                   TFX CD-ROM Tactical Fighter Experiment
                      Review by Jerry W. Eichelberger

        In a day where it seems that every software maker is working on some
sort of flight simulator program, Ocean of America has produced a virtual
diamond in the rough. The graphics, sound and realism of the missions are
extremely well done. Even in training mode I found my heart racing and beads
of sweat popping up on my forehead.
        Installation is a snap and takes about 2 minutes. System
requirements are MSDOS 5.0 or above, 386/33 MHz (486 recommended), sound
card, VGA 256 color monitor and graphics adapter, 12-16 MB of hard disk
space and an MSCDEX 2.1 or higher CD-ROM driver installed. I ran this
program on my Dell 486/66 with a Creative Labs 2X CD-ROM. I did not have any
problems installing or playing the game.
        You begin by selecting one of the various play modes (arcade,
training, UN Commander, etc). There are also various theaters of operations
that you can select (South America, Europe, Iran, etc). The graphics and
details are superb. You can also select the level of realism for the flight
controls. Everything about this game is well done and as close to real as
you can get without being in a G-suit.
        Before you can move to the more advanced levels of play, you must
complete the 10 training missions. You even get to land (or in my case
CRASH) on an aircraft carrier. If you get chicken, you can select the
automatic landing. I can always finish the mission objective, but then get
killed trying to land on the carrier. Since I am a licensed pilot and have
been around flying for most of my life, I can appreciate the time and effort
that the Ocean programmers put into making the flight model as accurate as
possible. Acceleration, deceleration and flight controls are all accurately
represented.
        You cannot select the airplane that you will fly for each mission
(they are assigned by the computer), but you do have to load your own
ordnance. I am sure that you will find certain missiles and bombs that you
like better than others. My favorite ground attack missile is the AGM-65
Maverick, and my favorite air-to-air missile is the AMRAM.
        If you are blowing bad guys out of the sky, turning and burning, and
the little "caution" light comes on letting you know that you are just about
out of fuel, you can hunt down the KC-135 tanker. The in-flight refueling
approach is tricky and takes a little practice (just like real life) to line
up on the refueling probe. You have to manage airspeed and altitude just
right to make the hook up. The Heads Up Display (HUD) in the cockpit of your
fighter is helpful, because it shows you the altitude and speed of the
target aircraft.
        All in all I have especially enjoyed this game, especially the
little details like hearing the pilots heavy, strained breathing during high
G-force turns. I would recommend this game to anyone that loves flying
simulators.

                           Ocean of America, Inc.
                      1855 O'Toole Avenue, Suite D-102
                            San Jose, CA  95131
                               (408) 954-0201

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