Jane's Combat Simulations: USAF - United States Air Force
Description official description
Jane's Combat Simulations: USAF - United States Air Force is a multi-aircraft simulator that is built upon the engine of its predecessor, Israeli Air Force. As with other titles using the Jane's license, the focus of the game is in creating a realistic and believable military aircraft simulation. Hence, the game's controls and mechanics are elaborate, while all controls can be mapped to a voice command. It is also possible to give basic commands to wingmen, if they are present. While waypoints and refueling can be managed by the aircraft's autopilot, all such maneuvers can be done manually.
USAF is based on 8 different fighters and bombers of the United States Air Force: the F-4E Phantom II, F-105D Thunderchief, A-10A Thunderbolt II, F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C Fighting Falcon, F-117A Nighthawk, and the F-22A Raptor. In game modes other than the campaign, the MiG-29 is also available to the player. Each aircraft performs differently and is meant for different tasks, and can be seen from the cockpit (with 2D and 3D views available, and the possibility to look around from the pilot's perspective), from the outside (in a behind view or one of the cinematic views), or with just the HUD visible.
The game has four campaigns, two of which are historical (Vietnam War and Desert Storm), and the other two (Red Arrow and Sleeping Giant) being fictional and set in a hypothetical future. Tutorials are extensive, while separate tutorials exist under the umbrella term "Red Flag", which note more demanding tasks and can not be reached at the lowest rank. The player's progress and rank is recorded in their profile, with each mission's success or failure affecting their score. Scoring itself can be changed by setting various difficulties and "aids", with AI help removing score percentages but making the game easier for newcomers.
Aside from the campaigns, there are preset single scenarios, as well as a quick mission editor which the player can use to manually set the parameters of a desired air-to-air skirmish (whereas the campaigns have both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions). There is also a Fly Now! button in the main menu, which randomly picks a mission from a small mission pool and puts the player in a random plane. These missions can have the same settings/landscapes as the missions in the campaigns: United States (Nellis Air Force base), Germany, Vietnam, and Iraq. The game comes bundled with a User Mission Editor application as well. USAF has a multiplayer mode available via LAN and JanesCombat.Net (which has since been discontinued).
Finally, the signature feature of Jane's-licensed games is the in-game encyclopaedia, which is present in USAF and lists and describes in detail not only the aircraft the player can pilot or shoot at, but also all other objects that can be encountered in the game, as well as missiles that aircraft can be armed with.
Spellings
- 美國空軍 - Traditional Chinese spelling
Groups +
- Aircraft: A-10 Thunderbolt II
- Aircraft: F-117 Nighthawk
- Aircraft: F-15 Eagle
- Aircraft: F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Aircraft: F-22 Raptor
- Aircraft: F-4 Phantom II
- Aircraft: MiG-29 Fulcrum
- Aircraft: Republic F-105 Thunderchief
- EA Classics releases
- Games that include map/level editor
- Historical conflict: Persian Gulf War
- Historical conflict: Vietnam War
- Jane's Combat Simulations
- Jane's Combat Simulations Fighters series
- Setting: 1960s
- Setting: 1990s
Screenshots
Promos
Credits (Windows version)
196 People (177 developers, 19 thanks) · View all
Creative Director | |
Executive Producer | |
Producer | |
Technical Directors |
|
Game Design | |
Art Director | |
Simulation | |
Flight Models - Lead | |
Flight Models | |
Multiplayer | |
GUI - Lead | |
GUI | |
A/I | |
Graphic Engine - Lead | |
Graphhic Engine | |
[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 83% (based on 17 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 6 ratings with 0 reviews)
Be the first to review this game!
Discussion
Subject | By | Date |
---|---|---|
Graphics glitches | darkpilot (992) | Jan 6, 2011 |
Possibility of updating this game. | Delbert Johnson | Feb 4, 2009 |
Analytics
Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings and price history! (when applicable)
Identifiers +
Contribute
Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.
Contributors to this Entry
Game added by William Shawn McDonie.
Additional contributors: CaesarZX.
Game added July 18, 2001. Last modified April 22, 2024.