Mad Catz are known for the gaming hardware, but they have also produced some games, and here we review Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII for the Xbox 360.
This is how Mad Catz describe Damage Inc:
Man up, suit up and defend your country in one of over 30 legendary aircraft as you battle your way through the WWII Pacific Theatre. Fight your way through intense air-to-air, air-to-ship, and air-to-ground combat while piloting dive bombers, fighters, and torpedo bombers over visually striking, historically accurate locations.
From the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to the fierce Battle of Iwo Jima, outmaneuver your foes through more than 20 multi-objective single-player and co-op missions, or engage in head-to-head dogfights. Whether flying alone, alongside, or against your teammates, use your aerial arsenal to devastate the enemy and dominate the air.
- Beautifully rendered aircraft, islands, and battle scenes
- Distinctive multiplayer flight combat gaming experiences
- Flight Stick controller-compatible for truly immersive gameplay
- 12+ hours of campaign missions
Who are Mad Catz?
From their website:
Mad Catz is a leading global provider of innovative products for the interactive entertainment industry. Mad Catz develops and markets accessories for videogame systems and PCs under its Mad Catz (casual gaming), Saitek (simulation), Cyborg (pro gaming), Eclipse (home and office) and Tritton (gaming audio) brands. Mad Catz also operates e-commerce and content websites for videogame and PC products under its GameShark brand, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary earphones under its AirDrives brand, and publishes and distributes video/PC games.
The Collectors Edition
The Collector’s Edition is a special bundle for the gamer that wants true immersion into the game. Consisting of the game, the Pacific AV8R FlightStick, a special DLC plane and a stylized WWII-era sticker sheet to customize your stick, the Collector’s Edition lets you experience the ultimate thrill as a WWII fighter pilot and promotes the sensation of true flight.
The FlightStick is very cool – have a closer look at it below:
A Short Video
Here is a short video showing a few minutes of the first mission after the training run:
Screenshots and Images
Here are some screenshots and images:
Final Thoughts
There are 32 different planes in the game with 68 variations, so certainly enough planes to keep most people happy!
As the game progresses you get to unlock different planes from both the American and Japanese sides.
There are two different games modes to choose from. The first is called Arcade mode and is designed for players who want an easier and more simplistic game and who want to jump straight into the action. The second mode is called Sim mode and this mode enables you to have great control over the various planes and have a more immersive gaming experience.
There are more than 20 missions in the game and there are hidden elements to each mission as well, so you could go and play the completed missions over and over again until you find that hidden thing!
There is also a multiplayer option if you have either finished the single player game or you get a little bored of it. Multiplayer gives you a number of other options, including dogfights against other players, and team dogflights, which can be fun. There is even a survivor mode where you have a certain number of lives and you want to be the last plane in the sky!
Another larger multiplayer mode is called Scratch One Flattop. The premise behind this one is that there are two teams who have to battle it out to sink the other team’s aircraft carriers using dive bombers, torpedo bombers and also providing aerial cover with fighters.
The multiplayer modes support between 2 and 8 players.
The FlightStick is really cool and makes you feel like you are flying the plane. It feels good in your hand and you can really get to grips with subtle changes in movement if you so wish. It is also nice having all the controls on the stick, including throttles for moving forward and back depending on what you want to do. Fair warning though, you will want to put the FlightStick on a hard surface when you play, it really doesn’t feel comfortable playing with it on your lap! You will also be able to use the FlightStick with other games too!
You don’t have to play the game with a FlightStick, it works fine with a normal Xbox controller, but to be completely honest it is much more fun to play with the flight stick as you can make subtle adjustments to your position, direction, etc. which are not as easy to do one the controller.
The game is quite fun, however it does get a little repetitive at times. For example, you have to go shoot down 10 planes that are attacking your base, then when you have done that you have to go shoot down 10 more, and so on. The issue is that it isn’t quite an arcade game and it isn’t quite a simulator – it tries to be a bit of both and doesn’t quite manage it.
Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII is available now for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. You can buy either the game for £39.99 or you can buy the collectors edition with Pacific AV8R FlightStick for £89.99. The Pacific AV8R FlightStick will also be available separately soon.
We will be running a competition shortly to win the collectors edition so stay tuned.
In the end we scored Damage Inc. 3/5 – this is based on the version with the FlightStick and taking into account the cost of package.
