One of the saddest things in the gaming world is seeing a title that's clearly trying to do something special and yet ends up barely mediocre. Such is the case for Damage Inc, a second world war-set aerial shooter from new developer Trickstar Games. Despite promising "beautifully rendered aircraft, islands and battle scenes", the visuals fail to impress, mostly involving bland landscapes with little or no detail, while inter-mission sections look like PowerPoint presentations. Luckily, flight itself is enjoyable, and with around 30 jets to unlock, there's plenty of variety in terms of aircraft.
However, Damage Inc exists almost exclusively to partner the AV8R flight stick included with the collector's edition of the game. That in itself may make Damage Inc a worthwhile purchase, as it's a sturdy bit of kit that enables precise control of your jets – barrel rolls, loops and more are intuitively pulled off, and combat comes alive far more when using it. Arcade controls make shoot-outs accessible for casual players, while simulation controls add a ring of authenticity. Flight-sim fanatics will favour more comprehensive rigs, but given that the AV8R is designed to mimic 60-year-old planes, it's certainly fit for purpose.
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