Triplane Turmoil

Borrowing gameplay from the old CGA-classic Sopwith, Triplane Turmoil is about flying your triplane fighter/bomber horizontally in a highly hypotethical (and even satirical) scenario, where the WWI-styled air forces of England, Germany, Japan and Finland (why, of course) clash against each and every other, senselessly allied and opposed in and between the five-mission campaigns of each country.

You'll engage and dogfight enemy planes, bomb ground targets and dodge anti-aircraft and infantry fire. And as usual, landing for resupply is the hard part. Because of the straightforward playability, simple yet deadly AI and the sheer difficulty of the missions, of which are especially responsible the computer-controlled bombers which never miss the mark and the strict winning conditions (usually you fail if even one of your buildings get destroyed), one-player game becomes a puzzle-like try, fail, try, fail merry-go-a-round, which is challenging but rewarding unless you don't have a lot of patience. Every mission should be solvable, and playing is simply fun anyway. Multiplayer for up to four players (missing human pilots can be substituted with AI) for all-against-all or even two-against-two teamplay is also a near-perfect platform to check who's the toughest of the local armchair triplane pilots.

Best of all, Dodekaedron has released the game, formerly shareware, as freeware in 1998. Highly recommended!

Review By HOTUD