From the minute I heard about Air Combat (previews in Next Generation I
think) I knew I had to get it. So as soon as it was released, it was in
my machine.

Since then I have had may hours of fun with it. There are plenty of
missions, plenty of planes, lots of interesting places to fly around,
and lots of bad guys.

It's definitely more of an arcade shooter than a flight sim, so
don't expect realistic control. The "Expert" controls provide full
pitch and roll command; the "shift" buttons control left and right yaw,
air brake and afterburner. If using the "Novice" controls (not
recommended) banking is limited to 45 degrees. Every plane has an
absolute ton of ammo (What's that? 50 heat seekers!) so don't be shy on
the fire button.

The first mission was a bit off-putting. Flying over an ocean is not
terribly thrilling. But soon after that you'll be in canyons, deserts,
mountains, cities (the night attack is totally cool), attacking
transports, bombers, fighters (lots of those), ships, factories, SAM
sites, you name it.

Think of a modern fighter plane. Any one. Right. Air Combat has it.
All the kick-ass stuff: Tomcats, Eagles, Hornets, Stealths, MiG 29s,
Falcons, Tornadoes, Phantoms, Mirages, Harriers, and more. There are also
C-130 and C-5 transports to defend and attack. All wonderfully texture
mapped. Unfortunately, as soon as you acquire one of these planes, the
"realistic" colors and textures are replaced with the gaudy red, white,
and blue of your squadron. Yuk. Each plane is rated in terms of Attack,
Defense, Mobility, Stability and Power.  And Price, of course.

As each mission is accomplished, more become available. I think there
are 17 in all. These cover a large map area, and from some missions you
have a choice of which to do next, so if you come across a tough one
you can leave it for later.  Each mission is flown over a different
type of terrain. In one, you're out to destroy oil refineries in the
desert, in another you're escorting a C5 transporter through snow-capped
mountains, yet another has you shooting ships in port, and so on.

With each successful mission, you receive cash (like several millions
of dollars). After deductions for being hit, this money goes into your
account, which is used to buy new and replacement aircraft. In later
missions, you can also pay wingmen to fly with you. The crummy wingmen
are a pretty cheap, the vets and aces a lot more. You can somewhat
control how each wingman should behave -- "Guard My Tail", "Secure The
Base", and "On Your Own" are the common options, although I've never
seen a wingman "on his own" do anything useful, never mind "securing"
anything.

Enemy planes seem rather smart. Some will try to lead you away to allow
others to get behind for a missile lock. Some fly like crazy to keep
out of your radar. It takes several missiles to destroy a plane, and
lots of patience to destroy them with guns.

A voice in the background acts like some air traffic controller in the
dog fights. "Enemy in sight!", "Enemy targets located", "Bingo!" "He's
Toast!" are the more common phrases you'll hear. You'll also be advised
when flying too low, too slow, with little fuel, or with a missile behind
you.  A radar shows you where all the bad guys are (red dots for planes,
yellow for ground targets - that white one out there putzing about is your
wingman), and a pop-up map gives a more general view of the area. When
using the in-cockpit view, a HUD provides ammo, fuel, airspeed and
altitude indications, and the locking gunsight. If you switch to the
external chase-plane view, you lose all of that, except the ammo and
gunsight, making it pretty useless.  That's a shame, because it looks
fun.

Since this is game make no pretences at being a simulator, you will
never get to land or take off, use flaps, drop flares, or tune a VOR.
There's no "instrument panel" - its HUD or nothing. There is no throttle
control either: you get an afterburner to go faster and an air brake
to slow down. There's no left or right view, only straight ahead. You
get the picture...

The game takes quite a while to load each mission, but not annoyingly
so. The most annoying thing must be the voice of the guy who gives the
mission briefings. In fact, I have never played a game where the
announcer is *not* irritating. ("Hey! You're the greatest...!" Vomit.)

Technically, the graphics are smooth but tend to pixel-ate when you get
too close to something. Often, a complex looking ground site actually
turns out to be a cunningly drawn flat picture pasted on to the floor.
That said, you *will* find yourself flying down valleys, between city
blocks, around construction cranes, through smoke stacks, and other
good stuff. The smoke effects are a bit old-fashioned (semi-transparent,
partially overlapping black circles) but the explosions are cool.
Sound effects are adequate, and the music is nothing to get excited about,
but at least it doesn't bug me.

I haven't had the chance to play the two-player mode, but from what I
can tell it's just a split-screen head to head in a closed area. No
link up options.  Your progress can be saved to memory card (a must!).
In fact, you can keep several "squadrons" on the card at once.

If you like air combat games, this aptly-named release is recommended.
Serious Falcon fans might find it a little juvenile, but it depends on
what you're looking for.

With the selection of missions, wide assortment of planes and targets,
and three difficulty settings, the game has long term appeal. And for a
quick turn and burn through the sky, the PSX has all the necessary
power.

lloyd@silvaco.com