B-17 Fortress in the Sky (2007). Play online

Summary

I fire up the DS and’m dropped into the cramped cockpit of a B‑17, the rumbles of twin propellers echoing through the tiny screen. The game captures the tension of a 1944 bomber crew with surprisingly detailed controls for a handheld. My thumbs swap between throttles and sighting reticles as the bomber shudders over clouds. It feels like a tiny piece of WWII history squeezed onto a dual‑screen device.

Each sortie splits into two distinct parts. First, I man one of the exposed gunner stations, tracking hostile fighters that pepper the sky with tracer fire. When the sky clears I switch to the bomb‑run, lining up the target and pulling the release at just the right moment. The challenge ramps up when flak erupts, forcing quick evasive adjustments.

The campaign offers twenty‑five missions that stretch from the French countryside, across the Dutch lowlands, and deep into German airspace, all under the banner of defending “Lucky 25.” The game rewards precision – a perfect “pickle barrel” drop feels like a cinematic burst of glory. Even after many flights, the combination of tight dogfighting and methodical bombing keeps me coming back for another round.

Storyline

B-17 Fortress in the Sky drops you into the thick of World II’s aerial combat. The game’s campaign is set in the autumn of 1944, when Allied bomber crews were pounding Germany and its occupied territories from the sky. You pilot the iconic B‑17 bomber, navigating hostile airspace, dodging flak and enemy fighters while completing strategic bombing runs. The storyline focuses on the intense, high‑stakes missions over the European theater, capturing the pressure and camaraderie of a real wartime bomber crew.