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"Wow, I
suck." These are the words that echoed through my mind
as my F-16C spun uncontrollably into a hillside. While
playing the game, I felt that one point needed to be
expressed above all else. Use a joystick! Without
one, a simple tap of the "Left" button would sent
you into an uncontrollable barrel roll, which, might I say
is incredibly annoying when flying under three hundred feet
AGL. [This is why I bought a $15 dollar joystick from
Best Buy-Ed.]
 To
put that barrel roll unpleasantness aside, this game looks
pretty good. The graphics are quite enjoyable, aside from
the occasional flaw. For example, the terrain looks
excellent, except when at long range, when it looks a bit
fuzzy. Well, let me check that last statement, at very close
range, the cacti and shrubs which
are scattered about the ground look more like poorly made
props. The crash graphics (which I had the opportunity to
review several times) did leave a bit to be desired. Other
than that, I did enjoy watching the landscape pass below me,
or in most cases, coming at me. The planes do look
excellent, however, the games third-person view can be
rotated, but by using rather awkward controls.
On to the gameplay.
USAF offers an in-depth
training session, though the instructor sometimes gives you
false advice, such as hitting the auto-pilot button twice to
turn it on, in reality turning it off. Also, any information
that was said is lost forever, and can’t be gone over.
Fortunately, if the training missions don’t "do it
for you", USAF also boasts a rather intimidating manual
which allows a rookie player to slowly adapt to the game.
The game offers a "Fly Now" option for that
overwhelming feeling of euphoria brought on by bloodlust,
unobstructed by the hassles of too many menus.
Also
available to you
is the ability to play pre-scripted missions, or to create
and fly your own missions. Of course, you can join a
campaign (Vietnam, Desert Storm, or a fictional future
campaign), or multi-player game (up to 16 people can play
any of the game’s single player missions or multi-player
specially designed missions as co-op or adversaries). A nice
feature offered by the game are the tools, such as the
Mission Recorder, which allows you to review recorded
missions, a Reference section, and a Web option, which
brings up web sites relevant to USAF.
Once in the cockpit
and off the ground (I’ve come to a conclusion that runways
are for losers and blasting full throttle out of the hanger
is the fastest way to get into the action), I think you’ll
have fun. The computer AI is lacking a bit, both in your
enemies and your wingmen. I found them to be more a
liability at times.
Coming equipped with a
cheat option for the more casual gamer, USAF is a game for
many people, including myself, who does not often play
flight sims. This game is definitely worth a look.
-Salil Tamhane |
Learning Curve: 1-3 hours
All scores are
out of ten possible points.
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Replayability: 9
Multi-player: 9
Player Compatibility: 7
-Highs-
Graphics, Mission
Recorder, Historically Accurate Campaigns
-Lows-
Enemy and Friendly AI,
Crash Scenes, Thick Manual, Rip-off Mission of 'Air Force One'
-Bottom Line-
Unlike many games this
team has reviewed, the best part about this is NOT the fact
that the uninstaller functions properly.
82%
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