Hardcore sim flight that failed short of the mark
All the makings of a great simulator are there in Back to Bagdad, a well polished graphical engine, a badass physics simulation that powers the aircrafts that are included, an alright array of planes and relative attention to detail. However, what the game kind of neglected is the misse en scene for all these high grade bits and pieces. The missions are kind of bland, the animations tend to stick even on today's (2013) machines, which just can't be due to lack of resources. It's clearly a question of bad coding. Also, and this can be argued, but I feel that a roster of but 40 missions wasn't really that much. Okay, don't jump off your seat, yes, I know today's games can get away with so much less than that, but these missions are really short. It's like 1 objective and maybe another side one per mission, which is kind of too little. So, all things considered, Back to Bagdad is not a fun game. It's like a shell, an expanded proof of concept that the developers rushed out a bit too early. Plus back in the day this game could set you off for about $70, which, I kind of resent, even today. Though, definitely, given its niche appeal, maybe it was alright, but still... Anyway, I'd rather steer you away from this one and point you towards Harrier Jump Jet, which I feel holds much better overall, even after all these years, and is a great war fighter flight sim.
