, with only a few missions left to complete. Though Chocks Away lacks sophistication and 'power' it has bags of charm and elegance.