Snoopy Flying Ace Review for Xbox 360

System: X360 (XBLA)	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Smart Bomb Interactive	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Majesco	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: June 2, 2010	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-2 (6 Online)	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

Speaking of multiplayer, it really is the highlight of the game. It's cooperative and competitive, local and online -- pretty much anything you could want out of a dogfighting game to play with your friends, Snoopy Flying Ace provides. The local multiplayer ran smoothly for us, and we found no shortage of opponents on Xbox LIVE, though we experienced some slowdown online.

Snoopy Flying Ace screenshot

The various modes provide the template for hours of fun. All the basics are here: free-for-all deathmatch, team deatchmatch, co-op missions from the single-player game (zeppelin, escorts, and more), capture the flag, etc. Others are more innovative: pigskin, in which you play a rugby-like form of football, for example. The online fights can be a little daunting for beginners as more experienced players blast them out of the air repeatedly, but after beating the single-player mode and spending an hour or two online, most pilots will find themselves killing other players at least as often as they're killed. For those who prefer to play locally, Snoopy Flying Ace provides an excellent chance to learn a new game with friends, customize a character, and shoot the ones you love repeatedly.

If all this doesn't impress you, the game is only going to get bigger. The developers promise more multiplayer modes, more costumes, more planes, and more levels via DLC. We'll definitely be checking out what they put up for sale.

Now, once again, Snoopy Flying Ace is not a deep game, and it is not a flight simulator. Frankly, if you're looking for deep, realistic flight gameplay in a game called Snoopy Flying Ace, you should get your head examined. What this title is, however, is fun, and lots of it. We played through the entire single-player campaign in one sitting, and we spent several hours enjoying the various multiplayer challenges. This is a game that friends and strangers alike will enjoy experiencing together for the sheer thrill of shooting planes out of the air. As far as arcade-style XBLA games go, Snoopy Flying Ace is a classic.

By Robert VerBruggen
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.7

Graphics
Simply amazing for an XBLA game, both on a technical level and regarding how much care was put into how everything looks.

4.5

Control
They take a little getting used to, but not a lot, and it's a lot easier to learn than a flight sim.

4.5

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The music strikes a balance between war orchestration and classic Charlie Brown tunes, and the sound effects sound realistic and cartoonish at the same time.

4.1

Play Value
The single-player game isn't very long, but the core of this title is the multiplayer, anyway, and you can play it for hours.

4.4

Overall Rating - Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Customize your plane: Choose from 16 unique, customizable airplanes, from barnstorming Sopwiths to the dreaded Fokker triplane of the Red Baron himself! Outfit your plane from an arsenal of 15 ingenious weapons to suit your strategy for your next battle.

Spectacular environments: Enter the heroic world of Snoopy's imagination, with ten awesome battlefields catering to the famous beagle's thirst for adventure.

Original online game modes: Fight your way to the rank of Flying Ace on the Xbox LIVE Leaderboards, competing in nine distinct game modes ranging from 16-player free-for-all dogfights to team-based airborne rugby.

Bring your avatar: Play as Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, or any of the 12 classic members of the Peanuts gang. Or, climb into the cockpit with your Xbox LIVE Avatar, but don't forget your goggles!

Aerial acrobatics: Simple flight controls will have you pulling loops, barrel rolls, Immelmans, and other death-defying stunts in no time.