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excellent flight and combat sim marred by bugs

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: April 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Falcon 4.0 is simply a wonderful flight sim and combat sim. Bythe latter, I mean that it realistically simulates many of theelements in a campaign besides just your flight, and really gives the feeling that you're part of a larger military operation.

You're tooling along in your F-16, accompanied by as many as 3 other falcons. Meanwhile, other elements are off on their own missions (attacking ground targets, escorting bombers, doing recon), *and* the enemy is scrambling planes and coordinating its anti-aircraft units in a realistic way.

Note that this game is very deep. The default settings are forgiving and there's an "instant action" mode for those of you who just want some quick fun. If you take the time to get into the game, you will find that there is a *lot* to learn. The tutorials are quite thorough, and I recommend playing them to understand the capabilities of the plane and its systems.

One nit -- I really wish the tutorials had an audio briefing. Unfortunately, you need to consult the manual with each one to understand what you need to do. An audio briefing and audio cues during the tutorial missions would have been a very useful touch, and I'm surprised they aren't there.

You absolutely need a flight-sim style joystick to play this game well. I'm using a Thrustmaster Top-Gun with four buttons and a 4-way hat switch, and it works quite well with the game. If you want to get the most out of Falcon, get a throttle control too. There's really nothing like hunting for the ECM key on the keyboard when a radar-guided SAM is flying up your tail at Mach 3.

I gave this game a 3 out of 5 only because it is not stable. On a B/W G3 with MacOS 8.6, ATI Rage 128 OEM, and 64M of RAM, it crashes randomly during startup. I've never had it crash mid-game, but I have had it crash every time I've tried to load a campaign that I had saved. END

Tough It Out

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: December 14, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Don't believe the negative hype. If you are a flight sim rookie...you may want to steer clear. If you like flight sims with depth, challenge and complexity: this is the finest one ever made. It will provide literally years--not days--years of gameplay value. Be sure to download the 1.08 and 1.08i pathces. This game is incredible.

The Sweetest Simulation Ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: December 14, 1999
Author: Amazon User

When I first set out to buy a new game for my G4, I went to inside mac games to check out what was rated high on the simulation genre. As it turns out, this game is probably one of the most sophisticated simulations released for the Macintosh.

If you have a high-end macintosh, (and I stress high-end) this is the game you have been looking for the test out your machine.

The game offers stunning photo-realistic graphics and unbelieveable sound. The manual, heavy as it is, is written by a airforce Falcon trainer, and it is very real.

However this game has numerous bugs, and those require a steep learning curve. If you want to see a sweet game, this is the one.

Geoff

Not for the meek.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: April 26, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you want a quick "boot 'er up and let 'er rip" flight sim, then don't get this one. This is a great sim, but you will spend a LOT of time learning how to use it. Once you get past the learning hurdle, it is a real blast!

PHD Required

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 25
Date: December 08, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Ever noticed the disparity between flight simulators? There seems to be no middle ground--either the simple, like A-10, where almost anyone can fly (with a little practice) or the not-simple. Falcon 4.0 is the not-simple end of the spectrum.

If your trusty UPS deliveryman doesn't damage his back or pull a muscle, he'll (with joy) hand you the heaviest game box around--because of the weight of a massive volume that contains your instructions. It also includes the map of your keyboard, showing the 3 functions for EVERY BUTTON. This is not a joke, or an exaggeration. So after memorizing the 150 or so button functions and reading the near-200 page instruction manual, then you might be able to fly the thing...

Ok, maybe it really IS the ultimate flight sim. Unfortunately, my Uncle the 4-star USAF General and fighter pilot is now deceased, so I was unable to show him this thing--maybe he could figure it all out, but can anyone else?

Unless you feel that your tax forms are "Too Simple" and that MIT just isn't challenging enough, trust me--save your money.

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