I want to fly...

**Rodion Romanovich** · 02-09-2008, 20:19

...and shoot down planes, any time period is fine. Which game should I look for? As usual with me, I really want there to be a demo available before I get the game so please only such games.

**edyzmedieval** · 02-09-2008, 23:09

You have this:

- Lock On Modern Air Combat (LOMAC)
- Falcon 4: Allied Force
- IL2 Sturmovik
- Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3

Not sure if they have demos. The thing is, they all are good or in a case, EXCELLENT (Falcon 4, which is what I play) and that the money is really well invested. My personal take is the Falcon 4, but you have to be a hardcore flyer to love this game, as the campaigns and missions are complex.

**Beirut** · 02-10-2008, 01:28

In all truth, you have only two choices; the IL2 series for WWII action or Lock On for modern jets. Falcon 4 is a wonderful sim with insane depth, but it`s hardcore to the max and can be very, very complicated to program and fly. Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 3 is a bona fide slice of dog excrement pie. Horrid beyond words, terrible graphics, and a CPU pig to boot. Don`t install it even if it`s free.

You best bet, really, is the IL2 series. WWII action with a huge amount of planes to choose from and lots and lots of things to do. You can get anything from the original IL2-Sturmovik sim, which is still very good and will run super fast on newer machines to the new IL2-46 game which has about 200 different planes to fly (fighters, bombers, biplanes, jets), fifty maps to fly over (Asia, Europe, Africa), and an endless variety of things to do. The mission editor is massive and easy to use. There is no other sim that compares to it, and, it`s very easy to get into and have fun with.

Lock On is good, very pretty, runs ok on most machines if you keep the action light. There are six planes to fly, a good mission editor, and two new expansion packs. The A-10 action is good fun.

If you can, find the original IL2-Sturmovik game. It five or six years old, will probably cost about five bucks, and will get you into the air fast, and like I said, on any newish machine you`ll get fantastic frame rates even with heavy air to air action going on. I think you can still get the demo. The newer IL2-46 sim looks just like the original, but a thousand times bigger.

Also, and obviously, you`ll need a flightstick. Saitek is a good choice.

**Kekvit Irae** · 02-10-2008, 02:16

If you want to forgo realism for fun, Ace Combat series for the console is a great series. Sometimes you just want to blow stuff up without having to worry about having a pilots license just to play.

**Raz** · 02-10-2008, 02:57

Ace Combat = Win. End of discussion.

Oh demos. Well you could always buy it from a store (make sure that they have a light policy on returns) and just send it back if you don't like it. Get cash if possible, but if you have to buy something else from the store, just get the next game on your list. =D

**Husar** · 02-10-2008, 04:56

Good points from Beirut, here is the IL2 demo.
There's also Strike Fighters or one of it's newer incarnations but they have no demo as far as I'm aware.

**Evil_Maniac From Mars** · 02-11-2008, 02:21

Well, I got myself FSX.

**Evil_Maniac From Mars** · 02-11-2008, 03:25

Beirut,

I have graphics overall on Medium Low

Aircraft on Medium High

Scenery on Medium High

Weather on Medium High

Traffic on Very Low

Any changes you'd make?

**Beirut** · 02-11-2008, 13:45

Let's take this to the MS Flight Simulator thread just to stay OT.

**edyzmedieval** · 02-11-2008, 15:17

I have the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro too, and I'm very pleased by it.

It's very good for the price.

**Hound of Ulster** · 02-12-2008, 22:43

I concur with the assessments of Ace Combat. If you have a playstation 2 AC4, AC5 and ACZero are all good buys. The backstories are actually interesting too. AC6 is gorgeoues on the XBOX360, but its brutal on the Ace difficulty setting. The Ace Combat series is more sim than most people give it credit for. The only real concession to gameplay is the almost unlimited amount of ammo you get.

**Quirinus** · 02-14-2008, 17:33

To offer an unorthodox choice, I'd say Echelon, if you're into futuristic aircraft. They all have cool names like the Wraith, or the Werewolf. The missions are challenging, but the dogfights are spectacular. You can enable ammo limit and even have infinite health if you just want to kick some ass, too. The requirements are minimal-- if it can run on my cranky old tablet PC, it can run anywhere.

Though, I haven't played any other flight sim, so I don't have any standards of comparison.