Real Talk by: D.

If you’ve looked for a great dogfighting game (no pun intended), look no further. In what many consider a spiritual successor to the original Xbox’s Crimson Skies, Snoopy Fly Ace offers one of the best multiplayer experiences that Xbox Live Arcade has to offer. With good presentation, and clean, vivid graphics that are true to the Peanuts’ name, Snoopy Flying Ace is a must have.

Snoopy Flying Ace offers a short campaign mode that can be played alone or cooperatively with one other player. The campaign features a variety of missions that include ring races, escort missions, defense missions, follow the leader type missions, and your standard defeat all enemies missions. Although it has a variety missions, the campaign only clocks in at about 2-3 hours, leaving much to be desired, even with the challenge to earn all the medals for each mission. I’m not sure I’d recommend Snoopy Flying Ace to anyone looking into to it purely for its single player aspects. The campaign serves primarily as a way to unlock new weapons and familiarize oneself with the game before taking it to the skies online.

 

As far as multiplayer is concerned, Snoopy Flying Ace features one of the most addictive multiplayer experiences to be had.  The multiplayer part of Snoopy Flying Ace has support for up 16 players and features game modes such as Dogfight (Deathmatch), Team Dogfight, Capture the Flag, Dog Pile and Team Dog Pile (think Halo’s Oddball), and a mode called Pigskin, where the goal is retrieve a football and fly it through the other team’s uprights. Multiplayer also features a variety of characters(including your avatar), maps, planes and weapons, ranging from standard homing missiles and mines, to tiny planes that fly out and attack your opponent. Players can customize theirs plane as well, choosing both the type of plane and the two weapons that they would like to have equipped. Along with this, is a leveling style similar that of Call of Duty. Killstreaks are also included, with a 4 killstreak giving you a “Woodstock Award” which amounts to Woodstock taking a seat on the back of your plane and firing at any enemies that my be close behind. A 9 killstreak nets you the “Doghouse Award”, which allows you to fly around on Snoopy’s doghouse. All of these elements combined are what give Snoopy Flying Ace one of the most addictive multiplayer modes around. Every now and then, the game can get a bit hectic with 16 players (especially in free-for-all), but never does the game stop being fun. At a price tag of merely $10, Snoopy Flying Ace is a steal.

Snoopy Flying Ace Gets

4.5 out of 5

What’s Legit?

+ Nice visuals that stay true to the Peanuts’ name.

+ Addictive multiplayer with a variety of game modes, planes, characters and weapons.

+ PEANUTS!

+ Low price.

What’s Perpetrating?

– Short single player campaign.

– Online matches can sometimes get hectic with 16 players, especially in free-for-all.

Available on: Xbox Live Marketplace for $10.

dharris.tlr@gmail.com