Recommend a good combat flighting sim

[Sairus]

I don't want to fly passengers in Boieng's or a WW2 thearter but also I don't want a 500 page manual

Also is there a helicopter sim out there?

Recommendations?

[Malleus]

I'm not sure what you're looking for in Combat Sim games (how important is graphics, realism, etc.), and I'm not too informed on the sim front (I missed the Jane's games back then), but I can definitely recommend DID's F22 Total Air War. It's old (1999, maybe?) it not too reaistic, but definitely feels authentic, fun to play, and has a dynamic campaign system which provides almost unlimited replayability. And definitely doesn't need a 500 page manual.

The recent sims I checked (Lock On, Falcon4: Allied Force) has the 500 page manual syndrome, so I only recommend those if you're willing to spend much time learning the game (Lock On doesn't have dynamic campaign system so the replayability is limited - F4:AF on the other hand doesn't have this problem, because the dynamic campaign provides almost endless playtime).

As for helicopter sims, keep an eye on Lock On: Black Shark - but then again it will be very realistic from what I've seen from it, and it needs the original Lock On for it, and most likely will have starforce protection.

Also, you may want to consider Enemy Engaged: Commanche Hokum. It's a 1999 game, but the source code has been released in 2002, and the fanbase have been upgrading the game ever since. It now looks like a 2005 game, and has a lot of improvements, and fixes - definitely the best helicopter combat simulation ATM (has dynamic campaign too).

Edited September 18, 2006 by Malleus

[WhiteKnight77]

Unfortunately,the only recent flight sims featuring combat are wither WWII or have large manuals as Malleus noted. Lock-On and Falcon 4 series have a steep learning curve. Now if you want just a flying combat game, you could try the arcady Blazing Angels. It is available for both the PC and consoles. Yet it is still a WWII game.

Sorry that the choices are limited, but I really like the iL2 series. Download the demo and give it a whirl.

[Viper]

Personally am a huge fan and addict of Falcon 4.0 Allied Force. The learning curve is a bit steep and you don't get as good of eye candy as some other sims like LOMAC; but it is much more detailed and immersive than any other flight sim out there. Not even mentioning the fully dynamic campaigns ...

Clark

[Pritzl]

I know you said you don't want WWII suggestions, but you're seriously missing out if you don't get IL-2 1946. This is quite simply the most bang for the buck you could get in gaming period. For less than $50 you get some 300 aircraft, over 200 of which are flyable and because it encompasses all of WWII, including unknown theatres, you'll fly everything from the lowly P-11 Polish fighter to the formidable jets and concept aircraft that didn't even make it off the drawing board.