78 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
78 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
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F-18 HORNET
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F-18 HORNET is a single-player, arcade/action flight simulator from Absolute
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Entertainment and Mediagenic. Designed and written by John Van Ryzin, HORNET
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features ten missions, solid 3-dimensional graphics, and joystick control. The
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Commodore 64 version is the basis of this review.
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Obviously, F-18 HORNET is a cockpit game. The goals of the missions are to
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destroy targets or drop supply payloads, refuel when necessary, and reach the
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designated endpoint. During the missions, you'll do battle with tanks,
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helicopters, and Russian MiGs. You can do some sightseeing, and attempt some
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dangerous maneuvers to prove your courage. Unfortunately, this F-18 doesn't
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handle all that well: Both craft and scenery respond sluggishly, making what
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should be an exhilarating Mach-2 cruise feel like that bad childhood dream in
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which Tyrannosaurus Rex (or Freddy Krueger) is chasing you, and your feet are
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mired in soggy marshmallows.
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Following the title screen, a world map appears. Moving the joystick cycles
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through the ten available missions. On selecting a mission with the button,
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you'll be informed of the location and goal of the mission. Mission 1 is for
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training; no enemies will attack. Other missions take place in Europe, Southeast
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Asia, Central America; Bering, Mediterranean, and Yellow Seas; Pacific and
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Arctic Oceans; and the Persian Gulf.
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The C64 screen display consists of the cockpit of an F-18/A Hornet: altimeter,
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air speed, horizontal, and vertical indicators, fuel and engine thrust gauges,
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missile availability, and threat radar. These displays are rendered as gauges
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and as digital read-outs. When a target comes into view, the Heads Up Display
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(HUD) device appears. Indicator lamps reveal targets within firing range, and
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fired missiles locked on their targets.
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Outside the cockpit window lies scrolling, solid-modeled, 3-D scenery: runways,
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bridges, aircraft carriers, hangars, mesas, buildings, Russian MiGs, tanks, and
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helicopters.
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Although no HORNET mission is limited by time, a score can be achieved and is
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based on six factors: completion of a mission, targets destroyed, successful
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delivery of a payload, attempting difficult maneuvers, your condition and the
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condition of your craft at the end of a mission, and the "textbook" quality of
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your landing on the deck of a carrier. Based on relative success of these
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factors, the results of a mission earn rankings ranging from AWOL to Top Gun.
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HORNET is controlled with a joystick, which works as both the throttle and
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control yoke. You can start the engine and increase the throttle either on the
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ground or in the air; you can also decrease the throttle in the air, and
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reverse-thrust on the ground. The button fires missiles, and you can make th
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craft bank, dive, and climb using the stick.
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Keystrokes perform various functions: abort the current game and return to the
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Mission Selection screen; eject the pilot; open the cargo bay doors and drop a
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supply payload; and control the landing gear.
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The instruction manual in the HORNET game package is clear and concise, and
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includes overviews of the ten missions, as well as maps and intelligence
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reports.
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Although you're in a cockpit, the craft flies, and there's scenery, it's
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probably incorrect to describe F-18 HORNET as a flight simulator. The game i
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nicely put together, the graphics are clear, and the solid-modeled scenery looks
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good. The handling of the craft, however, leaves much to be desired. Worse,
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there is no such thing as turning in flight: In order to return to your starting
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location, you must land safely, turn around on the ground, then take off again.
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Handling in flight is not smooth; though the scenery moves in response to
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banks, dives, and climbs, it doesn't seem to correspond well to the Mach speeds
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at which the Hornet is moving. The missions offer varying degrees of difficulty,
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and neat opportunities to fly through hangars at full throttle and land on
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aircraft carriers and mesas.
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F-18 HORNET has solid looks but not much playability.
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F-18 HORNET is published by Absolute Entertainment and distributed by
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Mediagenic.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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