Superb 'lite' dogfighting thrills
This follow-up to the decent combat flight sim, F-22 Lightning II, adds little to the genre but remains a first-rate piece of flying action that provides all the intense dog-fighting thrills that fans demand. It's not going to please the hardcore flight sim crowd who enjoy the likes of Falcon, but if you are looking for an easy way into the genre, this is a good bet. As is usual with this type of thing, you're thrown into the cockpit of an awesome combat machine, in this case the F-22 Lightning, and must simply take on a variety of full-on missions where you'll be flying up against a variety of computer controlled pilots who are just itching to blow you from the skies. It's the missions themselves which provide much of the game's appeal as they are well-designed, complex and with so much variety that they are rarely less than completely engaging. As this isn't an overly authentic or detailed sim, it's pretty easy to get up in the sky and novices will soon be zooming around unleashing hell with their myriad weapons and finding out how much fun this kind of thing can be. F-22 also scores highly in the visuals department, with an impressive range of enemy fighter craft which are well modelled and with some great environments to enjoy if you can spare the time. Sound is similarly atmospheric and does a great at enhancing the sense of really being in the action so really, when you put all these things together you have what is a first-rate combat sim. As mentioned, it lacks the all-out complexity of Falcon 4.0 but if all you're looking for is a great time, you've come to the right place.
