Air Power, released by Rowan Software in 1996, presents a tantalizing alternate reality: Europe - or somewhere very like it - in the 1930’s, with no Nazis, Soviets… or any industrialized nations, for that matter. In this parallel universe, the Hindenburg disaster never happened, with the somewhat far-fetched result that airships (zeppelins) have become the primary mode of commerce and strategic warfare, displacing railroads and automobiles. Gigantic carrier dirigibles, capable of launching squadrons of fighter and bomber planes, rule the skies, protected by smaller “frigates” bristling with anti-aircraft guns.
Air Power, released by Rowan Software in 1996, presents a tantalizing alternate reality: Europe - or somewhere very like it - in the 1930’s, with no Nazis, Soviets… or any industrialized nations, for that matter. In this parallel universe, the Hindenburg disaster never happened, with the somewhat far-fetched result that airships (zeppelins) have become the primary mode of commerce and strategic warfare, displacing railroads and automobiles. Gigantic carrier dirigibles, capable of launching squadrons of fighter and bomber planes, rule the skies, protected by smaller “frigates” bristling with anti-aircraft guns. The premise of the game is that this brave new world has descended into chaos in the wake of the emperor’s recent death, and four more or less legitimate heirs are vying for control of the continent.
Mechanically,
Air Power combines a strategic conquest-style backdrop with a stylized flight simulator engine. You play an air wing commander (and also pilot) of one of the four factions, embarked in your fleet’s flagship zeppelin. A map of the continent depicts various cities and towns, mostly neutral, which you must endeavour to win over to your side by diplomacy or force. Your opponents, meanwhile, are doing the same with their dirigible fleets. From time to time, you will encounter aerial pirates, armed resistance from hostile cities, or enemy forces, giving you the option to jump into the cockpit or allow the computer to resolve these skirmishes. Of course, it’s more fun to blast away with your own machine guns and rockets than to just get an after-action report, but you’ll be playing Air Power for a long, long time if you don’t cut corners now and then.
I have to admit I found the diplomacy portion of the game both baffling and inconsistent. In a nutshell, you can send a negotiator ahead of the fleet to try and win unaffiliated cities to your cause. You’re given some general background info about the locals, and then forced to select from a multiple-choice list of canned questions and answers. If you hit the right combination, the town will welcome you as liberators and sign on for the fight. If not, well… stand by for a fight. Maybe I’m just slow, or not cut out to be a diplomat, but I couldn’t detect much cause & effect between the options I chose and the outcome. Besides, if I’d wanted to spend hours on polite chitchat or blustery rhetoric rather than flying planes and shooting stuff, I’d have turned on C-Span instead of playing Air Power.
Anyone familiar with the much more recent Crimson Skies game for PC will feel at home with the combination of vaguely art deco aesthetic, fantastical airframes, and aviator chivalry that permeates Air Power. The graphics and flight engine are considerably less sophisticated, but after all, this is a ten-year DOS game… and it’s free. If you really want eye-candy or hyper-realistic plane controls, shell the money and get the latest flight simulator.
