Game Review
F-16 Combat Pilot is a combat flight simulator created by Digital Integration and released initially in 1989 for the Amiga and Atari ST. Later, it was ported to other home computers, including Commodore 64, Amstrad, DOS, and ZX Spectrum. The game was famous for its realistic simulations of the instruments and flight dynamics of an F-16C Fighting Falcon fighter.
It is also the first flight simulator that allows the player to control a squadron of other pilots.
F-16 Combat Pilot received excellent reviews, especially the Amiga version, and it won the European Computer Leisure Awards for Best Flight Simulator in 1990.
Users Reviews
What game !!! And ... how many memories ... Fantastic flight simulator. Here I have to thank, really with all my heart, the "Gamesnostalgia" team. Thank you so much for repurposing this jewel from the 90s.
I bought it at that time in the Commodore 64/128 version and later in the Amiga version. The simulation offers us the guide of one of the best air superiority fighters in the world ... the "Flight Falcon 16". There was also a wide range of weapons ... From the simple and beloved 20 mm machine gun, to the AIM 9m air-to-air missiles ... Aim 120a, or Maverick AGM 65 D-E air-to-surface missiles. Free-fall bombs MK 82-83-84. Snakeye bombs. AGM 88 anti-radar weapons. "Durandals" bombs against enemy runways ... Even the avionics were sufficiently well simulated. Different types of radar configurations, a variety of warning lights, and even danger warnings. The Instrument Landing System (ILS) was also implemented.
Basically, this is a game that encompasses a little bit of everything related to aerial simulation. From "air-to-air" missions, to ground attacks, against tanks, installations, anti-aircraft missiles, control centers , "Early Warning" radars, and reconnaissance missions, the game also included a clash between two human players, with two computers that had to be connected to each other with cables. Each of the players controlled his own plane with which he had to try to shoot down the opponent. However I have never used this function.
The simulation proposed a first phase in which all kinds of missions had to be overcome. Once this path was completed, it was possible to access what was the real objective of the game ... Testing the skills of command, judgment and combat readiness in first person. Yes, because once we got through all the training missions, we would be ready for "Operation Conquest". In this phase, the game illustrated a map on which the allied forces and the enemy deployment were shown with symbols. There was everything, early warning radars ... Command centers, armored vehicles, moving as the campaign went on. Air defense posts, bridges, factories, depots, airports, power plants and military bases. Now, it's all under our control, it all depends on our judgment. Would we have attacked the enemy's production centers, to slow their advance, or was it better to focus on air superiority? Would it have been more appropriate to keep an eye on those tank battalions that were dangerously approaching our installations, or was it better to hit enemy airports to leave enemy aircraft on the ground without engaging them in the air with aerial duels? Or was it more logical to eliminate the early warning radar centers, and thereby blind the enemy's long-range warning system? In reality, there was no safe tactic.
The game always involved very changing situations. If, for example, I take the time to hunt down enemy aircraft, on my return to the base, after the attack, in consulting the map I could see the unwelcome surprise that, right in the vicinity of our base, a enemy armored contingent. Or that enemy mechanized battalion, which I was keeping an eye on, suddenly seems to have evaporated, we need to track it down immediately to prevent it from suddenly jumping out at some of our installations to tear it to pieces. Eventually, if we can play our chances right, we should be able to convince the enemy to re-enter their bases and win the campaign.
As the commander, you have to choose the targets yourself. You will be able to plan multiple attacks simultaneously and you will be able to follow one of these missions, which you have planned, by piloting one of your own planes. If you happen to be shot down, you will switch to impersonating another pilot. In these campaigns the defeat will not be due to the loss of a single pilot, but the collapse of your structures, so it will be a defeat on a strategic level!
It is not an easy job, but if you manage to be a winner in one campaign, you will be promoted to the next one, which will obviously be much more challenging. In addition to the danger of war missions, the game presented another difficulty ... landing! Operation always rather difficult, where however fortunately, we could find valid help in the automatic landing or, for those who want to achieve maximum satisfaction with this game, opt for a long series of specific "training" to learn the technique for a safe landing.
Review by: Maurizio Petta
Published: 8 July 2022 1:58 am
Review by: Maurizio Petta
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