.com
----
Climb the pyramid to be the top pilot of the most
advanced air force in the world: the USAF. Fly and train over
U.S. soil in the F-16C Falcon and A-10 Warthog or an arsenal of
six other planes. Then relive great historic air battles flying
the rugged F-4E over Vietnam or the powerful F-15C in Operation
Desert Storm. Finally, push the envelope flying the menacing
F-117 Stealth Fighter and ultramodern F-22 Raptor as you project
the power of the United States in futuristic campaigns over
Europe. If that's not enough, take your skills to the Internet,
flying against other aces on JanesCombat.Net.
Review
------
A straight line runs from Chuck Yeager's Air Combat, one
of the most revered and influential PC flight sims, to Jane's new
survey sim USAF. The Jane's tradition of accessible flight
simulations with plenty of planes and options has given us Air
Combat, US Navy Fighters, Advanced Fighters, and Israeli
Air Force, with steady improvement and little deviation from the
formula. USAF is no exception, but is poised to take the survey
sim into new territory.
The appeal of this sort of simulation is because of several
factors: It has a lot of planes, numerous gameplay options, and
moderate realism levels. Together these three elements create a
package that gives the more casual fan a taste of air combat
without the burden of too much detail. Hard-core simulation fans
often shun such games for these same reasons, because the generic
controls and lack of extreme realism or detail seem too far
removed from the real-world complexities of in-depth sims like
Flanker 2.0 and Falcon.
There's no question that USAF falls in the midrange on the
realism scale. With eight flyable planes, you can't expect the
refined flight model and sophisticated avionics of a stand-alone
simulation. But for this trade-off you get those eight planes,
each with unique cockpits and distinct, if not precise, flight
models. To simplify things, controls are shared among the eight
planes, so that the F-117 uses the same radar functions as the
F-16, and so on.
USAF pushes the envelope by taking on several generations of air
combat. Planes and missions come from Vietnam, the Gulf War, and
the near future, creating a broad canvas of action rarely seen in
a flight sim. You can fly in the F-15, F-16, F-22, F-117, F4, MiG
29, F-105, and A-10, plus some variations on these. This
diversity serves as a sort of history lesson on the development
of jet combat, as you go from the fast fights and rudimentary
radar of the F-105 and F4 to the hi-tech stealth precision of the
F-22. All three eras (past, present, and future) are ably served
by full-blown campaigns illustrating the many roles of air
combat. The four campaigns include a present-day training
situation, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and a hypothetical near-future
European conflict. Campaigns are semidynamic, meaning the
missions are scripted with some randomization, and resources are
tracked throughout the course of the campaign. If you use
missiles and lose airframes carelessly, you'll probably find
yourself short on funds later in the campaign. It's not the true
dynamic battlefield found in the likes of Longbow and Falcon, but
the missions are tight and the campaigns are satisfying.
The rest of the play options feature the stunning array of game
types that are the trademark of the Jane's line. You can create
almost any encounter you want with a quick mission option.
Air-to-air and strike missions can be configured to pit any
aircraft or group against any other in any situation, altitude,
and position of advantage. Want to try a wing of Phantoms against
a single Strike Eagle? It will take you about a minute. You can
also simply start a random quick mission that will choose all
these settings for you. Scripted stand-alone missions take on
specific historical encounters and elaborate hypothetical
scenarios that cover the entire range of air combat. USAF is
playable online via Jane's Combat.net matching service, and will
also form the core of the forthcoming Jane's World War: a
massively multiplayer persistent-world air-combat arena. It will
be your first point of entry to this ambitious project, but the
beta and final launch dates of Jane's World War are uncertain as
of this time.
Visually, USAF is inconsistent. The detail on the planes and
objects is good, and while terrain looks decent from high
altitudes, you'll see some real problems with it once you get
down low. The landscape textures have visible seams. There's also
an odd kind of texture pop-in as the terrain visibly smoothes
during flight. Even the trees and bushes look funny: small,
blinking, and quite distracting. Frame rates are adequate on a
high-powered system, but the terrain problems in Pixel's Israeli
Air Force persist in this newer simulation. In high-altitude
aircraft this isn't a problem, but with the mud runs of the A-10
and F15, it becomes more of an issue.
Graphical flaws aside, USAF continues a revered tradition of
accessible and diverse Jane's flight simulations. There are more
missions and planes in this one package than in a dozen other
recent sims, and its diverse features and the important place
USAF will have in Jane's World War will keep it flying for a
long, long time to come. --Tony Lopez
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without
express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot
Review
