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first in NovaLogic's Lockheed Martin Fighter Series, F-22
Raptor joins the crowded market of F-22 sims trying to win
the hearts of virtual fighter pilots. Over the years, many of us
have tried to get a taste of flying a "black" project. Even before
the F-117 or F-22 were unveiled, speculative games like Microprose's
F-19 attracted many. Today, NovaLogic and Lockheed have succeeded in
developing a tantalizing sample of the United States' newest air
dominance fighter.According to the Air Force, the F-22 will be the air superiority fighter for the 21st century with impressive features. The F-22 is capable of flying supersonic without afterburners; covering ground quickly while economizing on fuel. The aircraft is a stealthy design; its radar absorbing materials and internal weapons bays keep the aircraft hidden from foes, ready to attack without being detected. Adjustable vectored thrust engine nozzles increase agility. What more can a virtual pilot want in a virtual fighter?
Your duties as an F-22 pilot begin with a choice of flying a quick
mission, campaign, or going online. The campaign starts in Angola
when rebels take UN peacekeepers hostage and a US military build up
commences. Your squadron is deployed to fly combat air patrol (CAP)
missions. These missions vary from covering a C-5 landing at a
forward airbase, maintaining air superiority, or assisting an attack
squadron knock out SAM sites. The story line associated with the
campaigns is believable, enhanced by a good animated movie. After
defeating the enemy in Angola, your tour of duty passes on to four
other areas: Jordan, Russia, Colombia, and Iran.F-22 Raptor increases realism by adding significant interaction between units. On your way to target, you can listen to the radio chatter between different units. Some of the radio chatter is pretty cool! In one mission, a pilot (male) asks another pilot (female) out for drinks. While some of the radio traffic is gimmicky, your radio comes in handy, allowing you to communicate with your wingman. Also, radio chatter updates you on the status of other units.
If you need more action, F-22 Raptor includes NovaWorld, NovaLogic's free online gaming service. Through an Internet connection you can join other F-22 players. Once connected, you're prompted to join a team and an aircraft role (fighter or attack). The team works together to defeat the opposing air force. Teammates can communicate through an instant messaging system to relay meeting points and enemy locations. Online game play moves quickly as the two teams slug it out with a "kill or be killed" mentality.
F-22 Raptor's flight model is not as complex as some pilots may like.
Diehard flight simmers may not appreciate the aeronautic prowess of
the simulated aircraft, but less skilled pilots will enjoy the simple
flight dynamics. Pilots are able to easily control engines, landing
gear, weapons, navigation and defense. Waypoint navigation and
weapons selection is configurable before take-off. While flying
between waypoints you define, the game allows time compression,
making non-eventful combat patrols pass quickly. The included
keyboard template and quick reference guide enhance a short learning
curve.
The graphics are very good. I was impressed that without any 3D hardware acceleration support, F-22 pumps out nice visuals. Fog, mountain ranges, aircraft, landing sites, and targets are well rendered. On a Cyrix 200, not known for good game play, the graphics flowed crisply. On a Pentium II-266, the graphics could be set to their highest detail levels. This is one of the few games to use MMX, if available, to assist graphic rendering. This graphics engine had one of the neatest effects I have seen in a flight simulator: you could smoothly pan your field of view in any direction by holding down the second joystick button and moving the controller. Look behind, to the side, at your feet, I've never seen the effect done (I'm used to pressing F1 for the pilot's seat, F2 to look behind, etc.). Finally, the sound is encoded in Dolby Prologic Surround; if you have a home theater system attached to your computer, sound effects will be positioned accordingly.
F-22 provides a good mix of reality and action. The game is geared
toward the flight sim aficionado who wants to engage the enemy
quickly. Experienced pilots may enjoy the added depth and realism of
Falcon 4.0 or Longbow II versus the action oriented, quick flight
nature of F-22. The graphics engine, surround sound support and
online features will appeal to the adrenaline junkie.Minimum requirements: Pentium 120, Win95, 16 MB memory, sound card, 4X CD-ROM.
Recommended: Pentium 200 MMX, 32 MB memory, throttle & rudder pedals.
Does not support Aureal A3D sound or 3D graphics acceleration.
NovaLogic's F-22 Raptor Web Pages
David Pabst
dpabst@ma.ultranet.com