Overview

AirForce Delta is a game that will appeal to anyone who has ever wanted to fly some of the most sophisticated and lethal jets in the world. Flying through the clouds at mach speed and unloading your payload of missiles at the bad guys is always a great theme. AirForce Delta is a flying game that involves combat; thus, it automatically has a fan base for lovers of this type of game.

Gameplay

Enter Konami's Air Force Delta. While I wouldn't exactly call it a direct air simulation, it finds its niche somewhere in the middle ground between 3D arcade shooters and hard-core simulations.

In the case of AirForce Delta, the best way to describe the gameplay would be by direct comparison. If you have ever played Ace Combat on the PlayStation, you will have yourself a pretty good idea of how this game handles and operates. The two games have so many similarities it's almost frightening, right down the word "Bingo" flashing across your screen when you splash a bogey.

Starting with the standard F-5 Tiger, it's the Duke equivalent of the handgun. Nothing special. Get some cash, though, and you'll soon be piloting an F-4 or a MiG-21. Some of the jet fighters on offer are exceptionally well designed. They look and sound the part, and to control and fight in, are something else.

Choosing an internal view - one of the many on offer - gives you various extra gauges and misc accessories on-screen. There are many types of aircraft on offer, including combat planes such as the F-14 and the RF-M Rafale. Choppers also play a large part in the game's many missions and make a welcome line in variety.

There is some variety to be had in the gameplay, though. Most notable is the vast selection of planes -- around 30. When you complete a mission, you are paid. The purpose of money in Air Force Delta is to buy new and better planes -- If you crash them all, you lose. What's nice here is that all of the aircraft do handle differently. With different armaments, there is significant importance in choosing the correct craft for the right occasion.

This game is all about playing solo. Essentially you are a one-man army; although you are affiliated with Loconia, they offer no assistance to you at all. It's you and your fleet of jets against a horde of enemy fighters and other anti-aircraft devices.

Graphics & Sound

The game is graphically appealing but not quite as good as I think it could have been. The planes are the visual high point. With working flaps and tail rudders, they are a sight to behold. They look almost as excellent and impressive as their real-life counterparts. Decals, camouflage and other details added to the jets defiantly helped with the realism. When the missions are over, the game proceeds to show a replay of your entire battle. The landscapes are decent enough, but the explosions are terrible; it seems explosions taken by a standard 32-bit game.

The music in AirForce Delta is, in essence, a mixture of techno and rock. Giving the game an almost "Top Gun" kind of quality. All the tracks are long and non-repetitive, and some of them are just plain good tunes that increase the thrill of your aerial hunt. The sound effects are also excellent, from the "Baa-Booom!!" of a destroyed enemy target to the sound of enemy machine guns ripping holes through the side of your fuselage. Also, the thundering sound of a jet passing near to your own does a compelling job of reminding you just how close you came to a mid-air collision. Great stuff.

Conclusion

Konami has handed in a top-notch action game that is as much of a shooter as it is a flight sim, if not more. It looks great, it sounds great, it has masses of longevity thanks to the many missions and aircraft on offer, and most importantly, it's fun to play. If you have played Ace Combat on the PlayStation, there will be very little here to surprise you. They are so similar to one another that I can pretty much say that AirForce Delta could almost be considered a graphical and musical update for an already excellent game.