Previous Next

All around the world, conflagrations erupt like fiery cancer. America stand firm! From the Baltic tensions of Lapland facing the new Russian republics, to the continuing struggles of the Middle East, there is only one Superpower remaining with the might, and will, to strike out...

The messenger of America's displeasure is the F-15, a gleaming testament to man's inventiveness in the business of destruction. The world's greatest jet fighter. This new simulation enlists you in the Air Corps, flying one of these babies through six war zones, in countless missions against designated targets. The stark choice of promotion or a military funeral is decided by your flying skills.

Microprose have been making computer flight sims for years. F-15 II is their first Megadrive game, based on the Amiga and PC versions.

Select a mission, then destroy the primary and secondary targets and return to base. Promotions and passwords are given for success.

There are six theatres from which to choose. Each has a variety of mission difficulties, depending on whether you pick Rookie, Pilot, Veteran or Ace. There are two European areas - one which recreates the now defunct threat from the Warsaw Pact nations, and another based in Finland/Russia. The familiar Middle Eastern trouble spots are featured, with you flying to bomb Damascus from Cypriot/Israeli bases and then giving it to Saddam from airfields based in Bahrain. The nostalgia trip of past American involvements finishes up in Vietnam. Most of the weaponry you face is standard Soviet equipment: Sam-8 rockets, Mig-29 and Mig-25 fighters.

Missions are compiled from a list of potential targets, with a primary and secondary selected for each run. This gives a random element to the game, with hundreds of possible target combinations. The more you play, the further you have to travel. Luckily, the game has a 'Time Warp' facility to speed up travel over long distances.

In common with other flight sims, F-15 lets you toggle your view point of the game at any time. The range of views is about the most extensive yet: you may look in any direction from your plane as well as going external and following the track of your missile or seeing the 'chase' view of your plane.

If the heat's too much, your plane has an ejector seat that lets you drift safely to the ground in a parachute, but it's not an option that's going to win you any medals. Trash three planes and you will be 'retried'... for being too expensive!

At the end of each mission, whatever the outcome, you are treated to a step by step debriefing, showing your route and the main events.

F-15 is the second serious flight sim, after MiG-29, and it's better. The update isn't as fast, and graphically, the game is quite drab and indistinct, but the handling of the plane is more responsive and logical than Domark's effort. To be honest, even though I found F-15 to be well put together and strong on detail, I got quite bored playing it (though not frustrated).

Despite having six theatres, you spend your time interacting with much the same weaponry, and not the landscape. In this way it lacks the variety and interest of LHX Attack Chopper, which is still the best flight combat sim on Megadrive. Flight fans should still take a look.

This was originally a brilliant PC game and the basic concept of the game has translated well to the Megadrive. Although the action is a tad on the 'samey' side, there are plenty of missions to undertake and different difficulty levels to heighten the simulation's accuracy.

So, F-15 is rather smart, eh? Well, um, not exactly. The PC version was absoutely fab... on a swift mega-spec PC, but was very slow and jerky on a less impressive machine.

The Megadrive just doesn't have the raw mathematical power to bring this game off. The result is a simulation that's slow to update and doesn't exactly convey supersonic speeds!

A nice try though and better than Domark's MiG-29 - bt EA's LHX Attack Chopper is still the ultimate game of its type.

Presentation 88%
P. Lots of options, including a load of difficulty settings and viewpoints.
N. The control method seems to make some commands hard to initiate.

Graphics 68%
P. The graphics are good, as is the control panel layout. Update is reasonably fast.
N. The scenery graphics lack detail or character, and are sometimes unconvincing (e.g. clouds).

Sound 60%
N. Most of the music seems pretty inappropriate, and the effects are just adequate. Not an area of strength.

Playability 74%
P. The controls are easy, and the game has a gentle difficulty curve. The F-15 handles well.
N. Targetting is a problem, with it locking on unwelcome objects. The game is a bit samey.

Lastability 77%
P. Six theatres of operation and potentially infinite missions. There's always a score to better.
N. Only keen flight sim fans won't get impatient with all that time in transit!

Overall 76%
A well put together flight sim that strives to be original. Like MiG-29, this is a very 'computer-like' game for a console. Most Megadrive owners will think it too slow, so F-15 is for the specialist market.