Top notch combat flight sim
Microprose is well known for its detailed and authentic military sims, with the likes of Gunship, M1 Tank Platoon and F19 - Stealth Fighter to its name. The Strike Eagle series is one of their most popular franchises, offering players the chance to jump into the cockpit of the legendary fighter plane and this third instalment is perhaps the best in the series. The game takes place across the world, with players experiencing combat zones in Iraq, North Korea and Panama, all of which are accurately modelled and highly detailed, with famous landmarks like the Presidential Palace in Baghdad represented in all their glory. Your plane is equipped with plenty of destructive weaponry, including Vulcan guns, missiles of various types and both free-fall and laser-guided bombs, while the intense missions on display here usually requiring the destruction of specific targets, with both primary and secondary objectives available. Strike Eagle III is a pretty impressive sim that holds up well today. Its focus is very much on full-on combat rather than super-realism, but it manages to feel authentic enough while providing the kind of thrills that arcade flying games like Afterburner cannot provide. The dogfights are fast and furious, with players really feeling like they are in the cockpit, and with the controls being nicely responsive and fluid, which makes flying highly accessible but complex to master. The graphics are pretty decent, with good levels of detail and a nice sense of speed, so all in all, if you are after a slick and enjoyable combat flight sim, this is a safe bet.