European Air War

Short description: 1998 video game

European Air War

Developer(s)| MicroProse
Publisher(s)| MicroProse
Producer(s)| Martin DeRiso
Designer(s)| Tsuyoshi Kawahito
Programmer(s)| Tsuyoshi Kawahito
Composer(s)| Roland J. Rizzo
Platform(s)| Windows
Release|

* EU: 1998
* NA: November 3, 1998[1][2]

Genre(s)| Air combat simulation
Mode(s)| Single-player, multiplayer

European Air War is a combat flight simulator developed and published by MicroProse and published for Microsoft Windows in 1998. It is a sequel to 1942: The Pacific Air War.[3] It simulates the Battle of Britain, and the Allied Air offensives in Western Europe during World War II in 1943–1945.

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 2 Reception
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links
* 6 Features
* 7 History
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 External links

## Gameplay

European Air War has three modes: a Quick Start option, which allows immediate undefined play; a Single Mission option, which allows selection of aircraft and mission type, and a campaign mode called Pilot Career.

The Pilot Career mode, allows the user to take the role of a pilot in the RAF, Luftwaffe or USAAF and play in any of three time eras, the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Allied Air offensives in 1943, and the Air offensives before and after D-Day until the end of the war in 1944–45. During a Pilot Career player actions will directly affect the progress of the war, including delaying or bringing forward the invasion of Europe. Players may also rise up the ranks, starting as a non-commissioned officer to full officer commanding a fighter squadron (or staffel) and assuming responsibility for the men and machines under the player's command. As a squadron commander a player can select the rosters and weapons loadouts for use in missions, selecting between disposable fuel tanks, rockets, or bombs to assist in completing assigned missions.

The AI in European Air War is flexible, with several difficulty settings that can be altered by the user to ensure the game remains challenging for a long period of time. AI pilots within the player's squadron can be controlled by the user in Quick Start and Single Mission options, and gradually become available as the player receives promotions within their squadron in a Pilot Career.

## Reception

Reception

| Aggregate score

Aggregator| Score
GameRankings| 86%[4]
Review scores
Publication| Score
AllGame| [5]
CGSP| [7]
CGW| [8]
GamePro| [9]
GameRevolution| B[10]
GameSpot| 8.7/10[11]
IGN| 8.2/10[12]
PC Gamer (US)| 89%[13]
PC Zone| 87%[14]

The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[4]

The game won Computer Games Strategy Plus' 1998 "Simulation Game of the Year" award. The staff wrote that the game brought the fine balance of campaigns, flight modeling, graphics, and gameplay.[15] It similarly won Computer Gaming World's "Best Simulation" award, and the staff raved that it captured the feeling of being in a living, unpredictable combat environment better than any other WW2 flight sims.[16] It also won "Best Simulation of the Year" at IGN's Best of 1998 Awards,[17] "Simulation of the Year" at GameSpot's Best & Worst of 1998 Awards,[18] and the Best Combat Flight Sim award at the 1998 CNET Gamecenter Awards.[19]

The staff of PC Gamer US nominated the game as the best simulation of 1998, although it lost to Falcon 4.0. They wrote that the former was "easily the most engaging and authentic-feeling WWII sim" of that year.[20]

## See also

* Jane's WWII Fighters
* Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator

## References

1. ↑ Mullen, Micheal (November 3, 1998). "European Air War Ships [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000""]. CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/european-air-war-ships/1100-2465081/.
2. ↑ "Hasbro Interactive Ships MicroProse's European Air War, the Highly-Anticipated Sequel to the Critically Acclaimed and Award-Winning 1942: the Pacific Air War". November 3, 1998. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121107004242/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hasbro+Interactive+Ships+MicroProse's+European+Air+War,+the...-a053162745. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
3. ↑ "NG Alphas: European Air War". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (29): 83–84. May 1997. https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_29/page/n83/mode/2up. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "European Air War for PC". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/41637-european-air-war/index.html.
5. ↑ Smith, Nick. "European Air War - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=14464&tab=review.
6. ↑ Gaudiosi, John (November 10, 1998). "European Air War". CNET. http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-2251,00.html.
7. ↑ Mouneimne, Neil (December 3, 1998). "European Air War". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/015/186/eaw_review.html.
8. ↑ Nolan, John (February 1999). "Thick Atmosphere (European Air War Review)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (175): 196–97. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_175.pdf. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
9. ↑ Mahood, Andy (1999). "European Air War Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/886.shtml. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
10. ↑ Johnny B. (January 1999). "European Air War Review". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/32957-european-air-war-review.
11. ↑ Atkin, Denny (November 30, 1998). "European Air War Review [date mislabeled as "May 1, 2000""]. CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/european-air-war-review/1900-2535857/.
12. ↑ Berg, Gordon (December 28, 1998). "European Air War". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/12/29/european-air-war.
13. ↑ Poole, Stephen (February 1999). "European Air War". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 6 (2). http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/4.html. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
14. ↑ Wells, Jeremy (Christmas 1998). "European Air War". PC Zone (Dennis Publishing) (71): 126–27. https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_Issue_071_1998_Dennis_Publishing_GB_christmas_edition/page/n125/mode/2up. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
15. ↑ CGSP staff (February 11, 1999). "The Best of 1998 (Simulation Game of the Year)". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/017/163/sim_of_year.html.
16. ↑ CGW staff (April 1999). "Computer Gaming World's 1999 Premier Awards (Best Simulation)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (177): 98. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_177.pdf. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
17. ↑ IGN staff (January 29, 1999). "IGNPC's Best of 1998 Awards". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/29/ignpcs-best-of-1998-awards.
18. ↑ GameSpot staff (1999). "The Best & Worst of 1998 (Simulation of the Year)". Ziff Davis. http://gamespot.com/features/awards1998/genre6b.html.
19. ↑ Gamecenter staff (January 29, 1999). "The CNET Gamecenter.com Awards for 1998! (Combat Flight Sims Winner)". CNET. http://gamecenter.com/Features/Exclusives/Awards98/ss03b.html.
20. ↑ PC Gamer staff (March 1999). "The Fifth Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 6 (3): 64, 67, 70–73, 76–78, 84, 86-87.

## External links

* MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

## Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

## History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

## See also

* IGDB - game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/.
2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/.
3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1.
4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521.
8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media.
9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned.
10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner.
11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames.
12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games.
13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/.
14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/.
15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/.
16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/.
17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames.
18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628.

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