F-19 Stealth Fighter

This was the first sim I brought for the Amiga - and what a cracking game it was. The cockpit & systems were just mind-blowing when comparing to the earlier sims on the Spectrum I had used. The main game was based on the same campaigns as the Spectrum version : Libya, Persian Gulf, North Cape & Central Europe.

You could play each scenario in various levels of conflict, from clandestine missions to full scale non-nuclear war, as well as choosing the competence of the opposition. You also had the option of doing training missions in each area ( but you gained no score for these ).

The game allowed you to progress through the ranks of the USAF upto the rank of Brigadier General before being "retired" to a desk job. You could also earn various medals & ribbons for deeds of bravery or obscenely high scores. The really odd detail that comes to mind was that even in the full-scale war, if you were shot down & captured, you would be released a few days later after some sort of deal had been made, which enabled you to continue flying - who said chivalry is dead!?

The choice of weapons was also far beyond anything previously seen, and included various Mk80 series bombs ( slicks & snakes ) and all manner of cluster munitions, including the awesome fuel-air explosives.

As I remember, staying undetected was basically impossible no matter how careful you were ( so much for stealth! ) and you always ended up in a dogfight. The enemy was the old "one-hit wonder" type ofvictim, with the pilot always ejecting, while your F-19 seemed to take a near endless amount of missile hits.

I also remember that the fighters never seemed to fire at you, it was always the SAMs - except for the Soviet AWACS "Mainstay" - these always seemed to be armed to the teeth with the latest AA missiles and they weren't shy about using them either!

The SAMs were very easy to avoid, most times without the use of jammers & decoys, except the later missiles like the SA-10 & SA-12. They always hunted you down & always hit, no matter what you did. I do remember though that you could use terrain masking against SAM radar's, which did work from time to time. The allied airforces were just about non-existent, save for a pair of F/A-18s that would continually fly circuits around the airbase or carrier you were using - if you were really (un)lucky it would be a pair of Boeing 707's!!. I never remember them getting stuck in & helping me out.

The best place to go if you wanted a fight was the North Cape without a doubt. The SAMs were flying almost continually ( if SA-10s or 12s were at Pechenga they were already locked on & launching while you were still on the runway or carrier!! ) and the enemy fighters just kept on coming.

The version of F-19 I got was released soon after the USAF had admitted that the stealth fighter did actually exist.

For this, Microprose added the option of flying either the original F-19 "Frisbee" or the actual F-117. The cockpits were identical as were the flight dynamics, but the skins were different.

The final testament as to how good this game was, is that I had my Amiga & F-19 for nearly 8 years, and I was still flying it right to the very end, before going over to PC's.