F-22 Raptor

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Jet combat simulator featuring Lockheed Martin's bad boy
• Five mini-campaigns take pilots all over the world
• Many training and stand-alone missions
• Realistic physics and controls
• For 1 player

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00001SVI4
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: July 24, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,643 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #92 in Video Games > PC Games > Simulation > Flight
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

GameSpot Review

Last year NovaLogic released F-22 Lightning II, a diverting arcade-like sim that made inflated claims for the realism and accuracy of its flight model. After F-22 hit, NovaLogic managed to cement a relationship with Lockheed Martin for the rights to create sims based upon its aircraft, attempting to shut out other manufacturers in the process. (NovaLogic later denied that it was trying to freeze out the competition, but its initial releases featured the phrase "exclusive rights" prominently.) When the flight sim community rose up in outrage over this (particularly in light of NovaLogic's complete inability to create a flight model more realistic than that found in, say, Descent), NovaLogic backed off. But it still had this swell deal with Lockheed and needed to start making it pay out.

F-22 Raptor is the result. It is essentially F-22 Lightning II reissued. The radical differences in the two games made a whole new release essential. Differences such as the "Lockheed Martin Fighter Series" label on the box and, um, let's see. Oh yeah, the textures don't pop as much. And, er, well, it is native Windows 95. There's MMX support. The interface art looks a bit different. I'm reaching here, folks.... Help me out.

There have been some very minor enhancements made. Some new textures and fogging effects have been added, and the engine seems to run a bit smoother. Ground textures have some filtering on them, for that nice angora sweater look, instead of the slight pixelization of the original. Texture popping is less of an issue than in the original, where I'd watch mountain tops draw. But these are things for a patch, not a whole new game. The cockpit and view modes have not changed at all.

There have been some slight modifications made to the flight model in order to inch it closer in the direction of reality, but turns still feel off. I know we don't have the reports on the F-22 yet, so it's very difficult to comment on the way Raptor handles. Some drag and fuel consumption codes appear to have been added, and there is some speed bleeding. The fact is, we can't be certain about the flight model since the advanced design of the F-22 may indeed have many automatic and self-correcting features. But the physics of the world just don't feel convincing, and the avionics are certainly simplified.

The cockpit is set up in such a way that you cannot easily monitor instruments. The one pop-up screen offered is the attack/nav display, which only serves to highlight the failure of NovaLogic to create a convincing and useful information display. There isn't enough range or target information to make the display usable. Plus, it only offers the 90-degree forward-facing sensor arc, not the 360-degree defensive display, which is crucial to situational awareness. This means that you'll spend a lot of blind time glancing at instruments. I had a great deal of trouble tracking inbound missiles with these instruments. Either create a proper set of overlays (a la Navy Fighters), or keep the instruments visible in the cockpit view at all times. Like Interactive Magic, NovaLogic has also failed to include a moving map display. This means that if you suffer navigation systems failure, you can't finish a mission using VRF. Does the F-22 have an MMD? If it doesn't, the pilots at least have knee boards. An in-game map is essential.

On the plus side, there is some modeling of individual system failures. Enemy AI is vigorous, and wingman AI is improved over past NovaLogic titles. The graphics are sharp and smooth without 3Dfx, though they are not up to the current standard of hardware-only titles. The campaign is semidynamic, with some store tracking and a persistent battlefield (destroyed objects stay destroyed). Missions are still scripted, rather than dynamically generated. The five minicampaigns all run together, as you begin in Angola, then move on to Jordan, Russia, Columbia, and Iran. There is also a number of training and stand-alone missions.

Raptor is not done with a great deal of depth or complexity, but it is done in an entertaining and accessible way. The feel is most like US Navy Fighters, with a hop-in-and-take-care-of-business approach. Its ease of use and simple controls make it an ideal midrange sim for many. The debatable claims for hard-core realism aside, Raptor still suffers from a few problems, such as the avionics and map display issues. Furthermore, it feels like a rip-off. There is simply not enough that's new or different to justify a whole new game. This is the game owners of Lightning II deserved in the first place. --T. Liam McDonald
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for its time, July 14, 2008

By 

Mavro (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: F-22 Raptor (CD-ROM)

I've always loved flight simulators and I definitely rank F-22 Raptor high among them. Of course, it can't compete with the flight simulation software and hardware that is available in the 2008 market, but comparing it to Lock On is like comparing NES to PS3. It was written for a different time and was state-of-the-art in its day.

The game play is fun and the radio chatter is witty. I like how it gives you extra points for shot accuracy and landing. Gliding back to the airstrip after running out of fuel and knowing you only have one shot at landing is sometimes more exciting than the missions.

You can control the F-22 using a keyboard (no mouse) or a joystick. I'm running it on XP right now (7/14/08) and it works just fine.

Overall it's a great game and worth the $5 it currently sells for.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars F-22 Raptor review, April 11, 2007

By 

Jimmy D. Whitter "sundance58 AKA jimmy" (Kalispell Montana USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: F-22 Raptor (CD-ROM)

I have every flight simulator , well just about every one that is on the market, this particular one F-22 in 1998 was up with it's times but now you have to use compatability mode if you use Window'a XP and set it for 98

then the graphic's are all broke up and will not take joystick comands, if you are a serious simulator pilot i dont recommend, if you are a collectore like my self it is worth adding to your collection as this is the beginning to the flight sim's we get today,

the game is playable but gets 2 stars for quality the general path of the game if it had better graphics and was remade to run XP would be a great game, this is just another attempt by novalogic to create a viable combat flight simulator

Novalogic need's to take this game revamp it to modern standereds of 2007 and they will have a winner,

if you use a older computer with windows 98 you may enjoy this simulator if it can be called on, but beware of glitchs and joystick, or lack of

sundance58

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, January 29, 2012

By 

jim2bz4me - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: F-22 Raptor (CD-ROM)

Very disappointing. Game did not work. Put it in my older PC that use to have it, didn't work. Put it on my new PC and bought a new joystick. Didn't work. Should have bought new instead of used!