B-17 Fortress in the sky is an admittedly faithful port of the original game from 2001 on the PC and even does a fairly decent job of adding a few QOL features. But the problem is that the original PC game wasn't good unto itself.
The original game, while being technically functional and playable is not fun. It has a very repetitive shallow gameplay feel to it. As has been statedB-17 Fortress in the sky is an admittedly faithful port of the original game from 2001 on the PC and even does a fairly decent job of adding a few QOL features. But the problem is that the original PC game wasn't good unto itself.
The original game, while being technically functional and playable is not fun. It has a very repetitive shallow gameplay feel to it. As has been stated numerous times by other reviewers, there are pretty much just 5 phases. 3 of which, you are shooting down oncoming planes that deal damage to your aircraft. I've not had any issues with the game technically other than it seems you are unable to damage the planes until they get almost too close to your bomber. Also, you are the only person shooting and that paired with the distance limitation, it is very easily overwhelming. Not that it seems to matter as I never died from not being able to shoot down aircraft. This is where the majority of the meat of the gameplay lies and it's disappointing at best.
When you are not alone gunning down oncoming aircraft, you are dodging anti-air missiles in the second phase. These are basically just puffs of smoke, kudos to whoever can navigate left or right and not get hit by a single one, as your craft is so wide and the shots are so frequent and random that I'm almost certain it's not possible. Overall, it is a shallow experience and again, is very repetitive.
3rd phase has you go back to shooting, and it's the exact same gameplay as phase 1.
4th phase, you are now dropping bombs. At the beginning of each stage, you are given primary and secondary targets. Because the graphics are so bland it's really hard to differentiate what each of the buildings you are bombing are and where they are located within the cities. I pretty much just spam bomb and hope for the best.
The final phase is another turret defense like the first and third. After returning to base the mission is complete and you are told whether you not you failed.
I don't understand why this game was ported to the DS. The original game didn't do well and was cited as being shallow.
I was curious to see if the original even sold well so I tried to find any sort of sales figures on it and was unable to find ANY documentation outside of the fact it existed, and who developed and published. Hell I couldn't even find the financial information on the original developers (Sunstorm interactive as stated on this site) outside of what other games they published and what eventually led to their fate. I have a feeling this game was a contributing factor to that.
With that being stated, I do wonder why this game was even made. I know DSI was responsible for the port and with the other experiences I've had with them... I'm not surprised by its rating.
Overall, the game doesn't really have much for glitches and the sound design is pretty good, but the gameplay is too dull and shallow to merit a recommendation to anyone.… Expand
B-17: Fortress in the SkyYour Score0 out of 10User Score
