Falcon 4.0 - PC Games

The obscenely large Flight Handbook that accompanies the game (some 600-plus pages) just begins to give you an idea of what you're in for. Written by real-life F-16 bad-ass Pete "Boomer" Bonanni, the manual methodically walks you through every aspect of the interface (which can be a bit overwhelming even for a combat-sim veteran) and gives in-depth info on tactics and campaign play.

Unfortunately, the sim carries a couple of caveats but they become less of an issue as technology and MacSoft support catches up: one, the game hogs disk space (650 MB), requires a tricked-out joystick, and demands a better processor than MacSoft might have you think (anything less than a G3 with serious accelerator cards isn't going to hack it); and two, the game inherited the PC version's bumper crop of nearly debilitating bugs and patches have been slow in coming since Falcon's '98 release (check for the latest).

Falcon 4.0 succeeds brilliantly when it comes to simulation fidelity, with stunning graphics, sounds digitised from real F-16s to immerse you in the action and scalable controls that give all the versatility of an actual Falcon. You can also choose from four different play options: Instant Action, which is pretty much as you'd imagine (thrown into the mix with unlimited fuel and ammo and duke it out till you go down); Dogfight, employing any combination of networked humans and AIs playing in teams or free-for-all (yes, you can beat up on Wintel pilots over the Internet); Tactical Engagement, which lets you design your own missions; and the Campaign, where Falcon really shines and you're immersed in a long-term, complex, real-time conflict over the skies of Korea. --Paul Hughes