Wings of Fury

Wings of Fury is a side-view aerial combat game created by Steve Waldo and published by Brøderbund for the Apple II in 1987. A contemporary announcement in Computer Gaming World describes its carrier-based F6F Hellcat and calls it an arcade game rather than a combat flight simulation.¹

Its fictional mission begins with the damaged USS Wasp trying to reach port in the Pacific during 1944. The player protects the carrier, attacks enemy islands and sinks ships along its route. The manual credits Waldo with the original concept, programming and graphics, and Gregory Hammond with product management, additional graphics and the manual.²

Out from the carrier, back to the carrier

Before taking off, the player chooses bombs, rockets or a torpedo to supplement the aircraft’s machine guns. These weapons suit different targets: bombs attack buildings, rockets destroy heavier gun positions, and torpedoes sink ships after their guns have been disabled. Completing an island mission means destroying its troops as well as its installations.²³

The return flight matters. Fuel runs down, while damage lowers oil pressure until the engine can fail. Landing requires an approach from the right and a correctly timed stall so the hook catches a deck cable. Taxiing to the lift takes the aircraft below deck for repairs, fuel and new weapons. An enemy torpedo attack can also force the player to defend the carrier rather than continue an attack elsewhere.²

Computer Gaming World’s September 1988 review praised the responsive joystick controls and the small animations: smoke, troops running for cover, a signalman and a carrier deck moving with the waves. Reviewer William W. David also thought the increasing difficulty gave beginners room to learn while keeping later missions demanding. Those observations describe the game’s appeal more precisely than treating it as a detailed aircraft simulator.³

Home-computer versions

Later versions brought the game to other machines. In November 1990, Amiga Format reviewed the Amiga edition, credited Brøderbund and Domark, and awarded 84%. Maff Evans liked the animation and sound but warned that the repeated tasks could feel slow. ZZAP!’s review that month compared the Amiga and Commodore 64 editions: its reviewers praised their aircraft animation while wanting more variety in the missions.⁴

COMPUTE!’s December 1990 buyer’s guide records an IBM PC version supporting CGA, EGA, VGA, Tandy and Hercules displays. Its short review again emphasises practising the side-view flying and attacks, rather than mastering a cockpit full of instruments.⁵

See also

• After Burner
• 1942
• Brøderbund

Sources

Footnotes

1. Computer Gaming World 42, December 1987, p. 5, contemporary Apple II announcement. ↩

2. Brøderbund, Wings of Fury: User’s Guide, Apple II edition, 1987, acknowledgements and pp. 1–2, 5–9, 11–12. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. William W. David, “Baa! Baa! Flak Sheep!”, Computer Gaming World 51, September 1988, p. 18. ↩ ↩²

4. Maff Evans, Amiga Format 16, November 1990, p. 51; Robin Hogg and Stuart Wynne, ZZAP! 67, November 1990, pp. 18–19; review transcriptions. ↩

5. Gregg Keizer, “Wings of Fury”, COMPUTE! 124, December 1990, p. 114, buyer’s-guide entry. ↩