Secret Weapons Over Normandy (PC)

By PETER ELEY

(Herald rating: * * * * )

It seems only yesterday I proudly unwrapped a new computer with its three-gigabyte hard disk. Sadly, that machine has since gone to Silicon Heaven. It wasn't big enough.

I checked the LucasArts folder on my present machine and two games, Secret Weapons Over Normandy and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic had gobbled up almost 4.5 gigs.

Both of these are worth the space. Knights of the Old Republic is a five-star classic, and Secret Weapons over Normandy is up there technically and in value for money, but taking your light sabre to Imperial troopers on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyk is sexier than shooting down a couple of Fokkers over the English Channel.

There are two sorts of flying game: the ones that try reality, come with 200-page manuals and need a few weeks at pilot school to master.

Then there are the point-and-click games such as Normandy. In this, the flying is done for you and you can concentrate on the fun elements, such as shooting down the aforesaid Fokkers.

You play an Allied pilot who joins an elite squad charged with thwarting Hitler's plans to turn the tide of the war with secret weapons.

The Germans were technologically advanced and were firing sophisticated ballistic missiles at London by the end of the war.

In Secret Weapons over Normandy, you must contend with their radio-controlled 350kg bombs, rocket-propelled flying torpedoes, and air-to-air missiles equipped with miniature TV cameras.

The Allies' only secret weapon is the Highball bomb, which bounces across water like a skimmed stone to destroy dams and ships.

There are 30 missions, an instant-action option, and an editor to create more battle scenarios.

LucasArts, G8+

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