Reviewed by Martin Goldstein
….And From Nowhere…there came death… So says the attractive wall paper offered by DID at their F22 web page. What do they mean by that? Well…..if you happen to be an F22 ADF pilot, chances are good that you’ll be able to see and shoot your foe before he ever knew he was in trouble. We all know that there are a slew of F22 simulations available. So what makes F22 ADF so special? Does anyone remember F19 Stealth Fighter by Microprose? I owned this sim before I even owned a machine to run it on…..the 286 came later. Well, half the fun of this ground breaking effort (16 color graphics) was that you could fly around undetected from your enemies so long as you kept your emissions down by flying slowly and making gentle turns. You could fly right under the nose of the guys looking to shoot you down. You just observed the "stealthy" gauges to make sure you were being "quiet" in a radar sense. You dropped your load on target and high tailed it home….always remaining stealthy….It’s been a while since flight sims have allowed that kind of self monitoring but here comes F22 ADF. In a nutshell, the F22 uses stealth technology to remain undetected longer than its enemies, and the pilot is capable of adjusting emissions from active sensors and jammers by adjusting the EMCON level….that is, the F22’s emission control level. Not to be boring, but I think this is important; the F22 receives target information from active and passive sensor suites both on board and from data links from other aircraft, such as AWACS. The Pilot is thus offered an overall picture of his situation without having to give his position away by cranking up his radar. For the first time, an F22 simulation features adjustable EMCON levels that determine just how stealthy he can be at any given moment during a mission. As you or the on board computer turn up the emcon levels from 1 to 5, each successive level increases the situational awareness and targeting capability. At the same time, the F22’s stealthiness becomes less and less as more systems are turned on. In general, the computer decides what EMCON level you need at any given time, but you can override this to remain as stealthy as you like….deciding whether this is a good time to engage or not. What’s more, the F22 ADF pilot can actually monitor the radar sensors of his potential targets. Doing so allows the F22 to fly around the bad guy’s radar cones. As you turn or speed up, you actually see your enemy's radar cones change shape…..growing larger as your presence becomes easier to detect. Check out the screen shot to see what I mean.
Simply put, the graphics are stunning. Currently, the only other sim in its league would be Longbow II, yet F22 still outperforms even this hot seller. Played at 800 by 600, the virtual cockpit is the smoothest and most detailed suite ever made available to the home user. While JSF, another recent entry into the market is similar in appearance, the MFD’s and cockpit detail in F22 set it apart from the crowd. It’s entirely possible to play a mission with nothing more than the working MFDs found in the virtual cockpit. They are readable, workable, mini replicas of the MFDs that can be brought up as full screen individuals when greater clarity for targeting the enemy is needed. While you can’t use the virtual cockpit MFDs to actively target an enemy you can certainly track them and change the ranges by zooming in and out. This can be accomplished while still being able to look out of the cockpit so as to maintain your orientation. The result….the ultimate in situational awareness. When needed, F22 ADF features a superior Padlock view that toggles between internal and external padlocked views of your tracked targets. Maintaining orientation by alternating these two views is no less than intuitive. Further, there is a threat padlock that will pick up an incoming missile…..problem is, by the time you see it, you’re toast. Missile dodging is best done by tracking them on one of the MFDs. As for the color palette, it is more pleasing than the drab EF2000 color scheme. Colors are more natural and varied. One glitch which I think may be a play on realism is the frequent darkening of the cockpit when turned into or towards the sun. It becomes difficult to read the MFDs. Turning your ship will bring the cockpit back into view….kind of a nuisance that I would like to see addressed in a patch. As for frills, smoke is well done as are the jet trails that roll off of your wings. These same trails are also visible on your targets making them a bit easier to see when they zoom by you. Explosions are also done nicely both in the air and on the ground. They are highly detailed and seem to satisfy the moment. As in EF2000, damaged planes look great, with pieces missing and smoke billowing off of the fuselage while bullets often leave their mark. One interesting scene I encountered involved bailing out in the midst of an exploding fuselage…(timing is everything)….as I careened towards the ground, pieces of my plane floated around me like confetti….nice effect.
With respect to sound, I have mixed emotions. This is in part due to a bug that causes sound and music to stutter. It’s a known flaw and seems to be related to the 3DFX card. Some cures have been listed by DID but it still persists for many. Fortunately, it does not detract from the game. With respect to music, a rather boring new age synthesized chord plays in the background. It’s not bad but adds little to the game. The sound effects themselves are well done…..good explosions, guns, and engine sounds, although there isn’t that powerful afterburner kick-in that we’ve come to know and love in other sims. DID has turned it up a notch with respect to Doppler and positional sound effects. When your wingie pulls near you, you’ll hear him on the side that he appears on. When you pull close to your refueler, you’ll hear the roar of the jet engines as you close. Switching to outside views will carry over these effects. Voice signals from Bitchin Betty are clear and distinct, while your wingman and tower voice communications are a bit garbled and low in volume…..fortunately, they are also written a top the screen so you do get the message. Some users have reported not being able to make out these voices at all. One other note: the sound heard when taking a hit is fairly gut wrenching…..the one heard before you blow is even more notable….these are well done. Were it not for that sound stutter we’d be talking another 10 but the garble effect brings it down …..good but not outstanding….
Well….here’s where DID encounters controversy with a design decision...Yes the game is fun….but...the campaigns are composed of scripted missions. They need to be carried out to the letter or you just don’t get to play the next mission. A blatant "failed" is posted over your attempt to complete the XYZ mission while the following mission has a blatant "denied" stamped on it. Brings you back to a Novalogic type sim such as Commanche 3 or F22 Lightning. Missing is the dynamic campaign that branches ala Falcon 3 or the latest incarnation of EF2000 not to mention LB2. Not to worry, DID promises Total Air War (TAW) this spring that will add all this good stuff much as they added to EF 2000 with Tactcom. No doubt this planned strategy allowed DID to get this sim out in time for the holidays knowing full well that their user base would take F22ADF anyway they served it…..and…..would gladly buy TAW when it too appeared on the shelves. Hey….business is business. F22 ADF does feature a marathon Quick Combat module that if flown from start to finish could take five hours. It involves proceeding to a series of way points, taking out critical ground targets before moving on to the next one, while blowing away the air cover as you proceed. Your stores are replenished as you take out the ground targets. I haven’t spent much time with it, but it is a quick way to get up and fighting….the odds, however, are somewhat overwhelming. Your success each time is measured by a points total and logged. F22 ADF also features a complete simulator module that hones all the skills you will need to succeed during the campaigns, including use of your wing man and air to air tactics. An interesting category found in the simulator would be the AWACS missions……that’s right…you’re up and running in an AWACS jet monitoring the positions of your fighter squadrons as well as the enemies. You can vector your guys to intercept their guys as you see fit and if you get itchy, jump into the cockpit of any F22 not already in combat and take some of the enemy out yourself. Just click on the F22 that you wish to pilot. When you’re done, you can hop right back into the AWACS and see how goes the battle…..This module is fun and no doubt will be expanded upon when TAW hits the streets….the AWACS missions can also be found sprinkled in the campaign module. Incidentally, there is no way to adjust your loadout, nor is their a mission planner. One can move waypoints once airborne as long as it doesn’t interfere with your mission objectives. As an aside, Eidos’ JSF , heralded as a superb intermediate sim, steps right up and offers these features giving you full control of how you wage the war…..but that’s another review. I should mention that DID has made it possible for those less interested in the total experience to have the autopilot do such mundane chores as taking off, refueling and landing. These can be selected from a well done autopilot MFD. F22 ADF also features an ACMI module, that is, an air combat maneuvers instrumentation module. I haven’t seen one of those since Falcon 3.0. This allows you to record your action and play it back in schematic form with a 3D perspective so that you can see how it was that you were so easily blown away. It works well but takes some time to get oriented. Multiplayer……..yes, there is a multiplayer module that currently features nine cooperative missions (so I’m told). While I haven’t hooked up I’ve read on the flight sim news groups that it works well for some and not well for others. If you go to the DID web site and click on the chat button you’ll see all kinds of would be pilots just aching for a fight. DID does not have a its own dedicated server to unite F22 pilots (as does Novalogic) but you can locate playmates at its web site. Another aside, if you haven’t noticed, Novalogic, the "casual player" sim make,r has put together a highly easy way to dogfight online with the release of F22 Raptor. It features NovaWorld, and online service that is just point, click and you’re on the runway ready to take on the world….and it’s free. Now that’s innovative. The options screen of F22 allows one to select easy, medium or hard difficulty levels. This certainly irons out some of those early jitters when one is just learning the sim. After all is said and done, scripted missions or not, F22 ADF is fun to play for several reasons. First, as said before, this is the best cockpit implementation one can find in today’s market. It’s just plain fun to exercise your muscle here. Coupled with the gorgeous views you have a winner before you ever take off. The enemy AI is good…..played at the medium or hard levels, you’ll be tested. There has been a complaint that the time from lock on to missile firing from sams is too short and thus not fair. Apparently, DID agreed and is addressing this in a soon to be released patch. Second, the feeling of being involved in combat is made very real by the sound effects, voices, and warning klaxons, creating that little bit of tension turned to panic-when you need to drop what you were doing and dodge a missile. It seems to keep me coming back, as does the variety of ways to play. Even the training modules are fun and challenging. In summary I have to give F22 a 9.0 on game play and AI……While many object to the way missions are scripted, this feature, albeit limiting, opens up the game to many less experienced users who would be overwhelmed by too much autonomy….Let’s face it, mission planning, way point selection, load out selection etc. etc. are not for the majority of gamers. The newbie pilot could choke on these before he ever flew his first sortie. The TAW addition will certainly take F22 ADF to the next level with respect to complexity.
So long as you don’t get put off by having to chain those campaign missions together, there is plenty to come back for. Play it easy, then play it hard…..Want to hone your skills? Become an expert at using the ACMI module. Yep….there’s plenty to do. F22 ADF should be on your hard drive at least until TAW shows up
F22 ADF’s docs package is best described as solid. The primary manual, though a bit repetitious, covers most of what you need to know and is for a change, well illustrated. That is, the diagrams are highly legible. In addition to its manual, the user receives a well done three-fold, quick reference card, as well as a complimentary copy of Allies and Adversaries, a soft cover coffee table type reference journal that covers most of the air power that you’ll encounter( while playing the game) and then some…a nice little bonus. Enough said.
Once you’re past the title screen, (no flashy videos here) you are greeted by a lazy Susan style menu of choices, allowing the user to select which module to begin….ie Quick Combat, Simulator, Tour of Duty, etc…..The options module can also be found here. Speaking of options, I neglected to mention that F22 ADF actually runs smoother in 800 by 600 than 640 by 480…..go figure. Once you’ve selected a module, you are briefed and can click on the old OK to start the mission. It’s straight forward and works well. The screens themselves are colorful and pleasing to the eye. While the recommended stick is the Thrustmaster F22, any old stick with a hat will do, so long as you don’t mind the keyboard to switch your views. The hat by-default will move your cockpit views around as well as your outside views. The other four buttons take care of primary functions such as weapon selection and creating a target list. An analog throttle wheel or hotas will enhance play and is well implemented in this sim. Configuration files for Thrustmaster products are included on the CD…..DID and TM have always had a thing going. CH seems to be left out here. While I own both a CH hotas and a Saitek hotas, I have been using the MS Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro. It was easy to program the essential views into the stick’s base buttons, such as padlock and external view toggles. Holding down its shift button allows me to bring up the essential MFDs for a quick scan of the situation. The throttle wheel works just fine as does the built in rudder…(the stick can be twisted). While force feedback is currently not supported, the stick still has a lively feel to it due to the motors that control its centering. One more aside…..F22ADF can be played successfully by learning a relatively small number of keys and views. This really helps to make it easy to pick up. A brief mention of the flight model as no flight sim review is complete without it…..Those in the know, that is, the hard core flight sim gurus seem to feel that ADF feels right. To quote Denny Atkin of Computer Gaming World in his recent review (March 98)…."Speed bleed in turns, performance changes at altitude, and the capabilities of various aircraft all seem right on." In summary, I’ve yet to hear of any major or wide spread complaints regarding control in F22.
Well….If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a strong supporter of this product. F22 ADF is gorgeous to look at and is easy to learn to play. DID took great strides to make its latest effort fun. They admit in the manual that some levels of realism have been compromised to enhance game play. I appreciate that, since I spend time with these products to be entertained. If you’re a veteran flight simmer (kinda like me) don’t miss this one, and if you’re new to the genre, don’t worry, you’ll be up and flying quickly. By the way, I learned yesterday that a patch is due out soon from DID to handle some of the niggling criticisms and bugs that have been noted…..so F22 ADF can only get better. Check Six……..
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Here are some screenshots.
Over the coast
from the cockpit
external of the F22
heading into the sun
MFD's
Go to Screenshotz page for more F22 ADF pics
