Over G Fighters
Posted July 11, 2006
Having a bit of déjà vu, I found Over-G to be reminiscent of another disappointing first generation release on the original Xbox by the name of AirForce Delta Storm. Both games have serious faults in their gameplay and graphical capabilities, along with a complete absence of redeeming enjoyment. Over-G is but a hollow shell of other titles that made the flight genre worthy of copying, such as Ace Combat or Crimson Skies. Most decidedly, Over G suffers from a total lack of speed when attempting to race around in your multi-million dollar jet. 
The sad excuse of a storyline hopelessly revolves around escalating conflicts in a variety of real world locations. Using a series of art renderings combines with a variety of dull voiceovers, each mission briefing is barely worth watching. Actually, the best quality about the drab presentation is that it can be skipped via the start button. Heading directly into the mission without briefing won't hurt your chances of completion in the slightest.
Gameplay:
Allow me to paint a picture of a typical mission in Over G Fighters. Takeoff, fly toward the red mark on your radar, switch to the appropriate missile, lock on and fire, end mission. Now, repeat that about 60 times over all the difficulty levels. Some of these types of missions are moronically simple and others use ambush tactics to send you into a fit of rage. Overall, the mission structure is hopelessly lost in the repetition of pointless tasks that have little bearing on an overall story.
Of course, if your enemy happens to send a missile your way, your mission is over 90% of the time. Enemy fire is nearly inescapable, even with the usage of manual chaffs. Every time I think I'm improving at dodging a missile, the A.I. loves to throw another few my way to seal the deal. Why didn't Taito, the developer, provide some method of shooting down an oncoming missile? While I understand the implausibility of that action, even a blinking target curser around the speeding explosive would increase the chances of escaping death and more load times. Unfortunately, the game only consists of acquiring a lock on your target before the opposite happens.
Escaping enemies would have been easier if I had a competent wingman. At the onset of most missions, you have the option of choosing between five different pilots to "help" your assault on the red targets. Having tried all five, I cannot find a difference between them. Also, the game provides a rudimentary list of commands that can be ordered in the direction of your loyal, yet ineffective subordinate. These commands rarely work nor do they seem to last. I can assign a wingman to attack only air targets, but I guarantee the game will default him back to the Form-up command within a couple minutes. Wingmen are pretty much useless and typically get into trouble more than I do, although I've never seen one shot down yet.
While picking out a wingman, you will notice a difference in their stats. These stats also mirror your stats which are usually increased at the end of each mission. Oddly, you cannot assign your own points, nor does the game seem changed by an increase in the various abilities. This broken RPG element of Over G can easily be overlooked at the debriefing of a mission. Also, I have no idea how each stat is increased from my mission actions, nor does Taito do a proper job of explaining it.
You would think an increase in the ole evasion stat would make the planes simpler to control, but nothing is further from the truth. Over G has two types of control schemes selectable in the options menu: Arcade and Real. Arcade mode is fairly forgiving with automatic horizon adjustment and speedier turns. Real mode is tougher to master, but more effective when attempting to dodge missiles. Sadly, both modes are cursed with an overly unresponsive feel to course correction. Attempting to circle around for another pass at a target is an exercise in futility. The only portion of the control that seems to work consistently is the missile fire. Actually, I have to limit myself on the number of the missiles I send out, as I'm a bit trigger happy.
Perhaps a slight mastery of the control will help in the multiplayer section of the game, but it's more dependent on the number of planes you have unlocked. As each multiplayer session seems like a race for missile lock, the planes in the later stages of the game have a much further range and seem to dominate Xbox Live sessions. The game is consistently lag free during a bout of multiplayer and competing versus a friend can be much tenser than single player missions.
The achievements are broken up between 38 tasks for a grand total of 1000 gamerscore points. They are all awarded for single player play, but you can increase the chances of completing certain achievements by succeeding in multiplayer. The points are awarded for completing specific missions in each of the three difficulty levels. While the points are split in a consistent manner, the acquisition of said points may become difficult as the deplorable gameplay frustrates to no end. Taito did an excellent job assigning points to difficult, challenging tasks, but the lack of replay ability due to the negative aspects of the title ruins a fun quest for more gamerscore.
Graphics:
Visually, Over G Fighters disappoints on a multitude of levels. While the cockpit of the various planes is vastly detailed, the remaining world outside the plane suffers from a lack of detail and muddy textures. When rising above 20,000 feet, the cloud effect is dismally ineffective and appears almost murky. Heading back down to Earth, the ground textures are incredibly bland and make me long for the mediocrity of the building structures in Blazing Angels. Explosive effects are even more of a joke with their overly limited usage of fire trails or burnt fuselage. Apparently, jet fighters just vanish into thin air when hit with a Sidewinder.
The only positive aspect of the graphical capability has to do with the amount of camera viewpoints. While I'm sure many enjoy the outside the plane view, I prefer the cockpit view. While inside the cockpit, you can swivel around with the right thumbstick and take a look at your wandering wingman. Unfortunately for Taito, a variety of camera angles does not increase the visual prowess of their humdrum effort.
Audio:
The sound effects are actually decent for the nature of the title. Missile & chaff releases, lock alarms, and rushing wind noises all seem appropriate and accurate. Musically, the soundtrack is suspenseful, but the midi variations on crappy rock music left me longing for my own tunes. As mentioned earlier, the voiceovers are well meaning, but dreadfully insipid. Listening to the pieced together clips of the general is a snooze fest to say the least. Additionally, your compatriots in the air and on the ground are poorly voiced and occasionally clichéd.
Conclusion:
Take away all the negative aspects of Over G Fighters and you are still left with a flight simulation lost in an arcade game that's more frustrating than fun. While the sparse multiplayer features have a slight redeeming factor, the single player campaign is nothing more than an unorganized jumble of boring flight operations that seems painstakingly burdensome to play. I love military style flight games like Afterburner and Ace Combat, but the horrific condition of Over G makes me cringe.
I can't recommend this title to anyone at $59.99, nor should you rent it for achievement points as they take far too long to garner. Over G will rapidly become a budget title and might be worth purchasing when it hits the $5.99 mark. Until that economic point in the life of the Over G, avoid Taito's horrific creation like the plague. It's easily the worst "next gen" game I've played since the release of the Xbox 360.
The sad excuse of a storyline hopelessly revolves around escalating conflicts in a variety of real world locations. Using a series of art renderings combines with a variety of dull voiceovers, each mission briefing is barely worth watching. Actually, the best quality about the drab presentation is that it can be skipped via the start button. Heading directly into the mission without briefing won't hurt your chances of completion in the slightest.
Gameplay:
Allow me to paint a picture of a typical mission in Over G Fighters. Takeoff, fly toward the red mark on your radar, switch to the appropriate missile, lock on and fire, end mission. Now, repeat that about 60 times over all the difficulty levels. Some of these types of missions are moronically simple and others use ambush tactics to send you into a fit of rage. Overall, the mission structure is hopelessly lost in the repetition of pointless tasks that have little bearing on an overall story.
Of course, if your enemy happens to send a missile your way, your mission is over 90% of the time. Enemy fire is nearly inescapable, even with the usage of manual chaffs. Every time I think I'm improving at dodging a missile, the A.I. loves to throw another few my way to seal the deal. Why didn't Taito, the developer, provide some method of shooting down an oncoming missile? While I understand the implausibility of that action, even a blinking target curser around the speeding explosive would increase the chances of escaping death and more load times. Unfortunately, the game only consists of acquiring a lock on your target before the opposite happens.
Escaping enemies would have been easier if I had a competent wingman. At the onset of most missions, you have the option of choosing between five different pilots to "help" your assault on the red targets. Having tried all five, I cannot find a difference between them. Also, the game provides a rudimentary list of commands that can be ordered in the direction of your loyal, yet ineffective subordinate. These commands rarely work nor do they seem to last. I can assign a wingman to attack only air targets, but I guarantee the game will default him back to the Form-up command within a couple minutes. Wingmen are pretty much useless and typically get into trouble more than I do, although I've never seen one shot down yet.
While picking out a wingman, you will notice a difference in their stats. These stats also mirror your stats which are usually increased at the end of each mission. Oddly, you cannot assign your own points, nor does the game seem changed by an increase in the various abilities. This broken RPG element of Over G can easily be overlooked at the debriefing of a mission. Also, I have no idea how each stat is increased from my mission actions, nor does Taito do a proper job of explaining it.
You would think an increase in the ole evasion stat would make the planes simpler to control, but nothing is further from the truth. Over G has two types of control schemes selectable in the options menu: Arcade and Real. Arcade mode is fairly forgiving with automatic horizon adjustment and speedier turns. Real mode is tougher to master, but more effective when attempting to dodge missiles. Sadly, both modes are cursed with an overly unresponsive feel to course correction. Attempting to circle around for another pass at a target is an exercise in futility. The only portion of the control that seems to work consistently is the missile fire. Actually, I have to limit myself on the number of the missiles I send out, as I'm a bit trigger happy.
Perhaps a slight mastery of the control will help in the multiplayer section of the game, but it's more dependent on the number of planes you have unlocked. As each multiplayer session seems like a race for missile lock, the planes in the later stages of the game have a much further range and seem to dominate Xbox Live sessions. The game is consistently lag free during a bout of multiplayer and competing versus a friend can be much tenser than single player missions.
The achievements are broken up between 38 tasks for a grand total of 1000 gamerscore points. They are all awarded for single player play, but you can increase the chances of completing certain achievements by succeeding in multiplayer. The points are awarded for completing specific missions in each of the three difficulty levels. While the points are split in a consistent manner, the acquisition of said points may become difficult as the deplorable gameplay frustrates to no end. Taito did an excellent job assigning points to difficult, challenging tasks, but the lack of replay ability due to the negative aspects of the title ruins a fun quest for more gamerscore.
Graphics:
Visually, Over G Fighters disappoints on a multitude of levels. While the cockpit of the various planes is vastly detailed, the remaining world outside the plane suffers from a lack of detail and muddy textures. When rising above 20,000 feet, the cloud effect is dismally ineffective and appears almost murky. Heading back down to Earth, the ground textures are incredibly bland and make me long for the mediocrity of the building structures in Blazing Angels. Explosive effects are even more of a joke with their overly limited usage of fire trails or burnt fuselage. Apparently, jet fighters just vanish into thin air when hit with a Sidewinder.
The only positive aspect of the graphical capability has to do with the amount of camera viewpoints. While I'm sure many enjoy the outside the plane view, I prefer the cockpit view. While inside the cockpit, you can swivel around with the right thumbstick and take a look at your wandering wingman. Unfortunately for Taito, a variety of camera angles does not increase the visual prowess of their humdrum effort.
Audio:
The sound effects are actually decent for the nature of the title. Missile & chaff releases, lock alarms, and rushing wind noises all seem appropriate and accurate. Musically, the soundtrack is suspenseful, but the midi variations on crappy rock music left me longing for my own tunes. As mentioned earlier, the voiceovers are well meaning, but dreadfully insipid. Listening to the pieced together clips of the general is a snooze fest to say the least. Additionally, your compatriots in the air and on the ground are poorly voiced and occasionally clichéd.
Conclusion:
Take away all the negative aspects of Over G Fighters and you are still left with a flight simulation lost in an arcade game that's more frustrating than fun. While the sparse multiplayer features have a slight redeeming factor, the single player campaign is nothing more than an unorganized jumble of boring flight operations that seems painstakingly burdensome to play. I love military style flight games like Afterburner and Ace Combat, but the horrific condition of Over G makes me cringe.
I can't recommend this title to anyone at $59.99, nor should you rent it for achievement points as they take far too long to garner. Over G will rapidly become a budget title and might be worth purchasing when it hits the $5.99 mark. Until that economic point in the life of the Over G, avoid Taito's horrific creation like the plague. It's easily the worst "next gen" game I've played since the release of the Xbox 360.