on Monday, December 22, 2008
It took seven years, a number of false starts, and one of the most devoted fan communities in existence, but the release of Falcon 4.0: Allied Force shows that its potential has finally been realized.

Ask any simulation fan worth his hands on throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) setup what the best combat flight simulator of all time is, and he's likely to reply "Falcon 4.0." Ask that same person what the worst combat flight simulation of all time is, and you're just as likely to hear the same answer.

Falcon 4.0 was far from an unmitigated disaster, but the design goals were so lofty that there simply wasn't enough time or resources to climb high enough to reach them. The end result was a simulation that was so far ahead of its time that it feels current to this day, but it was buggy enough to turn off the demanding hardcore audience it needed to cater to for success. Crashes were frequent, the brilliant dynamic campaign system was full of glitches, and multiplayer was practically broken out of the box. As we put it back when it was first released, Falcon 4.0 offered "more potential, more promise, than anything else."

It took seven years, a number of false starts, and one of the most devoted fan communities in existence, but the release of Falcon 4.0: Allied Force shows that its potential has finally been realized and that promise has finally been delivered. This will come as no surprise to longtime fans who have dealt with the innumerable patches, fan-made content, and other fixes and enhancements that have appeared over the years to dramatically improve the original release. The tedious process of downloading the proper files and then installing them all in the correct order is known affectionately as the "dance," and it was enough to keep casual fans as far away from this game as they could get. The dance is finally over, and for the first time ever wannabe jet jockeys can install Falcon 4.0 from a single disc and enjoy nearly all of its numerous features as the designers intended.

For those who are wholly unfamiliar with this game, Falcon 4.0 is an exacting simulation of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Also known as the Electric Jet, the Lawn Dart, or, more popularly, the Viper, the F-16 is one of the most versatile fighters ever created. Its legendary maneuverability makes it a superb dogfighter, but it also has enough power to carry a respectable load of air-to-ground munitions for "mud moving" when necessary. This simulation lets you try your hand at both roles in instant action, single missions, or several incredible dynamic campaigns that are set in the Korean Peninsula and the Balkans.

Ok, so before I begin, YES it IS a SIMULATOR not just your casual "Hey cool, bombs, Ima go kill stuff now" kind of game. It requires time, THOUGHT, and skill, lots of skill. Now I bring this point up because Im so tired of people giving it a score of 2 saying "Its too complicated and its impossible" These people are flat out stupid, honestly did they even LOOK at the back of the box? it says RIGHT THERE "The most REALISTIC, CHALLENGING, and immersive Air-Combat SIMULATION you can get" if they had read that they would have realised "I might not want to spend a lot of time learning controls and mapping a joystick and all that stuff" SO those people are wrong. Now, onto the review.

Gameplay- Simply put, amazing. The depth and realism in this game is simply amazing. At first the controls and depth MAY be overwhelming, put, if you take it slow and easy you can learn everything easy, just take it one step at a time and it will become second nature. Also the dynamic campaign delivers a feeling that a war is ACTUALLY going on and evolving around you, the radio chatter and all the friendly aircraft make it so immersive, sometimes you can even forget its a sim and fear for your life when something goes terribly wrong with the mission. Its truely awe-inspiring the amount of depth that has been put into the game, and its not just the big things, all the little things make a HUGE difference.

Graphics- A work of art it aint. However for being originally released in 1998 I think theyre ok, actually for 1998 I think theyre pretty damn good. The only truly terrible part I believe is the 3d cockpit, only good for padlocking or TrackIR(If you are reading this and dont know what TrackIR your obviouslly VERY new to simming, Be warned ye noobs, this is a difficult game to get good at, have plenty of time on hand). But all the other little details in here outside of the graphics seem to immerse you do the point where you dont even notice the unamazing graphics.

Sound- I enjoy the sounds. the bombs falling off the rack make a nice thunk =) However the sound QUALITY is not too great, but still it was made in 1998 and once again all the elements of the game come together and immerse you and you dont even notice the small issues with the game, only time youll notice the really small issues is when you get some glitch that throws you outta that cockpit and back into your computer chair and you realise that its not real.

Basically F4:AF Is difficult, and complex, like the actual F-16, but thats what makes it so immersive. However I reccomend that your casual gamers not touch this, your brains might melt.



http://rapidshare.com/files/41303796/F4.0AFpart01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41303809/F4.0AFpart02.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41303782/F4.0AFpart03.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41304129/F4.0AFpart04.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41303862/F4.0AFpart05.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41303785/F4.0AFpart06.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41303781/F4.0AFpart07.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41303778/F4.0AFpart08.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41303793/F4.0AFpart09.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/41303764/F4.0AFpart10.rar