Above & Beyond Air Combat

When airlines slash in-flight snacks to save money, consumer outcry is loud. It's a small cut, but it nonetheless impacts your perception of the trip. Above & Beyond Air Combat similarly forgoes small features, but these peanut criticisms don't keep it from its destination: varied, high-flying action.

Strapped into the cockpit of a futuristic jet, Above & Beyond orders you to annex dozens of islands dotting an expansive, open-ended environment. Stationary turrets, massive aircraft carriers, and swarms of enemy fighters have to be taken out on each island. Only a handful of isles are accessible when you beginning, new islands becoming available with each island you seize.

The islands are linked via beacons that pierce the crystalline blue skies. Red denotes enemy-held territory, whereas a green beacon signifies land you've taken.

A world map lets you scroll across all 60 islands before taking off, but you're forced to rely solely on beacons to navigate during combat. Incorporating a 2D map viewable from pause menu would help in tracking which islands await liberation.

The current 3D map can't be viewed while piloting your jet and it doesn't zoom out far enough to provide an overall assessment of your progress.

An indication of enemy strength on each island would also be welcome. Occasionally, visiting a new island uncovers overwhelming opposition that easily chews up your jet. It's not that Above & Beyond is improperly balanced or too hard; on the contrary, it's even in its difficulty.

The issue is spending several minutes flying across several previously seized isles in search of enemies you can defeat. You can use the 3D world map to find a new island, but that requires exiting to the main menu.

None of these navigation issues detracts from the soaring action. Bogeys intelligently fight back, fighters zipping about the skies in an effort to take you down. Destroying turrets and aircraft carriers is easy enough, but blasting enemy pilots out of the sky takes skilful manoeuvring and shooting.

Dogfights can last a good minute or two, your computer-controlled opponent cleverly attempting to flank you or overwhelm you with sheer numbers.

The intentional lack of auto-targeting demands that you develop the skill to hone in on enemies instead of relying on assisted fire. Leading your shots becomes a critical skill.

Combining accuracy with variations in speed, you're able to outwit enemy forces. Satisfaction comes from clearing well-defended territory, a harrowing victory achieved with only a sliver of health remaining.

You're rewarded for such daredevil feats with credits for purchasing new weapons, armour, and thruster upgrades. Tons of new ships and parts become available as you annex islands, which can then be tinkered with from the main menu.

It would be ideal to allow customisation without dropping out of combat, but it's understandable considering equipment changes realistically couldn't be done a mile high.

Although it will take some time to capture all 60 islands in Conquest mode, an additional pair of modes awaits you upon completion. Gauntlet presents two timed obstacle courses with bronze, silver, and gold rankings based on the number of rings flown through and targets shot. A wave-based Survival mode also extends play.

We'd love to see some form of multiplayer thrown in, though the amount of gameplay among the three modes is more than enough to satisfy.

While ambitious in its open world design, introducing a 2D world map or greater level of zoom on the 3D map, as well as other changes to the interface to improve navigation, would further fuel the game's high quality.

Ultimately, such complaints are peanuts when you consider how high this action-packed game soars.