Red Baron is an old game put out by Sierra Labs. When I was about 12 years old, we got one the first Pentium 75 computers that came on the market and this game were bought for that computer. I thought I was the hotshot on the block and boy, was I with this game. The game is a fairly straight forward early flight simulator that has only a few basic controls. It uses to normal keypad as well as the numbers to control throttle.
While this sounds simplistic, it lends a lot to the game and the ease of play
It centers on the great ace, The Red Baron. In the game you are allowed to play as either the British or the Germans. The planes that are available are many, as are the missions that are available. You can start in the earliest planes used by both the British and the Germans. This makes it interesting to see the progression of the technology as the war dragged on.
One of the more interesting facets of the game is the single player mode where you are allowed to play against the great aces of WWI. You can fight against Max Immelman, Baron Von Ricthofen, and many others.
While this is great fun in the single mission play, the real fun is the campaign mode.
On the campaign setting you can fly from either side of the war and the missions range from strafing, to dog fighting, to attacking a Zeppelin. Each is a wonderful and fun experience that offers different challenges. As you move forward in the campaign you are awarded medals if you progress and are sent on some missions to destroy other aces in the area. These are some of the most fun missions.
The graphics from Red Baron were cutting edge in 1995, and still pretty nifty today. It is typical DOS game, but that does not take away from the game play. It actually lends itself to the game in my opinion. As you are flying, no matter how many planes are on screen and how hairy the action gets, there is never any lag or slowdown.
The game play is easy to pick up and learn. It is extremely refreshing to be able to play a game that is simple with an easy learning curve, yet as fun as Red Baron. I highly recommend this game to any fans of flight simulators. It is fun and easy to pick up and makes for hours of play that brings you back to the good old days of flight simulators.
