For those of you with long gaming memories, Wings is based on an old Cinemaware game that appeared on a few computer systems a bit over ten years ago.  It's a testament to the advancement of game technology that the game now fits into a portable the size of the GBA while retaining all of the gameplay of the original, plus a few new additions.

Lining up a target for the kill.

The centerpiece of the game is its career mode.  Wings is set during World War I, and you must decide whether to fight for Great Britain or Germany.  Once your choice is made, you'll need to create your pilot by selecting a name and allocating points between four skill areas.  These skills determine how well your plane handles, the accuracy of your shots, the tendency of your guns to jam, and how much damage you can take. Once your pilot is created you'll need to earn your wings by successfully completing a training mission (i.e. no one will be shooting at you) and then it is off to the Western Front. 

The game's campaign is played as a series of missions, with snippets of a pilot's journal in between to keep you informed about the war's progress.  There are over 100 different missions in the game for each side, but they all boil down to three basic types: dogfight, strafe, and bombing. 

Dogfights put you in the cockpit of a biplane as you battle other planes and bust enemy balloons while protecting your own.  The camera is set right behind the pilot, which is done to offer you a number of visual cues.  The pilot will turn his head to give you an idea as to where the enemy planes are located, and damage to your plane will show as bullet holes and smoke.  Unfortunately, the small screen size makes it difficult to see the action in this view with the plane blocking at least a third of the total screen space.  Fortunately you can change to a more open, first-person view that is more practical when lining up for a shot at an enemy plane.  Both views allow you to look left, right, and to the rear by using the shoulder triggers.

Wings is strictly an arcade experience - there is no throttle and planes are never in danger of stalling.  Also, missions always open at a high altitude, so it is difficult to crash unless you make a concerted effort to dive into the ground.  That being said, the dogfighting is still challenging enough as you must work to outmaneuver the enemy planes as you try to line up a good shot.  Dogfighting is the most enjoyable element of Wings, and it is fun to score kills in an age when pilot skill was the primary deciding factor in aerial combat.  Dogfights continue until you or the enemy is eliminated, or until you run out of fuel - your gas tank is primarily a timer for the level.

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