UD118950@NDSUVM1.BITNET (11/04/90)
I have just purchased F19 Stealth Fighter for the Amiga and thought that
I would say just a few things about it.
Right from the get-go F19 is, for the most part, a clone of her IBM counter-
part. The graphics, as expected, are clearer and crisper on the title screen,
and the menus for start up are easier on the eyes. Ironically, however, the
briefing maps--where the area of the world in which the mission will take place
is displayed--is blase and uninteresting, easily outmatched by an IBM VGA
moniter.
This, however, is where F19 starts to strut her stuff.
Immediately after deciding upon the mission you wish to embark upon,
the program offers you an exterior choice of either the F19 or the F117
Nighthawk--the real stealth fighter. NOTE: The choice only affects exterior
view and has no bearing on performance. Also, the F117 displayed is inacurate,
too short and squashed to be a replica of the actual aircraft. sadly, in the
words of a friend acting as a WSO, it is a "Butt Ugly airplane,"and not too
terribly interesting to look at. However, the programmers tried and the effort
is appreciated.
Once the weapon load is chosen and the go/no-go decision is made, it is time
to fly the plane. This is where F19 shines. The display speed ranges from
good (in Central Europe, where the graphics are thick and detailed) to
exceptional (during a Libyan night raid, where the speed can be almost
dizzying. A nice point: the stars in the night sky are in their correct
positions, so stellar navigation is possible.) and the action is wonderful.
The plane handles fairly realisticly, and, even on the realistic landing mode,
is very forgiving. It will bite, however, so a steady hand is necessary.
The air-to-air combat is fun, if simplistic. It is nice to be stealth
fighter, with almost no radar signature, but your plane certainly pays for it
in performance. This is no F16 Falcon, as is attested by a 300 knot cruise
and a disturbing tendancy to stall deeply in steep turns. The guns are ultr-
effective and, if you are careful, can shoot down targets almost 2 miles away.
The strike combat is wonderful (if, once again, simplistic) and is much
more challenging than air-air modes. The ground details lend to the atmosphere
of the region depicted and help the illusion tremendously. NOTE: for low time
simulator pilots I recommend easy landing levels, as the plane will have a
Terrain Following Radar that will avoid the ground during low level runs. This
is deactivated once the gear are lowered for touchdown.
Once finished with the mission (be it shot down, ejected, or returned to
base) the debrief begins. In true Microprose style, this is a nice bit of
Role playing as you see your character receive his just reward. Two Gripes:
In the actual mission debrief, the ground track of the fighter is covered up
by the freeze-frame shots of the mission, rendering this function useless.
Also, in the bar scene where the pilots of the squadron congratulate the
character, there was an occasion where a pilot referred to another as "Chap."
Sorry, guys, no US fighter jock would say "chap." As with the opening
screens, these are very easy on the eyes.
As a whole, I was impressed with F19. It is quick and easy to fly, offers
some challenging missions, and is well worth the cash. I must admitt to some
dissapointment, though: after 2 years, I expected perhaps a bit more utility
of the Amiga resources, rather than an IBM clone. This, however, is a minor
complaint, and I am happy with the game. I would rate it as excellent.
A few quick pointers for those who purchase it:
* Cold War missions are the best for high scores: I flew one mission
where I launched, took two pictures, and recovered, and made 1,003
points and gained an Air Force cross.
* On carrier approaches, DON'T FLARE and add full power right before
touchdown. The plane does not bolter well, so it needs the runup
time to gaine enough power for the go-around.
That is all I really had to say. Thanks for reading.
Tony Bruno...ud118950lindblad@cc.helsinki.fi (11/05/90)
Well, I agree that F19 is quite wonderful game, but not as good as I expected from Microprose. There are three things in that game I do hate a lot. First sounds are minimal. And then, who was the genius who decided to copyprotect it? It's not even possible to install the game to hd. The thing that I most hate in F19 is that even if you have two diskdrives and 2 megabytes of ram (and hd), you can only use df0:. And as the game is deliverd on two disks you have to swap disks. Diskswapping belongs to previous decade.
terminal@phoenix.pub.uu.oz.au (Bernard Leach) (11/07/90)
F-19 is good, but i found that both it and M-1, were TERRIBLY easy, i started on the hardest levels and completed missions first time in both games! Other than that two awsome games! .bernard.