F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER

 Microprose beat the United States Air Force by a couple of months in releasing
the Stealth Fighter. Never mind that the USAF calls it the EF117-A; the mission
is radar evasion. F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER is an unusual air combat simulator. It is
also one of the best.

 This review is based on the IBM-PC/compatibles version. I tested F-19 STEALTH
FIGHTER on a GenTech 386/20 with Everex VGA card and Mitsubishi Diamond Scan
monitor. I used a CH Products Mach IV joystick as the aircraft maneuvering
interface.

 F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER is a departure from the usual air combat simulator. An
aircraft that presents a small radar image must compromise on flight
performance. The F-19 is not a hot combat jet like the Tomcat, Eagle, or
Fighting Falcon. It is a subsonic jet designed to get in and out of combat with
little chance of being detected.

 Standard U.S. Air Force and Navy tactical doctrine requires combat pilots to
fight as teams. However, a Stealth Fighter would logically fight alone.
Microprose designed true, one-man missions for the F-19. Pilots who can avoi
combat and detection until absolutely necessary are the most successful.

 The airplane itself is a low performance strike-fighter, almost an attack
plane. Its military role is clandestine operations. No sane Stealth pilot would
provoke open combat with the more highly maneuverable Warsaw Pact fighters. The
intelligent approach is to sneak up and surprise attack.

 The opening screens of F-19 eventually display a roster of pilots. After
selecting an existing pilot or creating a new one, there are five choices to
customize the mission. Theatres of war include Libya, Persian Gulf, North Cape
(USSR near Scandinavia), and Central Europe. Conventional war, limited war, or
cold war are the possible rules of engagement. Mission types combine strike
(ground targets) or air-to-air , training or real. Your opponents can be green,
regulars, veterans, or elites. Landings can be realistic, easy, or "no crashes."
Each option affects the mission's risk factor, displayed at the bottom of the
screen. From green Libyan pilots to elite Warsaw Pact aces, the challenge can be
made easy or very difficult.

 The action shifts to a briefing room, where the details of the mission are
explained. A map of the theatre shows primary and secondary targets. A menu
selects additional information to be displayed: radars, air bases, missile
sites, and ground troop concentrations. Surveying the situation improves the
odds for survival.

 The armament menu presents choices of fourteen air-to-ground weapons, two
air-to-air missiles, extra fuel, and a camera for reconnaissance missions. The
F-19 has only four weapons bays, so the mission objectives narrow the payload
choices. Some weapons fit two, three, or four to a bay. The documentation has a
detailed chart of ordnance effectiveness against various targets.

 There is a menu that allows you to review the briefing, change weapons, or
choose a new mission before taking off. But now it's time to climb into the
cockpit!

 As in most jet fighter simulators, there is a head-up display (HUD) in front of
the canopy. Airspeed, heading, and altitude are graphically and digitally
displayed along the left, top, and right edges of the HUD. There are status
indicators for armament selected, gun rounds, G-forces, brakes, and flaps.
Targets appear as boxes, and the size and color of the box show weapon
effectiveness.

 The rest of the F-19 cockpit represents state-of-the-art electronic warfare.
Two mini CRTs control the navigation and target acquisition systems. The
navigation system guides the pilot to the mission objectives and back to base. A
unique target finder, called the tracking camera, locks on to air or ground
targets. Once locked, the tracam screen displays distance and bearing, as well
as speed for airborne targets. The tracam and the HUD blink rapidly when the
target is in range of the selected weapon.

 Radar evasion is an integral part of this game called Stealth. Between the two
mini CRTs is a device called the Electro-Magnetic Visibility Scale, or EMV. This
bar-graph gauge shows the intensity of your radar signature to the enemy. The
strengths of enemy radar search signals also appear as bars on the EMV. Overlap
of the search radar bar on the radar signature bar means you have been detected.

 Radar evasion requires strategic flying. There are two types of radar, called
pulse and Doppler. Pulse radar finds planes by the strength of their
reflections. Doppler radar finds planes by detecting motion either toward or
away from the radar source. By flying straight at pulse radar (to minimize
reflection size), and at a constant distance from Doppler radar (to minimize the
"Doppler shift"), it is possible to lower the chances of being identified.

 The missions are classified as either strike or air-to-air. The objectives of a
typical strike mission might be to destroy a terrorist camp, deliver Stinger
missiles to a guerilla group, or photograph a bridge for an air strike.
Air-to-air mission objectives could be to destroy a commando transport plane or
an IL-76 airborne command post. There are approximately fifty different mission
targets.

 Medals and promotions are awarded for completing missions successfully.
Missions are rated on a point scale. The greater the risk factor (as determined
by theatre and enemy skill level) the greater the point rating. Microprose
doesn't document the points award algorithm.

 I found F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER to be an easy game to learn. The documentation is
excellent. A keyboard overlay makes it a snap to find the numerous function keys
(novice computer fighter pilots will appreciate this feature). The training
missions stress basic flying and weapons usage. Autopilot can fly the plane to
each of its objectives as new pilots concentrate on learning all the aircraft's
systems.

 Now, after flying over 100 missions, I am still intrigued by the program. There
are enough combinations of enemy skill, mission type, theatre, and levels of
conflict to prevent boredom. Even though the graphics are low (320 x 200)
resolution, the drawing routines are fast and detailed. I was unable to run VGA
mode on the Everex board, but EGA worked fine.

 The sounds Microprose created for F-19 are impressive, especially considering
the limited capabilities of the PC. The jet engines, missile launches, warning
klaxons, and squeal of the tires on touchdown are the best I've heard on a
PC-based flight simulator. I also should mention that the game is copy-protected
in two flavors: key disk and documentation lookup. (I won't add my personal
feelings about copy protection to this review.)

 There are a few bugs in F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER, but overall, the quality of the
game is good. My biggest complaint is the lack of an artificial horizon ball in
this marvelous cockpit. I sometimes become disoriented during twisting, turning
dogfights, and can't "get the blue side up" (straight and level flight) in time
to avoid a crash. The ILS is somewhat inaccurate, but the tracam can line up the
runway instead. I feel there is too big a skill difference between regular and
veteran enemies. I have not fought elites as of this writing.

 For the computer jet jock who wants to try something really different and
challenging, try F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER. It will entertain you for a long time.

 F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER is published and distributed by Microprose Software.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253