 |
|
|
|
|
"The three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and a good sh&%. A night carrier landing is one of the few opportunities to experience all three at the same time." --Unknown
The above quote probably best describes in detail how it feels to land a 40 million dollar piece of equipment on a moving surface, in half the space. I guess for all non navy pilots, this would probably be the question a pilot will always ask himself. COULD I LAND ON AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER?
At least in our make believe virtual world, we can answer that question with a copy of FSX, a decent computer, and the good old plastic. I know what most of you are thinking, carrier add ons are not new, they go back a long time. Yes they do, but when you add to the equation the perks that Abacus' Carrier Strike Force offers, you might rethink if you ever TRULY, landed on an aircraft carrier, at least virtually.
At least I found out I really had not. Maybe some of you won't, either way; this is a must for any true carrier ops enthusiast.
I got to review the boxed version of Carrier Strike Force and I liked it very much. The packaging was A+ quality. After purchasing the product Abacus will send you a 481mb installation CD in a very nice, well made box. The package also brings a well made (but not great) instruction booklet, which includes basic info you need to use the software and a nice description of the carriers and planes included in the package.
The disk brings two choices for installations, one in English and one in German. After that you are required to prompt your name and a product key which is printed on the registration card that comes inside the box. After entering required fields installation begins automatically and takes less than 5 minutes, all said and done the software will take 488mb of your hard disk.
As with most mission add ons that bring new scenery, first time loading FSX will take longer than usual while the scenery indexes are created, after that FSX resumes loading and you will get a dialog window with the new software for the moving carriers, and a new category in your missions menu named Carrier Strike Force.
The package includes a very diverse range of aircraft for you to fly. Each aircraft has its own set of challenging characteristics and they all will take a couple of less than perfect flights to master. All of the planes have very good eye candy on the exterior models, they all fly and perform at least decent, and in their own special way they are all fun to fly. Interior 2D and VC cockpits have lots of room for improvement (as is with these types of packages) but like I always say, we can't ask for perfection.
Carrier Strike Force brings a custom made program that will run behind FSX, which is needed to bring you the best feature of this package, moving carriers and AI traffic. All of the aircraft carriers featured in this simulation are placed in different parts of the world, and all possess fully simulated movement in the water, and artificial intelligence aircraft landing and taking off from the carriers. We have to give a standing ovation to Abacus for these cool features.
The list of aircraft available for you to fly also deserves an A+ for ingenuity and creativity. The package comes with brand new state of the art equipment such as the F35 C Joint Strike Fighter, to old but rough aircraft such as the AV-8 Harrier, and the French made Rafale. The choices are interesting but they have their reasons. The airplanes in this package give you the choice to operate from an aircraft carrier any of the three ways that you can in real life. With the F35 you can take off and land vertically, and take off and land normally, with the Rafale you can only do it the old fashioned way, and with the Harrier you can only do it vertically. Another thing, if you thought landing a jump jet was easier than landing on a normal runway at normal speeds, you were wrong.
All of the aircraft carriers come with all the cool things you would get by flying into them in real life. You get a realistic launch sequence with the catapult officers and all the eye candy you can handle. On approach you have the visual aids that take you down the correct descent path, and you also have the radio aids which let you know if you are high, low, or out of the correct heading. All in all it is an impressive product if you are looking for the real feel of aircraft carrier operations.
I have to say that this is the department where the package is probably more lacking. After reviewing mission intensive packages such as Mission Combat Force, and Flight Tales, the missions contained in this package don't seem to have the kick or quality other packages have, and to my opinion they do not take full advantage of FSX's capabilities for mission building.
The package brings six missions which if you take out a couple of minor details from the equation are basically the same. They include a MIG attack on the carrier which you must defend. I have to make note that they are fun and entertaining, but repetitive. Practice missions are also repetitive and all seem the same just with a different aircraft carrier or a different plane. It would have been nice a couple of training missions to master landing in a carrier for the carrier ops newbies.
I do not want to make my point misunderstood, the fact that the missions contained in this package are not the best I've seen in a FSX add on, do not take away the value it has when it comes to simulating carrier ops (which is really the main point of the product) in this department I have to say I had not seen anything like it before.
HIGHS - The software is flawless when it comes to simulating real world carrier operations. Eye detail in the carrier decks and the aircraft are great. Sounds and special effects are also A+.
LOWS - The VC's were lacking a little. Cockpits had eye candy but not a lot of functional buttons. Missions and training / practice missions could have been better, and with more creativity and imagination. Had major problems adapting my CH products flight control instruments to the peculiar handling style of the jump jets.
THE VERDICT - Great work from Abacus. My second military simulation from these guys and I was once again impressed. If you want to feel the rush of taking off from the deck of a moving carrier, and challenge your skills by trying to land on a moving carrier (probably the most difficult thing a pilot can do) this is the product for you.
Gustavo Mercado
gusifer@gmail.com
Learn More Here
Copyright © 2008 by FlightSim.Com. All Rights Reserved.