When it comes to locations to place a level in your game, a plane is always an interesting choice. Since it’s flying most of the time, that turbulence can add tension and a sense of urgency to the level. The thing is, though, not every plane level takes place on a normal everyday aircraft.
RELATED:Microsoft Flight Simulator: Best Planes, Ranked
It could take place on a massive flying fortress adding to the large sense of scale. In an action game, especially, a plane level can lead to some awesome moments, and sometimes they’re the most memorable part of the game.
Spoiler Warning for Splinter Cell: Conviction and Grand Theft Auto 4
8Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
One of the most important FPS games of all time,Call of Duty 4, had one mission that stuck out from the rest. After the credits roll or upon finding it in the mission menu, you’ll play this epilogue level of sorts, Mile High Club. It’s a really short mission, only lasting a minute or two, but it still leaves a lasting impression.
Mile High Club is famous for its brutally hard Veteran difficulty with a time limit of only one minute. This means you’ll have to speed through it while not getting killed faster than light. It’s one ofthe hardest final levels in games, but the mission is a lot of fun on easier modes. For historical purposes, this mission is important because it became the basis for the Spec Ops mode inModern Warfare 2and 3.
7Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
While Mile High Club is a very important mission in COD history, there’s no denying that Turbulence from Modern Warfare 3 is the superior level. In an action-packed thrill ride, you play as Andrei Harkov as you deal with hijackers on a Russian aircraft. There’s this one sweet Zero-G gunfight that just hits every time.
The moment the plane comes down, and you witness the whole thing from inside of it, is an awesome moment that Call of Duty consistently delivers. Plus, the mission ends with a neat twist. After finishing MW3’s campaign, Turbulence will be one of the standout missions you’ll still remember.
6Ninja Gaiden 2
Chapter seven ofNinja Gaiden 2once again takes Ryu to the skies. Instead of a blimp, this time, he has to go through the Flying Fortress Daedalus, which is far more deadly. Filled with Tactical Ninjas, Mecha Soldiers, Executors, and more, Ryu has to rip and tear this ship down, literally.
RELATED:Best Action Games You Can Play On Xbox Series X|S
You must break various equipment and control panels that lead to one of the sections collapsing, and you have to escape quickly. The Fortress is also supplied with many gun turrets that can be a real problem on a first run. The chapter ends with a sweet Genshin boss fight and the infamous Nuclear Armadillo that explodes upon death. Overall it’s one of the better action-packed levels in the game.
5Resident Evil 6
At the start of chapter four of Leon’s campaign inResident Evil 6, you’re on a flight to China when Bio Organic Weapons are suddenly found aboard the plane. You’ll have to fight Zombies and several of the nasty Lepotica who spray gas all over the place. After a desperate escape from the cargo bay, you must take control to avoid a deadly crash landing.
This is a neat co-op spot because Helena will need to defend Leon from Zombies as he deals with the flight controls. It is a memorable moment in the game, mainly because it’s the only real quality plane section in the entire series.Code: Veronicadoes have a boss fight on a plane, but that’s a notable low point in the experience.
4Leisure Suit Larry 2
When looking back atLeisure Suit Larry 2, the game’s quite the adventure. You go from winning the mega prize at a lottery to going on a cruise ship to surviving ten days on a boat and then arriving at an unknown island. On this island is an airport you must go to. Hijinks ensue, including having to dispose of a bomb, but eventually, you’ll board a plane at the last minute.
Since Larry 2 was made in the late ’80s, this part definitely takes you back. It satirizes the extremely tight rows guests have to be in and also the smoking areas. Smoking on planes isn’t a thing you see today, but retrospectively, it is funny to see a whole area filled with smoke. This section is brief but still memorable in the classic Larry series.
3Splinter Cell: Conviction
Splinter Cell: Convictionnot only offered a single-player campaign but a co-op one as well. The co-op campaign is a total blast, but its ending is perhaps the most memorable part of the whole game. In level four, you go through the Mozdok Proving Grounds, and it’s tough. Good teamwork is required here, which makes the ending even more impactful.
RELATED:Best Co-op Stealth Games
During the extraction flight, the two playable characters, Kestrel and Archer, turn on each other. What’s been a co-op experience is now a PvP match, and you must kill your partner. It’sa very effective twistand often what most players first think of when discussion arises on the co-op mode.
2Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
In the process, though, he releases everything in there and gets knocked out of the plane, hanging onto the containers. He miraculously gets back onto the plane, which gets completely destroyed, and nearly avoids death by popping open a parachute on a random shipment. This scene is one of the first few you’ll think of when Uncharted comes to mind. It’s that iconic to the brand and just a tense scene in general.
TheGrand Theft Autogames usually save the best for last when it comes to their missions. Both the base game for GTA4 and 5 have banger last missions, butone of the best GTA levels everhas to be the finale of The Ballad of Gay Tony. In Departure Time, you’ll realize Ray isn’t at the amusement park but instead on board a flight to exit the country.
Clearly, that can’t happen, so you race your way to the airport as fast as possible while avoiding cars on your tail. The plane begins to take off, but Luis rides the runway and gets on in aFast & Furiousway. You kill Ray and escape via parachute as the plane explodes. This entire level, from start to finish, is absolutely fantastic.
