One of my most vivid childhood memories is of playing WWII air combat game 1942 on an arcade machine. Or rather, arcade machines – for some reason, that game seemed to crop up everywhere over a period of many years. From family holidays to end of school parties, 1942 was the nemesis of loose change in the Oxford pocket.

So hurrah, then, for Blazin’ Aces. The sideways-scrolling shoot-em-up has been allocated a release slot on the App Store for next Friday. Joburg-based developer Red Dot Lab sends word that 9th May will see both iOS and Windows Phone versions of the game go on sale, with an Android port to follow soon. Should it achieve the success and glory befitting of a fighter ace, it’ll be yet another heroic achievement for the South African games industry which has had a fantastic 12 months.

The game will cost R20 on the Windows Store, and two US dollars for your Applefone.

We’ll be getting hands on with final code for Blazin’ Aces in time to review it for next Friday. In the meantime, prepare for chocks away with the video below.