I'm not going to lie, I've never really been a huge fan of the Peanuts gang. Of course like any non-evil person I do have a soft spot for Snoopy. He just seems to strike a cord even more than Charlie Brown in the hearts of those who even just have a cursory understanding of the Peanut's brand. He's instantly recognizable and I dare someone not to crack a smile when they hear his trademark snicker. But once again, I am not truly a fan of Peanuts, but I'm very glad to say that small fact should hold no bearing on your enjoyment of Snoopy Flying Ace. Not in the least.

I only heard about this game 2 days before its release, and it seemed like people were pretty jazzed about Snoopy's arrival on Xbox Live. I couldn't share their enthusiasm at the time, but upon downloading the demo some kind of magic occured, and I knew this game was something special. I instantly bought the game and played through its short but sweet singleplayer. It featured a myriad of tasks ranging from saving Woodstock to manning turrets to playing an airplane version of follow the leader, but where the game really shines is in its dogfights. While I can't attest to whether or not Flying Ace is a spiritual sucessor to Crimson Skies, I can verify that the controls are easy to learn and intuitive to use.



Much like the Peanuts, I've never been able to get into flying games. They always seemed to be overly complicated, and I would often find myself struggling to keep track of my enemies. That is not a problem for ole' Snoopy though, as the colorful landscapes and easily distinguishable planes makes it a breeze to pick out and pick off your enemies. The planes come in three varieties, each of which will give you separate reasons for giving them a go. Light planes are fast but weak, heavy planes are healthy but at a cost of speed and maneuverability, and medium planes offer a balance of speed, health, and ease of use. Most beginners would do well to start with the medium planes, moving up to light or heavy later based on their own particular playstyle.

There's a varied selection of weapons for planes, of which players can take two into the fray at any one time, along with their standard machine gun of course. Ranging from mines to homing missles to the always useful shotgun, players will constantly be changing up their strategies mid-game to evolve their playstyle. Thankfully the developer gives the player an option to change loadouts upon each death, making the switch from EMP to the personal favorite Molten Flail a breeze. The variety of weapons and planes makes for a very customizable approach to any game possible, and guarantees that most matches will have multiple twists and turns ranging from navigating a maze of magnetic mines to dodging a swarm of incoming missles from behind.

Speaking of dodging, seeing as I neglected to actually talk about the controls earlier, I'll go ahead and do so now. You will use the left stick to maneuver your plane and aim at the same time. I've heard complaints from some people that the switch from FPS right stick aiming to Snoopy left stick aiming made for a certain amount of grief, but I never experienced any problems and I've maybe played three flying games in my life. The right stick has been put to good use however, allowing the player to dodge to the left or right, to perform a complete 180 instantly (a feature that I personally nominate for best control choice ever) and will allow the player to do a flip in the air. While the 180 serves the purpose repositioning the player, the other moves provide the player both with eyecandy, and a way to avoid those weapons that have a homing feature. The player is also allowed a rechargable boost via the A button, and a (almost) dead stop via the X button to allow precision aiming and turning. And of course you have your standard weapons switch button (B) and your firing (RT for machine gun, LT for whatever crazy weapon you decided to bring along).



The single player, as mentioned, is short. I managed to complete the initial offerings in about 2 hours. But fret not, dear readers, for there is a certain degree of replayability. Being new to the game, I of course took the Cadet (normal) difficulty. There is a Hard difficulty, and each mission is ranked with a medal. Achievement hoarders out there will need to get Gold medals on every level to reep their rewards, and even those of us out there who aren't completionists may want to give it a go again just beat our old times, or to play in split-screen/ Live multiplayer.

To think! I've made it this far without even alluding to the fact that there's multiplayer. Not only is there multiplayer, this is without a doubt one of the best multiplayer experiences to ever grace a Marketplace game. It stands tall with the likes of Castle Crasher, not in its co-op (which don't get me wrong is still fun) but in the mere fact that it is a blast to play with gamers and non-gamers alike. This is a game that you might fire up with your 10 year old nephew and he could grasp the controls in 2 minutes, and would be having a blast in 3. It's a game that could easily transcend the gamer barrier and allow even the most hardened critic video games (sans Robert Ebert of course) to enjoy themselves.

The online multiplayer is fast and frantic. I'm more of a team game guy myself, and I can honestly say that I don't remember the last time I had so much fun playing plain old Team Deathmatch. There's no greater feeling than getting hounded by an opponent, flying down through a cave and coming out the other end just to catch them on their own exit with a shotgun blast to the propeller. This being a Peanut's game parents need not worry about blood or gore, as characters parachute to the ground upon being ejected from their planes. There's the old staples such as standard deathmatch (a bit too hectic for me seeing as each match allows for 16 players), Capture the Flag, and a game where each player or team must hold on to a bone for two minutes to win. Something of an odd, but welcome, duck would be the Rugby esque game mode. I have only spent a limited amount of time with it thus far, but for fans of Football or Rugby it is a nice addition for sure.



Whoo. I didn't expect to rattle off so much, but that really just speaks to to how much I was both surprised by and enjoy this game. It is the perfect Xbox Live game, and at $10 one would have to be a really stingy person to not download it. I honestly feel that if Smart Bomb Interactive had wanted to, they could have packaged in some more maps, fleshed out the story mode a bit, and released this game for $40. The fact that they didn't ask for $15 or $20 with what they have right now is welcome, and shows that either Microsoft didn't know what they had, or that Smart Bomb really just wanted people to play their game.

Before writing this review, I'd fully intended on giving this game an 8 or 9. I figured my own feeling would sort everything out in the end. However upon sitting and thinking for about 10 minutes, I cannot think of a reason not to recommend this game. For the price of $10 I can forgive the lacking story and singleplayer campaign. Even those who don't have an Xbox Live gold membership can enjoy 8 on 8 dogfights thanks to the included bots. The flying is ace, the weapons are a blast, and multiplayer is undeniable fun. More games should strive to be this fun and this cheap. Now I can only hope that Smart Bomb realizes what a gem they have, and decides to create a full retail flying game for the masses to enjoy. With the promise of downloadable content already on the horizon though, I think I can wait until I finally squeeze the last drops not inconsiderable entertainment from Snoopy Flying Ace.

Snoopy Flying Ace Gets, And Deserves: A 10 our of 10