
F-15 STRIKE EAGLE (Flight Combat Simulation)
Compatible: 64K Apple II+, IIe, IIc
Requirements: One disk drive, KB input, joystick optional


     The first time I tried "F-15 Strike Eagle" there was a strong temptation to add the diskette to my "open for future use" box. (How can anyone take a combat arcade with zilch for sound effects seriously?!)  But reviewers are supposed to play the games they write up, so I forced myself to study the "Flight Manual" (when all else fails...) and gave it another try.

    "'Flight Eagle" is flight simulation with teeth, in this case: machine guns, bombs, and air-to-air missiles. In each of seven mission scenarios your objective is to knock out the primary targets, plus as many secondaries as possible, and get back in one piece. Complementing the armament is an excellent cockpit display and one of the most comprehensive control systems you are likely to encounter anywhere. Effective leveling moves you smoothly from "rookie" milkruns through "ace", where enemy fighters are thick as flies and everything below seems to be one big SAM installation.

     There is something intrinsicly rewarding about mastering any complex new skill, and this, I suspect is the secret of "'Strike Eagle's" appeal. Admittedly, few arcades are as difficult to 'get into'; but once you take out your first primary, the game's got you. They'll have to pry your fingers off the stick.


Available from MicroProse: 120 Lakefront Drive, Hunt Valley, MD 21030. (301) 667-1151. $34.95


GRFX  S.M.  PLAY  DIFF  INTR  GAME
----------------------------------
 07    08    07    07    08    08
