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From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1999 and is reproduced as originally written, with the original screenshots (click to enlarge). More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.
| Publisher | MacSoft |
|---|---|
| Tested on | Power Mac 8600/300 w/64mb RAM |
| Gameplay | 4 / 5 apples |
| Graphics & Sound | 5 / 5 apples |
| Interface | 4.5 / 5 apples |
| Difficulty | 3 / 5 apples |
| Bugs | 2.5 / 5 apples |
| Overall | 4 / 5 apples |
| Reviewed by | Jonathan Dreyer |
Falcon 4 lives up to it’s hype of being the “New benchmark in flight sim technology”. It is simply the most realistic, complex flight simulator I have ever played. Falcon 4 includes basically 4 aspects of play: Instant Action, Dogfight, Tactical Engagement, and Campaign.
Instant action is just what it says it is, instant action. You’re thrown into a F-16 mid-flight with a ton of enemy planes in the air for you to shoot down. This adds a level of “brainless fun” to an otherwise very complex simulation.
Dogfight is really meant for multiplayer action, but you can also fly against AI controlled planes. In Dogfight up to sixteen people can compete over your LAN in 4 teams. Feel the thrill over blowing your best friend out of the sky.
Tactical Engagement covers everything from training missions, to mission editor, to downloadable user made scenarios. Tactical Engagement alone makes Falcon 4 more comprehensive than any other combat flight simulator available.
Campaign is what really takes Falcon 4 to the next level in terms of flight sim realism. You can wage multiplayer battles against real people, while at the same time other battles are taking place in the same campaign theater which can affect your next mission. This is one of the many things that make Falcon 4 the most advanced flight sim available.
The learning curve of Falcon 4 is immense, almost as complex as a real pilot, but through the use of options modifiers even a flight sim newbie can be up and flying in a just a few minutes. It’s simple to get up and flying, very difficult to master. When I say it’s difficult to master, I’m not kidding, the Falcon 4 flight manual is an inch thick. Don’t worry about reading an inch thick manual if you want to get flying right away, also included is a Cadet’s Guide which will get you up and flying in just a few minutes. The wide range of difficultly options allows flight sim enthusiasts of all skill levels to enjoy the game.
Next level of realism in Falcon 4 comes from the amazing graphics. If you’re not playing it with a 3D acceleration hardware, it’s not worth it. The 3D accelerated graphics in Falcon 4 are the most realistic 3D I’ve seen yet. Unfortunately, this level of graphics comes with a price in hardware demands. Although MacSoft lists the minimums as a 200 MHz PPC with 32 mb of RAM, the actual minimum is more like their recommended of a 233 MHz 604 or better with 64 mb of RAM and a 3D accelerator. The minimum just doesn’t cut it anymore.
As we get to the “unfortunately”‘s in Falcon 4, we come to the bugs. There are quite a few of them present, and probably more that are lurking underneath. In all fairness, pretty much all of the bugs were present in the PC version and they just got ported over with the rest of the game. There is a patch that is currently being worked on that will fix pretty much all the bugs, once the patch is out Falcon 4 will become a 4.5 out of 5.
In conclusion, Falcon 4 is an awesome game with variable difficulty to allow for all types of players, and freakin’ unbelievable graphics. I would not recommend this title unless you have a 3D accelerator and a fast machine, but if you do, I can’t recommend it enough. Although some bugs do detract from Gameplay, they will be fixed soon.
Find a copy
Falcon 4.0 has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Falcon 4.0 on Amazon.
