Game identification: flying shooter on PC from early 2000s

Question

I got this game a long time ago on a promo CD along with some piece of PC hardware. Probably a video card.

I read later on the internet that it was a commercial flop because it was in development too long and when it came out, the state of art had moved on. If it had been released a few years earlier, it could have been a mass success.

The controls felt like it could be a console port, or maybe it was meant to be both on consoles and the PC from the start.

The game was a flying shooter. You piloted an aircraft and needed to take down enemies and complete missions. The aircraft had the ability to transform - you could have a fast craft that was less maneuverable (and had to keep moving, I think), or a slower more maneuverable vehicle. Perhaps it was "airplane mode" and "helicopter mode"? Though I think the engines were rocket-like in either case.

The setting was on Earth and in the not-too-far future. Maybe 100-200 years ahead. The main character was a guy that was... either a policeman or a mercenary, I don't remember. The world was not entirely dystopian, but there were large megacroporations and huge junkyards.

I remember one mission in particular where you had a bit of a downtime and had come to visit a few of your buddies. They had rigged up this giant cannon on a riverside and you played a game with them where they threw stuff in the air and you had to shoot it down. It started with benign empty boxes but then progressed to more fun stuff like a couch and exploding barrels; and I think you could also accidentally hit a passing boat. That was fun. :)

The tutorial level was supposed to be a big virtual reality simulation.

Unfortunately I seem to have lost the original CD and I don't remember what it was called anymore. Does this description ring a bell?

Answer 1

Yay, I can answer my own question! And the name came to me in the shower, no less! XD

It's called "Yager".

Yager is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Yager Development and published by THQ, Kemco, and DreamCatcher Interactive. It was first released as an Xbox exclusive before later being ported to Microsoft Windows, both in 2003. The Xbox version was released in North America in later 2004, while the PC version was released in North America as Aerial Strike: Low Altitude - High Stakes: The Yager Missions in February 2005. In this game, gamers take on the role of Magnus Tide, a freelance pilot adventurer. Yager and Aerial Strike is set over 20 levels in which the player takes possession of various weapons and ships in an effort to accomplish each mission. The game, while well-received critically, was not a commercial success, largely in part due to a delayed North American release amidst a lack of advertising.