Third in the NovaLogic F-22 series based on the Lockheed fighter
which will not see active service until 2005, F-22 Lightning 3 is a flight-sim geared
toward combat recreation. Hard core flight sim fans beware: F-22 is not the
ullta-realistic Falcon 4.0. F-22 Lightning 3 does not require the investment of
study that such games demand. That said, this game is for the aviation or combat fan who
wants to jump right into the action without the steep learning curve, and without having
to consult the manual every five minutes. F-22 presents an excellent gaming opportunity
for anyone not concerned with ultra-realism, or for those not yet thoroughly indoctrinated
into the flight sim world. The game is readily accessible to almost any player, and
features an impressive array of options to expedite gameplay.
First of all, the game offers both
"Quick Missions" and campaigns located in various locales such as Nevada (for
training), Sudan, Algeria, Syria, Russia, Indonesia, and the Phillippines. The plots of
the campaigns are based upon fairly realistic hypothetical situations in the above areas.
If followed in order, the quick missions offer a sort of tutorial as they lead you
through the steps of piloting and fighting in the F-22. A narrator provides useful hints
and instructions to the gamer at the beginning and throughout the first few missions. I
found this to be extremely useful as opposed to pausing the game and examining the short
though concise manual. Further information on the disc includes a tactics manual, which
offers general descriptions of flight maneuvers and strategy. The disc also contains a
mission editor for those of us enamored with the idea of constructing our own heavily
modified dream battles.
Once a mission
or campaign is chosen, the player is given a mission briefing which features an obligatory
map and loadout screen, the latter which allows you to view and modify ordinance for the
mission. Default Load chooses the appropriate ordinance for the specific mission, whereas
the Double Mode loadout gives the player twice the ordinance without taking into account
the reality of the physics. Once a mission within a campaign is completed it is added to
the "quick mission" menu for later replay.
Ordinance
includes AMRAAMs and Sidewinders for air-to-air combat (which can be used in caged or
uncaged modes), HARMs for disintegrating radar installations, JDAM guided bombs, BLU-109
unguided bombs, and the B61 10-Kiloton Tactical Thermonuclear Bomb, as well as the M61 A2
20mm canon which can be operated in strafe or EEGS modes. The Nuclear option presents an
interesting dilemma, as it is required to complete several missions. Some gamers may find
the prospect of unleashing "over 20 square miles of radioactive devastation"
morally difficult, though it does look pretty--from a distance.
As far as flight physics go, no one in the gaming world can really contemplate the true
characteristics of the F-22, an aircraft with the "computing power of equivalent of
two Cray supercomputers." It is in part the culmination of the trend in military
aviation to maximize the distance at which the enemy is engaged and minimize risk, a trend
which tends to deemphasize piloting the plane itself. This game portrays that ideal
well, though it necessarily stints on the fun of dogfighting that so many gamers crave.
Takeoffs and landings are relatively easy, and are not required for the pilot to master.
Auto-controls abound: auto-follow target, auto-follow route, auto-takeoff, auto-landing,
auto-level, auto-match speed (with target), and auto-refuel (with the closest KC-135).
Other realistic features such as blackouts and redouts can be disabled, landing gear can
be set to automatic, and an easy target cue which places an arrow on the screen which
points to the target if it is offscreen can be enabled. Pretty standard stuff.
The cockpit of
the F-22 is well laid out with digital readouts of stores, status, navigation, defense,
and attack displays, all navigable in the virtual cockpit through the mouse or number pad.
The heads up display, or HUD, is as well nicely presented, giving all relevant data to the
pilot without being too confusing. All the customary views are available including flyby
and wingman views.
The exteriors are quite nice, especially the well-rendered atmospheric effects such as
wind, rain, hail, and lightning, which add a good amount of the realism which other areas
may lack. However, on lower-end machines fog may be a problem. The Texture Distance
slider, located in the options, can be used to alleviate some of the fog that can permeate
the game, but on slower machines fog is inevitable. The sensation of movement doesnt
seem quite up to par either. Controls are straightforward and are mapped out logically;
the placement of keyboard controls become second nature after a while.
Multiplayer
with up to 128 opponents on NovaLogics NovaWorld is free with the purchase of F-22
Lightning 3. NovaLogic presents their new Voice-Over-Net voice communication system
with the game, though I was not yet able to check it out at the time of review. The
game includes headphones with a built in microphone for use with muliplayer games.
Overall, I feel that F-22 Lightning 3 is a great game for the flight sim novice or the
average gamer interested in accessable, fast-paced combat gaming. The visuals are
beautiful, specifically the weather effects, despite the fog problem. I marveled at
the lightning effects for quite a while. The locales are varied enough to keep you
looking out the window whenever you have a spare second. Missions are well designed
and engaging, and offer enough variety to keep the disc in your machine for quite a while.
And the variety of enemy aircraft is impressive--if you have the chance to get
close to them.
--Thomas Hoff