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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
1+ years old and still the best sim out there..............., February 6, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Falcon 4.0 (CD-ROM)
OK, you definitely need to patch this puppy to the 1.08 version when you install it. But it still reeks of realism, it's something you're not going to be bored of in a couple of months. I still don't feel like I have complete mastery of the sim yet. Time after time, I am humbled by this game. And,as with every undertaking of this magnitude, it's always not going to have 100% stability or the gameplay may fall short of perfection. My hope is that Microprose/Hasbro will continually support this game for the years to come. It could be just that great in a couple more revisions! At less than $20, it's really a steal. The sims coming out right now (like Jane's F/A-18) are not even close to Falcon 4.0 at revision 1.08. Caution: people with no patience for a big learning curve should steer clear of this game. The manual is over 400 pages! You're not going to be an ace within a couple of weeks. Frustration and death are going to be the norms when you are just getting into the pilot's seat!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The benchmark by which they will all be measured, February 9, 2004
This review is from: Falcon 4.0 (CD-ROM)
Summary: Fantastic flight model, incredible depth of simulation, amazing thoroughness of detail, beautiful scenery, fairly stable with 1.08 patch. Also, absolutely spellbinding on every level. The only jet fighter simulator better than this is classified. Words simply cannot express the mind-boggling excellence of this simulation, or my level of satisfaction at finally buying, installing and taking on its challenge.
I'm a real-life pilot with over 2000 hours of small airplane flight time, and I think it's safe to say that I've got about 10,000 hours of "flight" time on classic sims such as F-19, F-117A, Janes WWII Fighters, EF2000, Mig Alley, Falcon 3.0, Janes F-15 Strike Eagle and FS98. I started "flying" on an Apple IIe in 1983, on the original Microsoft Flight simulator with a green screen monitor. Aviation, especially fighter aviation, has been an obsession of mine since I was 6 years old. If your profile sounds anything like mine, the simple truth is that Falcon 4.0 is your holy grail.
In the earlier Falcon 3.0, the people at Spectrum Holobyte pushed the outer limits of what the "casual" PC flyer could learn and do. In creating Falcon 4.0, the team at Microprose didn't just push those limits; they rammed right through them like a Durandal through runway concrete. Be assured, Falcon 4.0 isn't a game. It is nothing less than a full blown recreation of nearly every significant function and capability of the General Dynamics F-16C Block 50/52, and of every sight, sound and situation that the real life pilot of that aircraft would experience in wartime. Name a system, a weapon, a readout, a display, a HUD function, a capability or a feature of the real F-16, and the odds are about 98% that you'll find it perfectly simulated in Falcon 4.0. About the only thing this sim can't do, is yank the blood down out of your brain and make your head weigh 80 pounds, and I'm sure that only budget considerations stopped this world-class team of software developers from finding a way to provide us with that experience.
If all you want to do is ram the throttle forward, punch holes in the sky, and gun down the bad guys without having to think too much, the excellent "Jane's WWII Fighters" is the sim for you. If, however, you recognize that modern-day fighter pilots are the ultimate high performance human beings who combine tactical combat knowledge with the ability to manage incredibly complex airplanes and systems under intense physical and mental stress, and if taking on just the idea of that kind of challenge appeals to you, buy Falcon 4.0 right now before it disappears completely. The sad truth is that this sim is simply too good for 90% of its potential market - the average "casual" PC flyer will open the (very well written) 100+ page manual and feel like a Maverick has hit him or her in the noggin. USAF fighter pilots are some of the smartest, brightest, most over-achieving people on the planet, and to master Falcon 4.0, that's pretty much who you will need to be as well. If you've got what it takes, however, the rewards are here - and I do mean all the rewards are here. Everything. This is as good as PC-based jet fighter sims are ever going to be.
Note: This review applies to Falcon 4.0 flown in Campaign mode with avionics, flight model and systems all set to "realistic." If you just want to turn, burn and heave missiles at things, you can turn all that stuff down to "easy," enter the Dogfight arena, and have a blast! Also, the essential Version 1.08 patch can be found at "falcon4.com"
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give This Sim A Break..., January 20, 2000
This review is from: Falcon 4.0 (CD-ROM)
While searching for a good flight sim to add to my library, I read customer reviews of Falcon 4.0 on Amazon.com, was disappointed to see so many low ratings it got, then decided I should give up the 20 bucks to find out for myself. I haven't scratched the surface of this sim yet as far as missions and AI, although I know what to expect, having flown versions 2.0 and 3.0. I came back to put in a good word for Falcon 4.0. However it seems David Smallwood's review beat me to the punch! I second his opinion.... Let's put it this way: If you're serious about recreating a hyper-realistic flying experience and not just playing a game, this is the sim to get. Granted, it may have been buggy before; I don't know. I downloaded the upgrade only a week after original purchase. It makes it work. Period. The game is gorgeous, there are scads of infinately detailed switches and dials to set, the flight model is like butta', the views are beautiful, the sounds are terrific, the interface is good and the price is a no-brainer. And you know what's the best part of this program? These days when you're lucky to get a 6-page installation guide with gaming software, MicroProse assembles the best set of documentation I've ever seen in the classic 'Buy the manual, get the software free' style: almost 300 pages tucked in a 'Squadron Leader Special Edition' three-ring binder with laminated tabbed sections dividers, a separate cadet quick-learning guide, a beautiful reference chart, and full-color map of Korea.... all for the ridiculously low price of under $19.95! My advice if you're addicted to flight: pick this box up and getcher butt in flight school. It's going to take a lot of studying. For the record, my PC is a 450MHz, with 128MB SDRAM, an 8MB videocard with Voodoo 2 3Dfx accelerator and MS Sidewinder Pro Force Feedback joystick. With this configuration I can run all the settings at full bore and it's sweet.
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