-
CNET editors' rating:
2.0 stars
Mediocre
Detailed editors' rating -
Average user rating:
Write your own review
Product summary
F/A-18 Precision Strike Fighter is a good flight sim for its time. The problem is that its time is four years past.
Specifications: ESRB: Everyone; Genre: Simulation; Elements: Modern Jet Flight Sim; See full specs
Gamespot editors' review
- Reviewed on: 09/27/2001
- Released on: 09/26/2001
F/A-18 Precision Strike Fighter is a good flight sim for its time. The problem is that its time is four years past. For all intents and purposes, this is the same exact game that Graphic Simulations released in 1997 as F/A-18 Korea. The publishers at Xicat Interactive have put it in a new box, priced it as a new game, and put it on retail shelves next to the new releases. But there's virtually nothing new about Precision Strike Fighter. What's worse, there's very little indication that you're getting recycled material. It is a rip-off of startling proportion.
Precision Strike Fighter models the F/A-18 Hornet, a carrier-based fighter plane with considerable ground attack capability. It's designed to sling lots of advanced ordnance under its wings and still fend for itself if it's jumped by enemy aircraft. It can protect its carrier by intercepting bombers or run interference for ground strike flights by taking out hostile air defenses. It's a good-looking, flexible plane that's gotten good press with appearances in movies like The Rock and Independence Day. Naturally, any self-respecting flight-sim enthusiast would want to fly one.
In 1997, F/A-18 Korea, the original incarnation of Precision Strike Fighter, was the latest in a line of Hornet sims from Graphic Simulations. Although it never enjoyed the publishing muscle of Microprose's Falcon or Electronic Arts' Jane's series, it was a solid sim that was widely appreciated by fans of the genre. It used a fast engine that looked good by 1997 standards, and it struck a nice balance between playability and realism.
Since F/A-18 Korea featured 3D acceleration using Glide only, many contemporary video cards will have problems running it in anything but the intolerably ugly software mode. So the most significant addition to Precision Strike Fighter is its OpenGL support, which lets it run on a wider range of video cards and gives it some sharp 3D-accelerated textures. Oceans ripple, detailed jets gleam in the sun, and dappled green forests cover the terrain like a plush carpet. There are also new volumetric clouds and transparency effects for explosions and smoke. Considering its age, Precision Strike Fighter could have looked a lot worse. It wears its facelift well.
But the rest of this sim is entirely identical to its predecessor, right down to important file sizes and dates. The core of this game is still a low polygon count graphics engine, which was clearly built for slower processors from a time before 3D accelerators. Most objects have a rough-hewn blocky look, as if they were whittled from wood. You get pyramids instead of rolling hills and boxes instead of buildings. The upside to this is that the game plays fast and smooth even on lower-end computers. If frame rate is important to you--and if you're really a flight-sim fanatic--then you know frame rate is king. Precision Strike Fighter is a nostalgic throwback to the days of polygonal simplicity, when sims ran fast and the terrain cut the sky in clear lines.
Continue reading- See more CNET content tagged:
- flight simulator,
- video card,
- 3D,
- video
User reviews
Write your own review Be the first one to review F/A-18 Precision Strike Fighter (PC) and share your experience with the CNET community!
%20PC%20Game%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://msn-cnet.com.com/pc-games/f-a-18-precision/4505-9696_7-30983739.html){kind=small}