The skies don't kill you - the voice acting gets you first...

Playing Deadly Skies III is like awakening from emergency surgery. People talk but it doesn't quite make sense; the simplest actions are somehow beyond you. But confusion melts into discomfort, into pain, into realisation... something has gone very badly wrong. You've dropped nearly 40 quid on Deadly Skies III. You chimp.

Actually, the flying's not bad, so long as you select at least the middle of the three control difficulties (for some reason it just won't bank properly in the default easy option) and shooting others down is fairly simple. Ground targets add a bit of spice, though it still stops short of actual excitement.

Mission options gradually widen to include 130 real-life and fictional planes, while everything can be upgraded, augmented, repaired and repainted. Coo. But the lengthy between-flights conversations and briefings are (a) diabolically scripted, (b) woefully acted to the point of pain and (c) the embarrassing teenage fantasy of a male self-manipulator.

Even aloft, assuming you've managed to find how to start a mission, 'atmospheric' radio chatter involves two or three people mouthing meaningless clichés at once. The resulting jabber borders on the deranged. However, ignore the awkward design and sub-Pearl Harbor plot and script and you've got an okayish flying game. Tempted? Anybody?

Graphics 60%
Uneasy mix of 2D manga and 3D realism.

Sound 40%
Embarrassing voice 'acting'.

Gameplay 60%
Fly and shoot basics are tight, if a little flat.

Lifespan 50%
It's big, but it's not clever.

Overall 50%
Though drenched in non-flying 'lifestyle' elements, the dull core can't be hidden. The flying works, but the surrounding dross kills it.