Knights of the Sky is the original DOS version of the World war I flying simulation game from 1990. While as a retro-gamer you might be thrilled to see this again, be warned that it's EXACTLY the original game stuck in a DOSbox shell. So no changes or extra's. That means you STILL get the configuration screen each time you start the game AND the squadron selection screen that requires you to look up the correct answer in the original manual, which obviously is not provided with this Steam release. Luckily it can be found online (here for instance: http://www.scribd.com/doc/39494458/Knights-of-the-Sky#scribd). If you didn't know that you'd be stuck with just playing the demo version, even though you paid full price for it. You will also need the manual to look up the controls and be reminded of the fact that you CAN actually skip a lot of tedious flying time by pressing alt-A.

While the game was brilliant in its time and still fun to play if you look past the outdated graphics, you might want to wait for a steam sale to buy this at a more reasonable price or maybe dig up your old floppies and manual of this game from the attic instead.

I discovered Knight of the Sky last week, after being disappointed playing Red Baron and its sandboxed scenario missions, and disappointed again playing Red Baron 3D and its, boring to me, prioritization of realism. No rose-tinted glasses here.

The game is really about its campaign, which features the same sort of Microprose brilliance you could spot in their other titles. Those are all about giving the player a little place in a world, and invoke the romantic impression of what an heroic life may have been, be it as a pirate, a samurai — or as a Chevalier du Ciel, as it is the case here.

The flight model feels a bit simplistic at first, but the real catch is that its goal is to emphasize the difference of the planes and their evolution. As historical time passes and the campaign progresses, you'll experience new way of fighting, which you can either embrace or reject. Same for your opponents: rarely in a flight simulator do you actually “feel” so much what sort of plane the foe in front of you is flying right now.

The game strips down the boring aspects of gaining altitude or looking for your objective. Thanks to a convenient map and the visual cue in the 3D world it provides, you always know where you are in this condensed but not small-feeling open world. And that world is so lively! Apart from your objective, you will be able to help friends in trouble, become trapped by enemy patrols, or have your own save your butt when all seems lost.

The game has got some other surprises I won't spoil. It pays great but measured respect to the historical period, and the campaign is a perfect example of one done right. The player's ultimate goal may be a glorified scoring chase featuring achievements in the form of ranks and medals, but fronts are moving based on historical events, semi-art nouveau screens depicting the scenes enhance the immersion and what seemed at first like an artificial motivation becomes a very real motive. The campaign is a wonderful success.

Sadly, this Steam release shows very little regard to this great game, which is a surprise for Nightdive Studios: this version of Knight of the Sky comes unpatched (version 1, while version 2 merely added... friendly patrols, amongst other stuff!). You can find the Rev 2 patch at the Patches Scrolls[www.patches-scrolls.de]. You'd better use your own DOSBox configuration too.

30 years later, Knight of the Sky is still a tremendously enjoyable game.
After playing through it, you will probably have learned something about the period, and I guarantee you will be able to tell what plane of the period is your favourite. Isn't that weirdly inappropriate bragging some awesome reward?

https://youtu.be/FwKVjAMjIBA

I used to love this game on my Amiga back in the day. Sadly that day has passed. This game has not held up well to the rigors of time.

Where to start? The fact they didn't even remove the copy protection maybe? Or the sluggish in game performance that feels slower than on my Amiga? Or maybe the bugs and glitches. Certainly the fact that this seems to be the unpatched version that often means just one bullet hit is needed to down either you or the enemy.

Also note that there is only two in-craft cockpit views (one machine gun or two) so all aircraft look exactly the same from cockpit view. And talking of views you need one hand on the keyboard at all times to switch thru them unless you use something like Joy2Key to map them to your controller or joystick.

Much as I loved this game back then, I'm going to recommend you avoid this unless you have some biggles sized nostalgia goggles as this feels sloppy, rushed and unoptomised.

Okay, this is a funny, simple flying simulator game.
It's not a 10/10 simulator but it is a good way to spend the time, no engine sounds, but a accordeon sound whenever you increase trottle.
Also a killcam! You get a replay of your plane crashing. That's pritty modern for a game this old. After a bit of messing around i found out how the controlls work.

If you are a flight sim fan you might pick this up during a sale, only 0,97 cent *euro*

Another lazy-ass "let's take this old DOS game straight from a warez torrent collection, slap it in DOSBOX, and push it out" effort by Retroism. Which was the exact thing that happened with Task Force: 1942.

This is a purely a nostalgia trip game. Comparing it to anything even remotely modern is simply absurd. Old flight-sim greybeards (e.g. me) might want to fire this up once in a while, but you know, they might be better off tracking down that warez torrent collection I mentioned earlier, or a actual patched version of the game.

Retroism's zero-value-added re-releases of these old gems is painful to watch.

Just the same as I remember it from the first time around. Shows its age but still good for a laugh.

Tags: 6DOF - Flight & Space Pilot
Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library

TLDR: Performance at 2 frames per second. Features antiquated paper-based DRM. Play Wings! Remastered instead.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/320840/Wings_Remastered_Edition/

Oustanding Issues:
-Features antiquated, paper-based DRM
-I get about 2 frames per second
-Menus are slow and trying to skip them registers input for the next menu popping up wasting your time
-I tried controlling things but I couldnt, camera sway was extremely slow

Still a great game dispite its obvious age....However you can find better versions out there on abandonware sites that will automatically give you full access. Meaning you dont have to identify the squadron logos. All you have to do is click any old logo and it will let you have full access to the game.

UPDATE: Originally you could find this game in abandonware but someone obviously bought the rights to it. So seeing as you cant find this game in abandonware anymore...I recommend it. Its a great game despite its age. Yeah the little copy protection thing is a bit annoying but at least the game comes with a manual so you can get passed it.

FINAL UPDATE: After playing this game twice though I noticed there were several differences between the original game and the steam version. First off I noticed that Friendly Planes did not exist...other than of course when you had to escort a two seater. This is not the case for other versions of the game Secondly, enemy fighters would NOT go after friendly observation balloons. I have seen them do this in other versions. Third, I found it a bit too easy to shoot down enemy planes...I remember from time to time when you hit them but not down them a message comes up 'You just winged them.' That message didnt come up at all when I played. It seems like the moment a bullet made contact with the enemy plane, the plane would go down. Lastly, sometimes enemy ace's planes wouldnt render properly. They would just appear as a completely black plane. Not to be confused with the aces that painted their plane black. You could still see the german crosses and parts of the enemy ace's plane would be different colors. But no sometimes an enemy ace's plane would be pure black, No crosses no other colors. All and all Its still a great game that should be picked up if you can get passed the outdated graphics.

There was a spate of ww1 flying sims in the nineties, of them Red Baron seems to be the one that is the most highly regarded, however if you do happen to enjoy even for the nostalgia, old games, or the history of ww1 fligth sims then get this one too. Its not a smooth game and flying using the keyboard is better than using the mouse, also your plane and enemy planes will get shot down with the barest of shots. To make up for this though, there are a good number of enemy planes in missions and also they are pretty relentless in maneuvring to get on your tail .

The game has a campaign which is kind of dynamic in that the missions vary and you seem to be competing with other pilots for becoming the most renown. You can also issue challenges to specific pilots

it is worth getting for sure!

I LOVED this game in my youth! The graphics might be a wee bit outdated by now but it´s worth the buck to reminisce!