Originally posted by Swarmed
Nice screenies!
How's the gameplay in that game? I thought about checking it out, but I wasn't too confident about FM and gameplay.
Quick review of it would be nice. 
Out of 10 I'd give this game a solid 7. I think I paid $20 and it was well worth it.
This isn't a new game or FM, it's part of the very popular and times tested Strike Fighter series.. and I believe even interfaces will SF maps & planes.
The flight model relative to AH, well it's hard to compare but I think it's safe to say HT isn't the the place that's got it right. Each jet has it's quirks, 1 Phantom is easy to compress while the later model isn't, the "Thud" "Thunderbolt" flies totally different than the Corsair. So like AH there's some figuring out to be done on how to fight / accomplish easch mission.
As stated the ground graphics are weak overall, the targets you hit on your strike/bombing missions look good.
The plane skins, which there are many and all represent actual deployed units for each plane and air graphics are very good.
Gameplay Vs computer is flat out "fun", you get 3 wingmen that you can communicate with, place in various formations and assign various tasks.. they will complete these tasks with varying degrees of success. If you're bingo ammo and direct your wingman to attack your target, he'll get right on it, he'll cover your 6 never leaving you no matter what, and he'll attack your ground target until he's bingo ammo.
You get to participate in actual missions or campaigns, i.e Rolling Thunder / Linebacker as part if sometimes massive strike packages that involve dozens of planes in a huge effort. My favorite missions is that the Wild Weasle "first in, last out" taking out AAA, followed by escorting the heavies, B52's and assisting callsign "Snoopy" hitting advancing tanks that have the grunts pinned down.
There are also strike missions deep on crazy hard AAA / SAM infested areas.. I once had 20 SAMS fired at me making it almost impossible to traverse the airspace.
After playing AH I so wish AH had a version with these planes, the dogfighting is fast and furious.. getting to 20,000 takes no time, you can dogfight 1 Mig between 500 to 30,000 before there's a winner.
Like Top Gun if you're too close for missle lock you go to guns, if he's got missile lock on you.. flares, chaff, turn & burn or you're dead.
Dogfighting is 'almost' just like AH... twisting, turning, diving and after burning to get on a Migs 6... but much faster. Like AH each Mig needs to be approached differently.
On-line play is a great deal of fun, but hard to come by unfortuniately. This is an "If only" game... If only this game had a big community, if only it were 'like' AH's on-line play, if only there were massive on-line fights... you're lucky to get 10 guys on a server, but when you do.. look out. You can throw 'almost' all your AH "skills" out the window because you just don't have time and you're almost never going to make energy an issue.
Plus you can lock-on and reach out and touch people from miles out.. but they know when you have tone and can react accordengly.
It's a whole different flight / fighting animal than AH... that's why I tell anyone that this game is well worth $20.00.. but it will leave you thinking "if only"
And BTW I fired at 7mi out, but he was headed straight at me before he turned to run. By the time the radar scans, then rescans jets headed straight at eachother can be miles from where they were, it calculated that even if fired at 7mi, impact would be well within the 5mi range. 1st you get "lock", then "tone".. and the avionics are very well done, you can track multipile bogies up to 50 MI.. there's boresight mode, ground mode and search mode.. each offering you different options with different weapons.
You can also ask "Red Crown" vector to the nearest threat, or check your map.
There's rain, dense clouds.. and for you night people, night missions in which your insturments are just about all you can see.
And you get lots of weapons.. depending on the year you fly in.. you can fly in any one of several years.. from 65 to 72 I believe.. cluster bombs, 500lb ers, Shrike, Sidewinders, 20mm vulcan gun pods, rocket pods... all kinds of goodies... the cluster bombs pwning truck convoys is pretty cool.
Anyway.. I dig on this game and if you like AH, you'll find this different but cool.
