The selection of flight simulation games available for the Nintendo DS so far has not only been slim, but shameful. F-24: Stealth Fighter took the fun out of flying, Freedom Wings forced its autopilot mode on players, and Top Gun DS failed to even take off with fans of the original NES game.
Nintendo hoped to right the wrongs of these half-hearted, third-party attempts by releasing their own entry into the air combat genre: Jet Impulse (unfortunately titled DS Air in the US). Siliconera previewed the Japanese release and had nothing but praise for the import. The arcade-like flight sim manages to get the formula right with solid d-pad controls, addictive gameplay, and a number of small touches that add to the dogfighting atmosphere. Also, the anime cutscenes and downloadable content really separate Jet Impulse from its low-budget competition.
Provided that Jet Impulse doesn't require us to manually land on an aircraft carrier at the end of every mission, we'll definitely be looking out for the game's US release later this year.
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