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Falcon 4.0

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: November 30, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This game is very impressive at first sight featuring stunning graphics and realistic gameplay. However, the campaign is full of bugs and almost impossible to really play. Microprose has put out patches but they haven't fixed anything. This is a cool game, but it needs some work

falcon 4.0

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: December 04, 1999
Author: Amazon User

overall, this is a great sim, but with alot of things that need to be aware of. first off, u cant just fire it up and expect to wack a bogey. with as much detail to realism that there is, this is no ordinary flight sim. as in a real f-16, certain controls work certain functions. u cant use ground radar to target aircraft and vice versa. u must set down and thoroughly read and re-read the book just to even figure out part of all the functions on this bird. u need to bring up the ground radar, target a building, then figure out how to arm the bombs or mavericks...no book? uh oh, have fun figurin it out. other issues: u MUST have a minumum of a 16 meg video card with this game. 8 megs might run it, but may be choppy. missions tend to load up slow. instead of helping u learn how to arm weapons and set up a shot, the training missions dont help u out at all. PLUS'es: beautiful graphics, crisp handling, and great detail. bummer's: gotta have a pretty heavy duty video card, and u need to read the manual for about a month or two to figure out what u are doing

The Ultimate Hardcore Sim

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: December 09, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I have owned and played Falcon 4.0 for a year now. It is certainly not for the casual sim user, in fact I find it to be the absolute most realistic sim experience I've ever had. It took a while to learn the ins and outs, actually I still am. It's a constant learning experience, I still get shot down on campain missions occasionaly, miss the target on occation etc. And of course the graphics are amazing as well. I would highly recomend this game to anyone who is looking for an extreme challenge in flight simulation.

Flawed perfection

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: January 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

First off get the current patch (1.08). Without it Falcon 4 is a buggy dung heap. Second the system requirements are too low. Start with the "HOT" system. Anything less will be anticlimactic. Patched and running on a HOT system, Falcon 4 is the beautiful, challenging, and exhilerating. At max resolution it is stunning.

The training engagements should be considered a requirement; the SAMs are deadly, the enemy aircraft intelligent, and the flight model is unforgiving. I have yet to be able to use the most realistic avionic settings; Some day. This is a fantastic example of a pure hardcore flightsim. I love the challenge. This one has finally pushed EF2000 off my hard drive.

By the way I would have given the game 5 stars if it had been released in its current patched version. It's a shame we wind up doing playtesting for companies.

Give This Sim A Break...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: January 21, 2000
Author: Amazon User

While searching for a good flight sim to add to my library, I read customer reviews of Falcon 4.0 on Amazon.com, was disappointed to see so many low ratings it got, then decided I should give up the 20 bucks to find out for myself.

I haven't scratched the surface of this sim yet as far as missions and AI, although I know what to expect, having flown versions 2.0 and 3.0. I came back to put in a good word for Falcon 4.0. However it seems David Smallwood's review beat me to the punch! I second his opinion....

Let's put it this way: If you're serious about recreating a hyper-realistic flying experience and not just playing a game, this is the sim to get. Granted, it may have been buggy before; I don't know. I downloaded the upgrade only a week after original purchase. It makes it work. Period.

The game is gorgeous, there are scads of infinately detailed switches and dials to set, the flight model is like butta', the views are beautiful, the sounds are terrific, the interface is good and the price is a no-brainer.

And you know what's the best part of this program? These days when you're lucky to get a 6-page installation guide with gaming software, MicroProse assembles the best set of documentation I've ever seen in the classic 'Buy the manual, get the software free' style: almost 300 pages tucked in a 'Squadron Leader Special Edition' three-ring binder with laminated tabbed sections dividers, a separate cadet quick-learning guide, a beautiful reference chart, and full-color map of Korea.... all for the ridiculously low price of under $19.95!

My advice if you're addicted to flight: pick this box up and getcher butt in flight school. It's going to take a lot of studying.

For the record, my PC is a 450MHz, with 128MB SDRAM, an 8MB videocard with Voodoo 2 3Dfx accelerator and MS Sidewinder Pro Force Feedback joystick. With this configuration I can run all the settings at full bore and it's sweet.

Looks good, plays terrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: January 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game even after reading about all the bugs and crashes, hoping that somewhere under all the problems I could find the great sim that Microprose advertised. Big mistake. Even with the lates 1.08 patch, this game crashes to the desktop about half the time. It seems there is a hardware conflict with just about every device known. And even a PIII 450 with 96RAM and a Viper 550 card can't keep up with frame rates in campaign mode, even with graphics set at medium-it's more like watching a slide show. The real problem is that even after patching, getting the update for the patch, reading the confusing manual cover to cover several times, flying the lame training missions (you'll have to read the instructions for each mission as you fly, as there is no on screen directions), and spending endless hours "mastering" the avionics and weapons systems, the game is still not only frustrating, but borders on unplayable. Communications will instruct you to attack and enemy, give you a range and bearing, but the enemy will not be there. And when an enemy is right behind you? The tower will tell you the "picture is clear". I spent days just trying to find out what I was supposed to be TRYING to do. Oh yeah, and if you choose to use the new patch to fix some of the bugs (plenty still exist), you will not have force feedback at all. I'll admit, the graphics are great, the manual looks good, but when you consider that Hasbro aquired Microprose and forced them to release the product in an unfinished state, it makes you wonder why you should be paying to test what is really a beta version product.

Falcon 4 news and info...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Falcon 4 is the pinnacle of realism. The fact that it is sodifficult, and takes months to learn, is a testament to howrealisticly modern fighter combat has been modeled. Every true simmer will admit that no other game on the market has or will come close to Falcon 4 in immersive realism.

I have been playing Falcon 4 since its release over a year ago. Yes there are bugs but the patches do work. Many of the bugs are driver related. So be sure to install the latest drivers from your 3D card manufacturer.

It is important to mention that Hasbro, the new evil empire and unfortunately the owner of Microprose, has decided to no longer support Falcon 4. Apparently Hasbro feels that the combat sim market is too insignificant to justify their continued investment. They have therefore disbanded the development team. So no future development, or bug fixes are planned. This is indeed a shame. Falcon 4 is the most advanced, realistic and ambitious flight sim ever created, and we will not see it's equal for many years. END

1+ years old and still the best sim out there...............

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: February 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

OK, you definitely need to patch this puppy to the 1.08 version when you install it. But it still reeks of realism, it's something you're not going to be bored of in a couple of months. I still don't feel like I have complete mastery of the sim yet. Time after time, I am humbled by this game. And,as with every undertaking of this magnitude, it's always not going to have 100% stability or the gameplay may fall short of perfection. My hope is that Microprose/Hasbro will continually support this game for the years to come. It could be just that great in a couple more revisions! At less than $20, it's really a steal. The sims coming out right now (like Jane's F/A-18) are not even close to Falcon 4.0 at revision 1.08. Caution: people with no patience for a big learning curve should steer clear of this game. The manual is over 400 pages! You're not going to be an ace within a couple of weeks. Frustration and death are going to be the norms when you are just getting into the pilot's seat!

The only sim you would ever need

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 12, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Well what can i say but this is the best game.First of alleverything about the game is so accurate except for a few things.Youmay need the patches but that just improves the game by so much. I know real pilots that say the game is so accurate that it is scary.If you think about buying janes f-18,don't even think about it,i bought it right when it came out and played it twice and put it back in the box wishing i never bought it.That game is not even close to accurate.

A distinguished piece of work

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 16, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is a wonderful, wonderful simulation. Hugely ambitious, it was released a bit too early with too many bugs. The patch (available for download free from the company's site) fixes any of the problems I found.

One of the most incredible simulation experiences ever. The fully dynamic campaign is a wonder to behold. The user manual is excellent.

Only one (very minor) criticism: the music on the setup screens seems to be a derivation of the guitar music they had on Top Gun, which is somewhat obnoxious. However, you can turn this off.

I would rate this game a 9.9 out of 10. Outstanding in almost all respects. I wish all sims were made this way.

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