This past weekend I was exploring the Sony Metreon in downtown San Francisco when I happened upon a kiosk containing Namco's Ace Combat 5. Since I had yet to play this supposed amazing game I sat down and attempted to get into it, but was immediately turned off because I wasn't able to just hop into it and begin shooting stuff. This frustration resulted in me recalling the good times I've had with LucasArts' explosive shooter Secret Weapons Over Normandy, which I highly recommend if you've never played it. I also began to think about Ubisoft's Xbox exclusive flight simulator Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII and the awesome showing it had at E3 2005. The game was early, but even though it wasn't close to being finished I was already immersed within its gorgeous 3D worlds and fantastic arcade quality gameplay. If you love WWII but are a little sick of the first person shooters, you'll definitely want to put this game on your wish list.

I respect the fact that companies such as Microsoft have been able to publish the all encompassing flight simulator, but with my hectic schedule I don't have time to worry about flipping switches or checking dials. All I want is a gorgeous game where I can hop right into a level and blow the $%&^ out of something, which Blazing Angels allows me to do. It's a positively gorgeous WWII flight sim that includes some of the war's most famous air battles such as Pearl Harbor and the battle of Britain as well as numerous skirmishes over Germany, Okinawa, the Philippines, France, Morocco, and North Africa. You'll have access to well over 40 real life planes such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, the British Spitfire, the P-38 Lightning, the P-51 Mustang, the Japanese Zero, and the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitt, among other famous aircraft, all of which have been painstakingly recreated and feature authentic weapons. The game's been designed as more of an arcade shooter, so not only will it target enemies but you'll be able to spot them on your radar. From there you should know what to do. Like Secret Weapons Over Normandy, Blazing Angel's controls are really easy to learn, so you'll be downing planes and watching as they explode in an orange and red fireball in no time.

Single-player details are still a bit sketchy, but it appears that Ubisoft is attempting to create the most immersive air-based war experience ever seen on a console. Throughout the game's 20 missions you play as an American pilot who must lead a squad of three (who are apparently named Frank, Joe, and Tom) into battles across the globe, and much like in LucasArts' Star Wars: Rogue Leader for the GameCube, you'll be able to issue orders to them using the D-pad, so you can tell one to go off and attack some enemy planes, call them back to form up, or to just watch your @$$. However, unlike in some of the other titles in its genre, Blazing Angels is chock full of personality. Like in Ubsisoft's stellar Brothers in Arms, each of your squad mates is an individual. One is a rogue that loves to dive into battles guns blazing while another has got your back to such an extent that he'd actually risk his life in order to save yours.

Naturally, Ubisoft's trying to make these men more than simple grunts who'll do whatever you ask them to do. Blazing Angels is a predominantly squad-based shooter, emphasizing team efforts over the typical and macho "I can kill them all by myself" attitude that's run rampant throughout the videogame industry. If it's possible for them to die, the developers want to us to feel bad if they do. Very few games have been able to capture such emotion, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing how the single-player campaign turns out.

The combat in this game is fast-paced and wickedly intense. It's not difficult to hit enemies, and you can even trip them up by flying dangerously close to things on the ground, where a few evasive maneuvers may result in them crashing into stuff.

You can also heal yourself. At first I thought the concept was rather corny, but given the arcade nature of the game it makes sense. Basically, if you're on your last legs you'll need to quickly input a specific button combination, and if you're successful, your plane will regain its "health." Ubisoft would be smart to include a multitude of different button combos to trip us up. Otherwise, an easily remembered pattern will diminish the game's overall challenge.

Blazing Angel's offline component is the game's primary focus but there is a multiplayer mode. Up to 16 people can blast the hell out of one another via Xbox Live, and all of the planes should be available to you as well as several maps from the single-player campaign. Ubisoft hasn't finalized what all of the modes will be, but expect to see deathmatch, team deathmatch, and possibly mission-based objectives such as protecting a convoy from the enemy before time runs out.

When I first saw Crimson Skies I considered it to be the most gorgeous air-based game on the Xbox, that is, until I saw Blazing Angels. I'll tell you what it looks like, but seriously, words don't describe the masterful job Ubisoft's done. The E3 demo took place in Pearl Harbor (which, just like the other environments, is 50 square-kilometers in size), and right away I was just glued to the monitor. Whereas Ace Combat 5 looks pretty when you're in the air (and only when you're in the air), Blazing Angels is attractive both in the sky as well as on the ground. The water is like glass, the ships are fantastically detailed, and the giant plumes of black smoke are so realistic that flying through them immediately made me recall the choking sensation I experience whenever I accidentally pass through a toxic cloud of nicotine. But what's really amazing is the work that's been put into the land. Not content to simply build a flat plane with a few stupid trees dotting its surface, Ubisoft's gone all out and actually dropped buildings and cranes into place that you can zip under and around. Also, there are hundreds of people scrambling about and cars/trucks being driven around. They're not especially detailed, but from a distance you'd never know. Now take all of this and include numerous planes into the mix and you have an excellent idea of what to expect.

I plan to check out Ubisoft's holiday lineup at the end of July and I'm already hoping/crossing my fingers/praying to the videogame gods that Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII will make an appearance at the press event. Not only is it a super cool shooter that looks absolutely amazing, but it's a refreshing change of pace from all of those WWII first person shooters that everyone and their mother's brother is developing. It's fresh, explosive, and a true joy to behold, and the sooner it's released, the happier I'll be.