When you fire up the simulation, you can select to go for instant action, single missions, or the campaign itself. The single missions are designed to get you up to speed with the Super Hornet. You will need to run these missions several times until you are completely comfortable with everything within the jet’s cockpit. The cockpit includes weapons, menus, MDI operations, and communications. This is a sim that pleases the hard–core crowd, but also provides an excellent environment for the player who wishes to get into serious sim’ing.

The learning curve on this sim is pretty steep. I spent about 10 hours in the simulation before I started to feel comfortable with everything. It was definitely worth the work! I now fly missions, clicking and panning, and selecting dials, switches and buttons to perform the same work that a real F/A–18 pilot would have to do to complete the mission. It’s very rewarding to be able to complete all the tasks, complete the mission and put the plane back on the deck safely.

From the moment you catapult off the deck, the environment is totally awe inspiring. Night looks and feels just like, well, nightfall. The clouds are the most realistic clouds that I have ever seen in any combat flight sim. The special effects and explosions are also the best I’ve experienced in a flight sim. In short, the graphic effects are extraordinary. As an example: you’re flying a mission and your heads down in the cockpit — wisps of clouds float by and you feel as though you’re actually in the clouds. Flying a mission through a heavily defended area shooting SAM and AAA at you will have you starting to sweat as you target your weapons and deliver them with a most satisfying bang [hopefully!].

On the down side, to run F/A–18 in it’s full glory, you’ll need an extremely powerful computer. My system is an Athlon 650 MHz, 128MB RAM, and a Voodoo 3500. On full detail, max resolution, I was getting about 11 fps on average. On 800x600 with a few details turned down, I could get a steady 20 fps.

The learning curve is the other downside. I thoroughly enjoyed learning all about the Super Hornet, but it takes an investment of time and the desire to learn all the info. Lastly, one of the more annoying cons of the sim is the mission–ending dialog box that pops–up the second the mission is complete. You might be evading a SAM launch when the dialog pops up. This also has an adverse affect in multiplayer, with people accidentally hitting the ESC key in an attempt to clear the poop–up, only to realize this also forces them to exit the game!

Multiplayer is awesome! We had six people in cooperative missions and experienced excellent results. There is nothing like the "feel" of six Hornets on the deck of the carrier all ready to go to battle. You can fly any of the campaign missions as well as user–created missions using the powerful mission editor. The replay ability of this simulation is virtually endless.

SHEPARD SAYS
This simulation is definitely geared to the hardcore crowd, but it’s excellent graphics, superbly modeled avionics suite, and community involvement make this sim an excellent first hard core sim for the novice. Personally, I haven’t had this much fun in a simulation in a long time. From extreme late night sessions to rushing home from work, this simulation is a joy to fly solo or multiplayer. Learning the avionics is challenging, but very rewarding. This sim is destined to be a classic and it belongs in any virtual pilot’s ready room.

Overall Rating: A–

Electronic Arts’ website
Jane’s Combat Simulations website