Over the Reich is one of those games that can be described as original. Not exactly a WWII flight simulator but that is exactly what it turns out to be anyway. The single player campaign has you sign up with the RAF, USAAF, or Luftwaffe for a tour of duty in charge of a fighter squadron. The action is turn based and leaves you in a chess match in the clouds as you and your AI enemy (which is superbly difficult for a game of this era) twist, turn, dive, climb and race to jockey into a good position of which to shoot.
What helps is that the game does offer different levels of difficult from the most basic (in which you only control how the plane turns, when it fires, and a few other minor things) to the most difficult (now you get to climb, turn in various real life moves that would make the aces of the sky proud).
Their is a variety to the missions which you get. From fighter sweeps over Northern France, to escort missions to Berlin and back, to assaulting land targets. Yes the action isn’t just solely confined to the sky. There is a ground attack element as well which assists to keep things interesting. However after a time even these missions become boring and the game sinks into a tedium
of wishing for something more. Maybe if there was something deeper than just the choose pilot screen and the mission to the game. Unfortunately much like its sequel Achtung Spitfire there isn’t. Yes the first time you randomly encounter a pair of Focke-Wulf 190s right in front of you and they've yet to notice you crank up the music and dive into the fight...but after doing this eight or nine times it becomes more about seeking to waste time than playing through the entire campaign.
In my personal opinion the game is good for killing a few hours as their is a random battle generator which has you picking varied combinations of aircraft, their numbers, their pilot skills and even the mission they're currently in. Nothing says fun like a group of P-51s going toe to toe with ME262s. Aircraft mechanics are detailed well, and it would help any would be combat pilot to read up on the aircraft of their squadrons choice in the built in encyclopedia of aircraft to determine just what strategy is good for their aircraft. It even helps that you have access to view the aircraft of your enemies so you know what works best against what.
In the end, the game isn’t for everyone. Hardcore flight fans will be disappointed over their direct lack of control, and casual wargamers will enjoy it for its beer and pretzels approach to the Battle over Europe but will tire of the repetitive missions and lack of any satisfaction at the games conclusion. Both however can agree on one thing, it’s a decent way to kill a few hours.
