None of the text in the review justifies the near-failing grade. Not to mention...
[b]1[/b]. [quote]turning the collisions off makes the game a hell of a lot easier[/quote]
and...
[quote]as a game it's a real snooze-fest[/quote]What?! Of course it's boring when colliding with another plane doesn't kill you! Try playing with collisions "on" against more than one enemy.
[b]2[/b].[quote]The controls are sluggish, and turning is slow.[/quote]Yes, it is a WWI plane. Turning is slow. Also, turning right is a lot faster than turning left. That behavior is due to the rotary forces of the engine. It's realistic. Not to mention that cutting your engine allows you to make faster left turns. A useful strategy in a pinch.
[b]3[/b].[quote]Since you're typically only facing one enemy at a time, you constantly have to double back in order to get your foe lined up again.[/quote]Lol, that's called "dogfighting". Also, you can fight up to 3 other planes at once. The game is highly configurable in this manner.
[b]4[/b].[quote]Since there are no crosshairs, it's hard to tell if an enemy is in your line of fire.[/quote]Now that's just a saucer full of weak sauce! It really doesn't take long to get a feel for it. Especially when you can see your bullets traveling towards the other biplane!
[b]5[/b].[quote]It's also not clear when an enemy plane is taking damage[/quote]Turn up the sound
[b]6[/b].[quote]arcade-minded gamers should keep their distance[/quote]Funny you should mention that. The game actually has an "arcade" mode that does away with that pesky realism of the rotary G-forces that affect turning and the speed of the plane.
In summary, I have yet to find another WWI-era dogfighting game that matches Warbirds for the Lynx in terms of free-roaming 3D, realism, and fun. And it has multiplayer! I would have to dock points if the game played like you're flying a jet. There's plenty of those games out there.
The VGC review does not do the game justice. It reads like the critic spent five minutes with it and only tried two settings (collisions "on" and collisions "off"). I take issue with the grades of some of the other Lynx games, but at least the text justifies the grade whether one agrees or not. This review, however, was just factually incorrect and completely off the mark.
.... well except Street Racer. That game is bad any way you slice it.