I don't usually write reviews but this game really deserves more attention.

First thing's first though, I only got it working having disabled Vmware network adapters, setting it to Windows XP SP2 compatibility settings, and installing the patch found here (http://static3.cdn.ubi.com/heroes_over_europe/Heroes_Over_Europe_v1.02.exe) to get my joystick to work.

Once this had been done however, I got into the game with graphics settings cranked (config file can be found in the game folder) and found it truly is a blast to play. Sure it isn't the most realistic flight game, but it isn't trying to be IL-2 Sturmovik, it's just trying to be fun - and that's exactly what it is. When you set the difficulty to Pilot and realism settings to Professional it actually can get quite challenging and be just realistic enough to feel like you're a bad ass fighter pilot, but arcade enough to feel fun and exciting and not frustrate you, especially with a HOTAS setup like mine.

Sound is awesome with screeching dives and satisfying hits and thundering explosions to follow. Each kill feels worth the trouble and the feeling of watching it break up in the air is fantastic. Hits feel heavy and proper. The campaign is short, but worth it, and personally I feel the AI is unpredictable enough with battles that feel long and hard fought enough to warrant a degree of replayability, I found myself repeating missions for the fun of it. The price is very fair to suit the short campaign and quality of the product, in fact I'd call it a steal. I personally recommend this product to all for a fun, short, but satisfying little WW2 flight experience.

Minor gripes however are:
No multiplayer - personally I don't care for multiplayer but could be a deal breaker for some.
It is really much more immersive and fun with a joystick, and key board/mouse controls are very iffy. If you don't have one, be prepared to get used to awkward (but okay) keyboard or mouse controls.
Getting to work takes a tiny bit of work - more than some can handle as you can see in the forums.
Sometimes the friendly AI can seem pointless, which usually isn't an issue but when you have enemies on your tale shooting you up as you try to do your objective with your friendlies going around in circles it can get a bit frustrating.

For the price, it's definitely worth your time. Be sure to install the patch to make sure your joystick is read by the game, and for those who don't know, when in the options menu in game, go into "Controls" and press the End key, and you can rebind any controls to what you like, it even has preset Xbox 360 controller support.

I don't usually write reviews but this game really deserves more attention. First thing's first though, I only got it working having disabled Vmware network adapters, setting it to Windows XP SP2 compatibility settings, and installing the patch found here (http://static3.cdn.ubi.com/heroes_over_europe/Heroes_Over_Europe_v1.02.exe) to get my joystick to work. Once this had been done however, I got into the game with graphics settings cranked (config file can be found in the game folder) and found it truly is a blast to play. Sure it isn't the most realistic flight game, but it isn't trying to be IL-2 Sturmovik, it's just trying to be fun - and that's exactly what it is. When you set the difficulty to Pilot and realism settings to Professional it actually can get quite challenging and be just realistic enough to feel like you're a bad ass fighter pilot, but arcade enough to feel fun and exciting and not frustrate you, especially with a HOTAS setup like mine. Sound is awesome with screeching dives and satisfying hits and thundering explosions to follow. Each kill feels worth the trouble and the feeling of watching it break up in the air is fantastic. Hits feel heavy and proper. The campaign is short, but worth it, and personally I feel the AI is unpredictable enough with battles that feel long and hard fought enough to warrant a degree of replayability, I found myself repeating missions for the fun of it. The price is very fair to suit the short campaign and quality of the product, in fact I'd call it a steal. I personally recommend this product to all for a fun, short, but satisfying little WW2 flight experience. Minor gripes however are: No multiplayer - personally I don't care for multiplayer but could be a deal breaker for some. It is really much more immersive and fun with a joystick, and key board/mouse controls are very iffy. If you don't have one, be prepared to get used to awkward (but okay) keyboard or mouse controls. Getting to work takes a tiny bit of work - more than some can handle as you can see in the forums. Sometimes the friendly AI can seem pointless, which usually isn't an issue but when you have enemies on your tale shooting you up as you try to do your objective with your friendlies going around in circles it can get a bit frustrating. For the price, it's definitely worth your time. Be sure to install the patch to make sure your joystick is read by the game, and for those who don't know, when in the options menu in game, go into "Controls" and press the End key, and you can rebind any controls to what you like, it even has preset Xbox 360 controller support.