1986 · Arcade · Shooter

Screaming Wings

A top-down shooter where the player pilots a wartime plane.

Released: 1986
Platforms: Amiga Atari 8-bit Atari ST Atari ST/STE
Genres: Arcade Shooter Vertically scrolling shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Warfare

About

Screaming Wings is a vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Red Rat Software for the Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, and Amiga. Often compared to Capcom’s classic arcade shooter 1942, Screaming Wings places the player in control of a lone Harrier-like jet fighter on missions behind enemy lines. The game included multilingual documentation (English, German, and French), as well as promotional items such as a Screaming Wings button and poster.

Keywords

world war ii - ww2
shoot 'em up
airplane

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In Screaming Wings, the playfield scrolls vertically over repetitive landscapes of fields and seas. Players face waves of enemy aircraft that appear in set formations, culminating in larger “guardian” bombers acting as stage bosses. Defeating these enemies requires continuous maneuvering and shooting while avoiding hostile fire.

Throughout the levels, collectible power-ups, represented by letters, grant temporary or enhanced abilities. Among these are:

Reception

Contemporary reviewers offered mixed to negative assessments of Screaming Wings. ST Action review described it as “well below the high standard players now expect” and deemed it a candidate for a “Golden Turkey award.” Aktueller Software Markt review acknowledged the game's decent speed and scrolling, yet pointed out that the unchanging scenery and limited sound design detracted from the overall experience.