Suh UCKs!
I am happy to rate this game because IT SUH UH UH UCKS!!!
If the developers wanted to created a game about carrier landings then they missed some key components. Obviously a carrier landing is nothing if it is not about the carrier approach, and the approach is seriously limited - almost impossible for several reasons.
1. landing is impossibly realistic because your orientation relative to the strip or carriers orientation is not known. If you are on a final approach and off, it is impossible to line up the plan, say comign around third base, because you cant look left or right out of the cockpit only straight forward. So when to round second base and third is not known. It COULD be known say if the least you were given is direction of the carrier - say 36 or 27 or whatever AND be able to turn your head to the left! Not asking for a lot of technology in the cockpit! A lot of failed appraoches merely becuase the pilot doesnt have a neck that swivels. So messed up.
2. You can approach the carrier but instruements tell you nothing about how the carrier is oriented so you can approach it from the side. There is an arrow on the radar that is telling you something about the orientation but it is not intuitive at all nor are there instructions that explain how the arrow direction correlates to the approach.
3. There are no rudder controls if you do get sideways or have an off approach anyway. The only way to correct the approach vertically is with ailerons using an S turn , which obviously uses up a lot of approach real estate. A lot of times too much. Needless to say advance but perhaps necessary approach maneuvers like a slip are not possible.
4. Rudders do not give better lift on take off.
5. Planes do stall out and have different rotate velocities, but I cant guess where this information, which is different for each plane is given.
Im all for video games that are just fun shoot em ups or simulators. This one is not a video game in that you can fly armed missions or do tactical dog fighting or anything, so since it isnt that it would be great if it was a simulator where you could perform carrier and dry land approaches and landings, but it is not realistically that either.
OceanAddict about F18 Carrier Landing
