One of Great Britain's proudest moments was during the early years of WWII, where a handful of fighter pilots heroically defended our homeland against the might of the German Luftwaffe. The Battle of Britain, as it's known, turned out to be the first major turning point of the war, and video games frequently raid this period of history for inspiration, with varying degrees of success.

Secret Weapons Over Normandy, the latest in a long line of WWII shooters, picks up the story in the summer of 1940. The war is in full swing and you're a hotshot American pilot assigned to a top-secret British squadron, The Blackhawks. After a black and white archive film intro and simple tutorial, it's straight into the evacuation of Dunkirk, where you must provide cover for the beleaguered troops. The levels follow recreated scenarios of real-life events and battles, from the Battles of Britain and Midway to the D-Day Invasions, albeit with a wedge of creative licence thrown in. There are an impressive 30 missions to dogfight, bomb and escort through, using 20 planes from the Spitfire and Hurricane to the P-51 Mustang and Me 262 jet.

Now we're all for a bit of realism, but nothing's more boring than flight sims that incorporate pre-flight checks, loads of instruments, and the rigmarole of a five-minute take-off routine. Thankfully, SWON throws this all out of the bomb bay doors and proudly wears its arcade blaster badge on its flak jacket sleeve to provide an easily accessible, refreshingly basic flying game that both beginners and more experienced Douglas Baders will find enjoyable. Although realism is compromised in the name of gameplay, this only makes for a more exciting experience, and there's the fantastic option to play through the campaign mode in single- or two-player co-op.

But it's not all dogfighting devilry, as certain missions require our young American pilot to get behind anti-aircraft flak cannons to repel airstrip attacks, and lend support from the tail gun of a B-17 Bomber. While these fixed gun, on-rails set pieces are great fun, they are infrequent breaks from the routine and, at the end of the day, there are only so many ways you can dress an interception/bombing mission before it starts to get repetitive. Which SWON does suffer from if you play for too long in one sitting.

A game like this is also crying out to be played with a group of people, though criminally there's not even System Link, let alone Xbox Live capability. SWON is an accomplished arcade shooter, which would have benefited immensely from an improved multiplayer game such as Crimson Skies provides.

1. It's easy to pick up and play!
2. Frantic action
3. Involving storyline

1. Poor multiplayer and no Xbox Live
2. Can get a bit repetitive

Power
Great looking landscapes and no slowdown during the action, which never lets up.

Style
All the planes look nice with some comically stereotypical voiceovers.

Immersion
Instantly accessible with both Campaign and Deathmatch modes on offer.

Lifespan
It take a little while to play through and unlock everything, but SWON has limited replayability.

Overall An exciting and accomplished shoot 'em up that's great in single-player but could've been outstanding with Xbox Live.