On 19th October of 2017, Runner Duck surprisingly introduced gamers to a brand new, cartoonish simulator of a World War 2 (WW2) bomber crew – also known as the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command.
Bomber Crew breathes in a new concept of simulation games. The game combines strategic gameplay, crew management, intense dogfighting, and strategic bombing missions. All of these elements stay true to the roles of these plane, the Avro Lancaster during the war. That includes some certain WW2 real missions like protecting the ship for the commando raid on St Nazaire and Operation Overlord made famous by countless movies and video games on the depiction of Omaha beach.
To think of it, it bears resemblance like the XCOM’s franchise minus the turn-based strategy but putting importance on the survival of the aircrew and the plane itself. Bomber Crew does pack a lot of gameplay punch in an astonishingly cartoonish package. Honestly, I never thought how a cartoonish simulation would turn out to be the best next thing in WW2 plane simulator. It’s a niche on the market, combined with the right elements.
Don’t get too attached with your crew
Sim lovers of the WW2 would love the concept of micromanagement that Bomber Crew presents for us. With a maximum crew of 7 – all of them plays an essential part in keeping the plane flying and returning safely to the base.
From the Pilot, who is responsible for take-off, landing gears, and altitude management. The Navigator who charts the waypoint and away from the hazards on land (Flak cannons, radars). The Radio Operator is responsible for getting orders from the base and can also call radio for recon. The Flight Engineer who will repair any electrical or mechanical damage during the flight. The Bombardier who operated the frontal guns and also controlled the bombing operations. Finally, there are about two Gunners, who manned the top gun and the tail/rear gun of the plane.
The crew members gather experience with every mission and operation. These level up will unlock new abilities for each crew member as well as bringing a secondary skill by combining the position above.
The game mechanics are simple enough. With a mouse and keyboard scheme, players need to tag incoming enemy aircraft for the Gunners to react. The same thing applies to on-air navigation. What players need to be extra aware of is the micro-management process during the flight, radar signals, crew’s health, plane’s condition and the bombing mission.
All of these built up to one main point: you need to carefully manage your crew under moments of distress and desperation.
Failing to do so, will result in seeing you overly-attached, max-leveled up crew died and their names commemorated in the Memorial, early in the menu. Perma-death really adds to the stress in caring for your crew members.
Survivability is the core concept of the game
Another interesting mechanic found in Bomber Crew, the survivability of the crew and your war machine. The plane can be fatally destroyed either shot down by enemy aircraft, blown completely by Flak cannons, fire hazards and mechanical failures.
The randomness of these adds excitement and tense moments. The plane can either crash land on water or land across enemy lines (this is also dependent on your Pilot skills). Upgrading a carrier pigeon or a dingy can increase the survivability should your crew crash.
Your crew can be customized and these customizations are essential to their survivability and speed. Jackets or sweaters can improve their condition when going for a higher altitude, some outfits come with an armored jacket or a lifesaving vest to increase the likelihood to survive but sacrificing speed during in-flight activity.
There were quite suspenseful times where the mission was a success but the return was fatal. My plane encountered mechanical difficulties when approaching back to base, causing my landing gear unusable. It crashed landed completely on the runway, killing half of my veteran crew members.
Your Lancaster can also be upgraded, providing you completed several missions that provided extra cash or shooting down enemy ace fighters (boss battle). Balance is the key to upgrading your plane as it is capped by a weight limit. For instance, you can add parachutes but you need to take away some cargo in exchange for that.
Too much, too fast, too intense
Now, the missions are quite linear and a bit monotonous. But don’t let that take away the fun of managing your crew members in the heat of the battle. In fact, some missions have some tasks on the side. These include taking photos of military bases, stopping the launching of V2 rockets and to add more mission variety, you could check out their new DLCs – Secret Weapon and USAAF which includes a brand new US Air Force bomber plane, the B-17 and several unique missions and upgrades to foil the Luftwaffe’s attempt during Operation Argument.
In conclusion, Bomber Crew amazed me so much. The fast gameplay and obsessions towards your crew and plane fixed the somehow weird control scheme and its replay value. If you are into micro-management simulations, World War 2 history, XCOM-ish concept, aviation enthusiasts or just looking for a fun and intense gameplay, Bomber Crew might have fulfilled your needs for a perilous sky-bound expedition that comes in a package of a family-friendly war game with a strategic survival sim concept.