Blazing Angels: The PS3 Interview

Aug 21, 2006

Ubisoft's Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII originally hit the Xbox 360, Xbox and PC this past March, but whether or not the game would ever come to a PlayStation system remained a mystery. Not one to leave a man behind, the French publisher has announced that it will ship the World War II shooter for PlayStation 3 at the system's launch on November 17th.

To find out what potential PS3 owners can expect from the latest (and possibly greatest) version of the game, we fired off questions to Brand Development Manager Sebastien Dore at Ubisoft Romania Studio. Take a look at what he had to tell us along with the first screens from the PS3 title.

IGN: For those who may not know, what's the story behind Blazing Angels?

Sebastien Dore: Blazing Angels is the story of four brave young Americans, enrolled voluntarily in the Royal Air Force in the first moments of WWII, motivated by fighting for the greater good.

As members of the Eagle Squadron, they progress to become the American Air Force elite pilots and were sent in all the major operations of the World War II, from the Dunkirk Evacuation to the Battle of Britain, from Pearl Harbor to the Rabaul Raids, from D-Day to the Battle of Berlin.

Throughout the war, they evolve from young idealists to experienced veterans, marked by both the drama and the tragedy that war and battle brings.

IGN: Have there been significant changes when it comes to the visual presentation?

Dore: The visual appeal of the game has been greatly improved in terms of terrain, effects, water, environment treatment, and perception filtering.

What you can now see on the ground while piloting your plane is far more detailed, featuring complex animations. So overall it looks more realistic.

The 3D water together with the different explosion types and the high number of damage models add a spectacular and cinematic dimension to the game. The variety of models and of the terrain textures has been enhanced to give each of the mission settings a different look. The post-processing filtering also contributes to the uniqueness of each mission marking the time passing with nice and bright colors at the beginning of the mission that become moody and gritty towards the end when the fights are chaining.

IGN: How will Blazing Angels make use of the PS3's motion sensing feature?

Dore: The player will make full use of its functionality in maneuvering the planes and will truly feel like a pilot thanks to the intuitive relation between controller's and the aircraft's movements.

IGN: Can players expect any new gameplay modes that earlier versions of the game didn't feature?

Dore: The game has a new multiplayer mode and new gameplay in the offline campaign missions, consisting of simultaneous objectives that the player has to prioritize in order to achieve all of them while minimizing the losses. The newly-featured cockpit view and the alternative controls should add a new dimension to the gameplay in both single-player and multiplayer modes too. Also, the game features three new missions while several others have been modified to a great extent.

IGN: In terms of that new multiplayer mode, what is it?

Dore: There is a new team-based mode. What we can say about it now is that the players will be involved in a tactical-oriented game and they should have lots of fun with it. Beside that, the player will be able to change his plane after each death. This will greatly enhance the experience in co-op and squad modes, enabling teams to communicate and plan their actions, being able to change their tactics in a matter of seconds.

IGN: Have there been any additions in terms of weapons or the aircraft players can fly?

Dore: Yes, and the good news is we have 10 new planes present in the game, (three Axis and seven Allied). Among them the famous British "Mosquito" and German "Komet", the rest you will discover at launch.

IGN: Has the PS3's hardware enabled developers to add anything in terms of actual gameplay, or will all versions of Blazing Angels play the same?

Dore: No, they are not the same. The PS3 version comes with a larger breadth of control options, such as alternative control schemes and alternative view modes, allowing players a greater freedom in choosing how to experience the game. Obviously, using the aforementioned motion-sensing capabilities of the new controller also plays a part in this.

IGN: Did developers find working with the PS3 overly difficult when comparing the process with the Xbox 360?

Dore: Developing a title for a new platform is always a greater challenge than developing for an established platform, but we would not say that we have faced greater difficulties on the PS3 than on the Xbox 360 so far. What we can tell you is that we have a great team working on Blazing Angels for the PS3 and they are having a lot of fun developing the game.

IGN: Okay, hypothetical situation time. You have to pick only one update to the PS3 version that stands above the rest. What would it be and why?

Dore: We would say that the PS3 version is not about one big change, but rather about having the ability to fine-tune all facets of the game in order to offer a better experience. Developing it for the PS3 has given us a chance to change some of the things we felt could have been done better in the original and we didn't want to miss that opportunity. The story and dialogue has been reworked a great deal in order to create a greater emotional involvement for the player. The missions have more variety and offer new and interesting challenges, in addition to a number of new missions. The control now offers a greater number of possibilities for customization. Multiplayer has gained more depth due to the new tactical options. These are just some of the improvements the PS3 version has to offer.