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Near invisible to radar, shrouded in secrecy and worrying Saddam Hussein as this is written, the F-117A Stealth Fighter is America's most secret aircraft. It was in service for years before it was allowed to be filmed. So MicroProse developed their Stealth sim using 'best guesses' and called it F-19. When the F-117A was finally revealed, MicroProse changed the sim to give you option of flying the original F-19 or a new F-117A.

Four combat zones are available to the Stealth pilot: choose from Libya (with a Training mode for beginners), the Persian Gulf for the ultimate in topicality and the dangerous North Cape and Central Europe combat zones.

A series of parameter-setting option screens allows you to alter Level of Conflict, Type of Mission (choose to attack an air target or strategic or tactical ground targets), Opponent Quality and Flight Performance (beginners had best stick with the No Crashes option before attempting Easy or Real Landings).

A mission briefing and enemy appraisal follows before arming up the aircraft. There's little difference between the two Stealth fighters, neither is easy to fly. The F-117A is slightly unstable in flight but for both types of aircraft survival depends on minimal contact with the enemy and its radar. An EMV Bar Gauge in the cockpit shows your Stealth rating, effectively your 'visibility' to the enemy. Low-altitude, low-speed, level flight keeps the EMV down, allowing you to penetrate further into enemy airspace without detection (although the higher the selected Opponent Quality level, the more experienced the enemy is, the better protected the target and the harder the mission becomes). Needless to say, once you're detected, all hell breaks loose as enemy airpower comes onto the scene and SAM missiles roar skywards.

The most impressive features of the Amiga game are the external viewpoints which, if used effectively, can make your mission almost like a movie. There's a host of standard viewpoints but the tactical views are the best, showing your Stealth from the enemy plane's/ground target's view or vice versa. It's near impossible to fly the Stealth from these viewpoints but it's great fun (and very cinematic) to see yourself storm right over the smoking remains of an enemy installation.

After you've created hell in the mission and landed back at base (or not) a debriefing

Graphically, F-19 is a mixed bag. The graphics work well at long to mid-range; there's lots of variety and the close-up view via the TV is a neat idea. There's also a plethora of external views which can be switched between to give a genuinely cinematic feel; the enemy perspective pans to keep the F19 in view superbly.

Unfortunately, close up the graphics are poor, the F-19 itself is a simple black silhouette while land graphics are dull.

Partly because of this, F-19 isn't a 'pick up and go' product. The graphics aren't impressive enough for a simple zoom around to be all that satisfying. Indeed, the F-19 itself is a realistically poor flier, lacking vertical climb and stalling easily at low altitude.

To get the most out of F-19 you have to absorb the 192-page manual which is certainly impressive, with massive attention to detail. In this respect, F-19 scores above all other products. This is an uncompromising sim unrivalled in atmosphere. Stealthing about requires more thought than your usual sim, while some weapons are complex to use.

There are only a handful of basic mission types, but the various combinations, different zones and ranks provide a massive challenge.

This is the one that I've been waiting for after playing the C64 original to death and being blown away by the graphic quality of the PC version. I was disappointed that it's no advance over the PC game, but for once we have a simulator that is very fast in flight, has great graphic detail and variety *and* has the mission depth to back it up.

The graphics aren't all that sophisticated and there is the odd graphic error here and there (like Boeing 767's casting F-18 Hornet shadows!) but the atmosphere is all there and the enemy is used intelligently to create a thoughtful challenge. Pity about the dire sound effects.

Having got used to the pace of the C64 version, it's all immensely fast now with 16-bit speed and an ultra-sensitive mouse control option (thankfully, this can be adjusted). Learning to cope when the action hots up is going to take quite a while, so it's good that you can earn your wings on lower risk warzones before tackling the First Team in Central Europe.

For me, the entertainment came from 'thinking' your way through the radar net to the target before the mission and then watching it all work correctly in practice. Finally hitting the target proved immensely satisfying.

The mission selection/creation system is one of the best I've seen as it allows the player to set his own pace through the game rather than being forced through a series of set missions. The flexibility offered by the parameters on the pre-mission option screens ensures appeal for all levels of armchair pilot while also allowing for the development of the player's skills.

With the random objective generation system at work to create a different target every time, each mission is different in its demands, challenge and methods of attack required by the player. This one's got a lot to offer and keeps you playing!

Presentation 93%
Extensive to say the least. A 192-page tome packed with info. Keyboard overlay. Mouse/joystick/keyboard/analogue joystick controls. Two choices of plane. Save/Load feature, a user-friendly, flexible pre-mission selection system. Presentation screens for success, failure, medals and promotion. Mouse sensitively adjust facility.

Graphics 78%
Fast, fluid movement and update. Excellent for sheer variety but, for the most part, unsophisticated shapes.

Sound 52%
For: Good (if a bit short) title tune and credible engine note sound. Against: The rest of the effects!

Hookability 82%
The sensitive flight controls and massive manual (which needs to be read) means it can take a while to get used to flying the aircraft. The dangers of an overly complicating, inaccessible simulator are countered by the user-friendliness of it all.

Lastability 92%
Four warzones provide good graphic variety. The large number of mission creation parameters provides masses of challenge, demands and mission variety.

Overall 90%
Fast, deep and very entertaining to play.