iF-16 Demo

From time to time, old video games can remind you of how the subject was approached back in the day, when the market was much smaller and the fans were not set aback by a punishing difficulty level and were actually eager to have a hard time playing. Such was the case with niche genres as well, like AD&D role-playing games, or in this case, hardcore flight simulators.

iF-16 is a simulator that allows you to experience the thrill of flying an F-16 as fast as you can, while also making use of its extensive arsenal to accomplish a variety of missions around the world. Since the game was developed by the very same studio that created Apache Longbow, you can be certain of the fact that the subject was approached in a very serious manner and the simulation comes about as close to the real thing as it was possible with the technology available at that time.

Hence, the flight model is precise and difficult to master, which means that you have to pay close attention to your instrument panel if you want to remain at optimal speed at all times and avoid crashing. Speaking of which, the cockpit is incredibly detailed and it features a multitude of buttons and dials, not all of which are functional, of course, but they certainly improve a lot on the atmosphere of the game.

Since the F-16 is basically a fighter jet, the campaign and the missions themselves are combat-oriented, in the sense that you have to accomplish a variety of military objectives, such as taking down enemy fighter jets. Naturally, this usually turns into quite the intense dogfight up in the air, with you trying to both bring the enemy down and avoid being hit by his missiles at the same time.

On the subject of graphics, there isn't too much one could tell right now, other than the fact that they looked much better at the time of the release. Hence, considering that the game came out in 1996, it should come as no surprise that everything is is in very low resolution and the models themselves are far from detailed. It is worth noting, however, that the graphics were quite advanced for their time, especially since the planes were nicely drawn and the landscapes pretty wide and convincing.

Although you may stumble into trouble trying to run it on a modern PC, iF-16 is definitely worthy of a playthrough, if only to experience the flight simulation genre in its teens. Moreover, the realism might take you a bit by surprise, as well as the hardcore difficulty level and the confusing user interface.