Jane's Combat Simulations: F-15
by Electronic Arts
(Click here)
Product Summary
Brand: Electronic ArtsFormat: CD-ROM
Platform: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me
Model: 11870
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Accessories:
Video Game Reviews of Jane's Combat Simulations: F-15
Customer Review: Fly the Unfriendly Skies
Summary: 4 Stars
You must either run this on certain models of NVIDIA or ATI cards to get D3D (e.g. 9250), or you must run it with a glidewrapper such as dgVoodoo. And even with dgVoodoo, you may still only be able to run it in 640x480 to get all the cockpit graphics to function flawlessly. It does respond very well to antialiasing and other graphics enhancements, though.
This is not a flight simulation with photo realistic terrain. There is no dynamic campaign. There are no hacks to fly other aircraft. Many add-on missions will create crashes, so you may find it better to stick with the stock ones. The multiplayer is so limited that all you can do is dogfight with a few people with an ever-present fog that is only a few miles out. Though there is a backseat, it cannot be occupied by a second person as in Longbow 2. Janes F-15 also only models the original block/version of the Strike Eagle. You get no full-on modern fly-by-wire, sensor fusion MFDs, or even Auto Acquisition. The clickable cockpit is only 2D, but there's a seamless 3D pit for dogfights with mouse panning. For this last item you should turn off page flipping for it to pan smoothly.
That is quite a lot to be annoyed by. Yet there is no other sim where I can spend an hour doing the most exciting touch-and-go landings/take-offs over and over again in varying ways. You heard it; the sim is so well done in certain aspects that enjoyment can be had without even shooting at anything. I can't even say landings in X-Plane are this much fun. Part of the reason is likely because here if you screw up, you'll know it in the form of an explosion. Janes F-15 feels essentially like the best F-15E model you could ever imagine in X-Plane, with all the right instruments, and no artificial stability at all. Now add a flight modeling system that, unlike FA-18's, actually gets better at higher frame rates. Then factor in that on modern hardware you can get frame rate ranges from 25 to 175 fps with even a glidewrapper translating everything. With D3D, it can be even faster on that same card...assuming said card can run the program in that mode.
The engine modeling gives you a power potential about halfway between the original engines and the newest ones, though Janes was going for the original. In spite of this, you will still find some difficulty just keeping up with tankers at higher altitudes...as real "mud hen" pilots have claimed is accurate. I'm thankful for this compromise, since it might be too difficult to fly if the older engine were perfectly modeled in this regard. Newer F-15E's have advanced digital fly-by-wire. At the time of release, this lack-of was fairly accurate. Again, I'm thankful for, in this case, the timing. If they'd made it later we might not have ended up with this: the finest non-flight-computer fighter jet flight model ever created for consumers. With the modeling of a digital control system it would simply feel like Total Air War and Falcon. You'll get nasty porpoising, wobbling, departures...you name it. Surprisingly they are never canned or scripted. It all flows naturally, organically, and gradually out of the flight modeling. Thus you can correct for errors as they happen in grades, and with finesse. You really have to fly this plane yourself and it is certainly a treat.
Oh yeah, and you get to blow up accurately simulated enemy units with accurately simulated weapon systems. No true dynamic campaign? 2D pit? No photo realistic terrain? Poor multiplayer? If they had gotten all that other stuff right, there would pretty much be no need for any other jet fighter simulator. If you like variety, be thankful they didn't. Now that's a compliment.
P.S. Make sure you get the nice, thick printed manual.
Description of Jane's Combat Simulations: F-15
The next generation in jet combat from Jane's, with the most realistic graphics, physics, avionics, and gameplay in the sky. All the incredible speed and firepower of the world's deadliest strike fighter is now at your command with F-15. Produced by Andy Hollis (F15 Strike Eagle series, AH-64D Longbow) with cooperation from Jane's top military analysts, F-15 is the next-generation jet-combat sim from Jane's Combat Simulations. Presenting the most realistic graphics, physics, avionics, and gameplay ever designed for the PC, F-15 delivers the blood-pounding thrill of high-speed air combat--the way it was meant to be. Whether your mission is intercepting bandits or stamping a tank convoy, F-15 packs enough punch to handle every situation.Flight Games
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