''Down in Flames'' is a computer

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, developed by American studio Dan Verssen Games and published by Battlefront.com in 2005. Closely based on a card-driven

tabletop game Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, or tile-based games. Classification according to equipment used Tabletop games c ...

of the same name, ''Down in Flames'' is a

turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...

simulation of

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

s between

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

fighter plane Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield p ...

s. Some parts of the game also involve escorting and intercepting

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

s. The game features aircraft of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. An

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...

, ''Eastern Front'', was released in 2006, adding

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

planes.

Gameplay

''Down in Flames'' is closely based on a

dedicated deck card game A dedicated deck card game is one played with a deck specific to that game, rather than a pack of standard playing cards. Educational packs of cards were being printed by the late eighteenth century, initially designed merely to inform, but later b ...

of the same name, first released in 1993 by

GMT Games GMT Games is a California-based wargaming publisher founded in 1990. The company has become well known for graphically attractive games that range from "monster games", of many maps and counters, to quite simple games suitable for introducing new ...

. It is a

simulation of

s between

s. Such battles are combined into campaigns. In a single dogfight, each player controls either one or two pairs of fighters, with each pair consisting of a leader and a

wingman A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation. According to th ...

. At the start of each battle, the players are dealt a hand of cards. Each card represents a certain action, such as an offensive or defensive maneuver, machine gun burst or altitude change. Both sides play chosen cards in a turn-based manner responding to enemy's maneuvers, until one side is defeated. The game uses an "Action/Reaction system" with "action" cards used to initiate maneuvers, while "reaction" cards are used to cancel and react to enemy's moves. Some cards are both actions and reactions. Apart from dogfights, one side also attempts to attack targets on the ground (such as troops, naval units or factories) while the other side defends them. Some missions also include escorting or intercepting bombers, however the bomber planes itself are not controlled by the player. The game features aircraft of

, the

and the

. Each fighter is described by four ratings: performance (number of maneuvers its pilot can have at any one time),

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

(number of new maneuvers the aircraft gains each turn), bursts (how much firepower the plane has) and

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...

(how much damage the plane can take before being shot down). Pilots gain experience with each dogfight (however, they may be "permanently killed" in online multiplayer mode) and eventually new planes can be unlocked. During the game, the player may buy extra cards and abilities – a feature not found in the original card game.

Expansion pack

, titled ''Down in Flames: Eastern Front'', was released in 2006. It adds

and

planes to the game, as well as three new planes for each of the countries previously featured in the game. The expansion also adds new campaigns, pilot skills and the option to create custom missions.

Development

Development started in 2002, when Dan Verssen - creator of the original tabletop version of ''Down in Flames'' – met Brian Marrs, a professional programmer who created a self-made computer rendition of the game. Verssen thought it had "commercial possibilities" and in November 2002, together with Marrs started working on "polishing" the game. In the spring of 2003, Verssen and Marrs tried to find a publisher on E3, an annual trade show for computer and video games. When none of the companies displayed interest, Verssen decided to look for a publisher on the Internet, and came in contact with Battlefront.com, which after additional work on the game, eventually published ''Down in Flames'' in 2005.

Campaigns

Following campaigns are included in the game. *Dunkirk –

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

(1940) *Battle of Britain – The

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

(1940) *Singapore – The

Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

(1941–1942) *Midway – The

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

(1942) *Solomon Islands –

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, du ...

(1942–1943) *Daylight 1944 – Allied bombings of the Third Reich (1944) Additional campaigns, available as free of charge

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...

: *Bomber Command 1941 – overview of bombing and oceanic operations by the British and German air forces and navies (1941) *Battle for Greece –

Operation Marita The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Kingdom of Greece, Greece by Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy and Nazi Germany, Germany during Wo ...

(1941) *Invasion of Crete – The

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

(1941) *Malta – The Siege of Malta (1941) *Flying Tigers – Campaign following the history of the

1st American Volunteer Group The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...

(1941–1942) *Leyte Gulf – The

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...

(1944)

Expansion pack

Following campaigns are featured in the expansion pack. *Strange War – Soviet-Japanese Border Wars (1939) *Gdansk Bay – The

Battle of the Danzig Bay __NOTOC__ The Battle of Danzig Bay ( pl, bitwa w Zatoce Gdańskiej) took place on 1 September 1939, at the beginning of the invasion of Poland, when Polish Navy warships were attacked by German Luftwaffe aircraft in Gdańsk Bay (then Danzig Bay ...

(1939) *Last Defence – Final phase of the

September Campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after ...

(1939) *Red Tide First Strike – Soviet bombing of

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

(1941) *Leningrad 1942 –

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

, with advantage on the German side (1942) *Leningrad 1943 – German-Soviet battle with both sides having similar power (1943) *Leningrad 1944 – Third Leningrad campaign in the game, with Soviet advantage (1944) *D-Day – Allied landing in Normandy (1944) *The Rock – The

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

(1945) *Iwo – The

Battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJ ...

(1945) *August Storm –

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

(1945) *Invasion Japan –

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, th ...

, a hypotethical Allied invasion of Japan (1945) *Invasion USA – A fictional conflict fought on American soil between the US and Germany, with German planes operating from Nazi-occupied

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

(1945)

Reception

''Down in Flames'' received "generally favorable reviews" according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. The Gamers' Temple described the game as "''

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

'' for the wargamer" and concluded that it will "appeal to wargamers looking for a quick playing, light strategy game". ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' said that "''Down in Flames'' emphasizes ease of play over hard realism" and is "Easy to play, tough to tear yourself away from."

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

described the game as "wickedly addictive," but complained on the lack of Soviet planes in the base version.

References

External links

''Down in Flames'' official website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Down In Flames (Video Game) 2005 video games Battlefront.com games Video games developed in the United States Video games with expansion packs Windows games Windows-only games World War II video games Computer wargames