can play short challenges that often have unique objectives. The story is not affected if these challenges are skipped, but they also follow the same story of the main part of the campaign. Completion of all secondary objectives during a primary mission can result in a promotion or a decoration being awarded. The player, despite being in the Royal Air Force, is given promotions in American, not British, military rank, and the majority of decorations available are American - some of which did not even exist at the time. The two British decorations that can be earned are the highest available - the George Cross and the Victoria Cross - which, if the player earns them, would make James Chase the first to receive both in history. Throughout the course of the game, the player will have the opportunity to fly many types of World War II aircraft into combat. Most of the aircraft are American, others are British (notably the first few available planes), and the remainder are a handful of German and one Japanese aircraft. Some can be unlocked for multiplayer or single-mission use but not for the campaign, like the Messerschmit Me-163 "Komet", and others are completely unavailable for player use, like the Nakajima B5N and the Heinkel He-111. Secret Weapons Over Normandy is notable for the presence of several prototype designs that never flew in combat, or were used in small numbers, among them the XP-55 Ascender, XP-56 Black Bullet, Chance-Vought Flying Pancake, the Junkers Ju 390, and the Daimler Benz C. Also present are several German weapons projects that were either never completed or failed to make a significant impact on the war, such as the Mistel and the Wasserfall missile launcher. The game features a wide range of actual weapons that were used during World War II. It also features the unlockable TIE Fighter and X-Wing starships from the Star Wars universe in the game's instant action mode. Reception Secret Weapons Over Normandy received "favorable" reviews on all platforms except the PC version, which received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Steve Butts of IGN praised the sound and gameplay. Kristan Reed of Eurogamer praised the Xbox version, calling it "one of the best kept secrets of the year". Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot was a little more critical. He praised the simple controls and graphics but noted that they don't excel