Previous Next

Fancy yourself as a World War I flying ace? Dogfight is a two-player game using keyboard or joysticks that gives you the chance to be a terror of the skies. The object of the game is to shoot down your opponent's plane before the ammunition runs out... or he gets you.

When the game begins, the planes are already in the sky, unlike the arcade version, and you control the speed and direction of the plane as well as firing your machine gun. A cloud slowly scrolls across the screen issuing frequent bolts of lightning and you have an impressive choice of options and difficulty levels.

There are nice effects like a plane catching fire and leaving a smoke trail, and an excellent 'cinema-screen' introduction with a scrolling narrative accompanied by well thought-out music. However, the game suffers in certain areas. No routine exists to detect collisions and when the planes go off screen, they re-appear in the middle! This is supposed to simulate 'flying out of the sun' but I would have preferred a wrap-around screen.

The key layout is awkward and the game is more suitable for joysticks. The choice of the SHIFT LOCK key as a fire button seems illogical as this causes the SHIFT LOCK light to repeatedly go on and off, which can't do the diode much good!

However, I found this game enjoyable and a refreshing alternative to the over-played space-invader types. It should provide many hours of entertainment.