Jane's USAF (1999)
Genres:Simulator
Story:Jane's Combat Simulations: USAF - United States Air Force is a multi-aircraft simulator that is built upon the engine of its predecessor, Israeli Air Force. As with other titles using the Jane's license, the focus of the game is in creating a realistic and believable military aircraft simulation. Hence, the game's controls and mechanics are elaborate, while all controls can be mapped to a voice command. It is also possible to give basic commands to wingmen, if they are present. While waypoints and refueling can be managed by the aircraft's autopilot, all such maneuvers can be done manually.
USAF is based on 8 different fighters and bombers of the United States Air Force: the F-4E Phantom II, F-105D Thunderchief, A-10A Thunderbolt II, F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C Fighting Falcon, F-117A Nighthawk, and the F-22A Raptor. In game modes other than the campaign, the MiG-29 is also available to the player. Each aircraft performs differently and is meant for different tasks, and can be seen from the cockpit (with 2D and 3D views available, and the possibility to look around from the pilot's perspective), from the outside (in a behind view or one of the cinematic views), or with just the HUD visible.
The game has four campaigns, two of which are historical (Vietnam War and Desert Storm), and the other two (Red Arrow and Sleeping Giant) being fictional and set in a hypothetical future. Tutorials are extensive, while separate tutorials exist under the umbrella term "Red Flag", which note more demanding tasks and can not be reached at the lowest rank. The player's progress and rank is recorded in their profile, with each mission's success or failure affecting their score. Scoring itself can be changed by setting various difficulties and "aids", with AI help removing score percentages but making the game easier for newcomers.
Aside from the campaigns, there are preset single scenarios, as well as a quick mission editor which the player can use to manually set the parameters of a desired air-to-air skirmish (whereas the campaigns have both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions). There is also a Fly Now! button in the main menu, which randomly picks a mission from a small mission pool and puts the player in a random plane. These missions can have the same settings/landscapes as the missions in the campaigns: United States (Nellis Air Force base), Germany, Vietnam, and Iraq. The game comes bundled with a User Mission Editor application as well. USAF has a multiplayer mode available via LAN and JanesCombat.Net (which has since been discontinued).
Finally, the signature feature of Jane's-licensed games is the in-game encyclopaedia, which is present in USAF and lists and describes in detail not only the aircraft the player can pilot or shoot at, but also all other objects that can be encountered in the game, as well as missiles that aircraft can be armed with.Show more
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.1 224
This was probably the first game I ever played. When I was younger I never really understood the mechanics or how anything worked but as I got older I was able to properly enjoy it. I still have the 2 Disk CD-Rom version of the game but, unfortunately, it just doesn't work correctly on a modern system and I would love if it could be brought back.
This was one of the first games I had on a PC. I bought the sidewinder flight stick for this and loved how immersive it felt. It really took you through the mechanics of a really nice variety of modern fighters. The right balance of simulation where modern air combat games never really scratched that same itch.
I want this game on GOG because not for sale anywhere else and I know it would work on modern systems if added here.
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