Flanker 2.0

The basic premise of the game is that you fly for the Russian air force and take part in a series of missions against any and all of Russia's enemies, including the USA.

There is also a mission editor which will allow for user generated missions and campaigns, which is always a plus, providing it is easy enough to use without a degree in AI...

Graphic Violence

Since the original game, the computing power available on desktops has increased dramatically, as has the power of 3D acceleration. With such improvements in technology it is only fair to assume that Flanker 2.0 has been designed to take advantage of it, and take advantage it will.

Graphically the game looks top notch, with all the aircraft and vehicles constructed out of very high polygon models. The texture maps used are also very detailed, and will certainly add a lot of realism to the game.

Another impressive graphical feature is the landscape. The hills and valleys roll gently by, and the tops of mountains can be seen poking through the clouds, all of which furthers the realistic look and feel of the game.

This may not be a ground breaking feature, but the implementation is certainly very impressive.

And as expected, the cockpit is (presumably) an exact copy of the real Su27 cockpit - it certainly looks the part, with all the indicators labelled in Russian!

Better Than The Real Thing?

So far the flight model seems to be fairly impressive, and no doubt accurate .. though since I've never flown a real Su-27 I can't really comment. ;)

With a good joystick / throttle combination it should be an armchair pilot's delight.

When playing a game of this genre there is a rather indefinable feeling about emerging from a loop, pulling a high G turn, and dropping in behind your enemy before releasing a salvo of missiles and watching him explode in a lethal ball of fire.

Very few flight combat games can give you a buzz from that kind of manoeuvre - Flanker 2.0 is one of them.

Look out for this one when it hits the shelves soon!