Over G Fighters

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Hey guys I've been playing Over G Fighters for the 360 the past couple of days and I love it. This is not for everyone, if you are expecting an arcade game like Ace Combat, or Lethal Skies, don't even bother. Most of the people who bought this bought it for those reasons. Its unfairly compared to those.

This is more along the lines of Aerodancing(Aerowings, Aerowings 2:Airstrike, Aero Elite Academy). Does this mean that this fares up with LOMAC on the PC? No. This is basically the most realistic sim you can get on a console. Its a step above the aerodancing series in that each plane has its own unique HUD and cockpit displays(for example the Tomcat's VDI looks different than the MFDs found on the Hornet, and the F-15C's displays are very different from both, and both the F-15C and E have completely different cockpits and displays).

Multiple views can be chosen, and unlike Ace Combat or Aerowings, the radar and other necesities can be seen ON the displays they are meant to be displayed on. In Ace Combat, you'll notice that the view does not pan towards these displays and the radar is instead displayed onscreen as if on a HMS. You can do both in Over G.

What I've noticed is that theres very few people playing this. Of course it is overshadowed by the instant thrill action of Ace Combat. The big boys got LOMAC for their PC's the ones who want to have quick fun have Ace Combat, and while I like both, I think Over G does great for what it has and is overlooked.

With that said its hard to find forums that even have info on it. gamefaqs, acecombatskies.com, ign, all filled with people complaining about how bad it was and how its not like ace combat. Very few of them realize what its really supposed to be, and its never meant to be ace combat. It serves an entirely different purpose.

So are any of you playing it? I think its great. The controls are very similar to Ace combats so they are not hard to transition to. Seeing the differences in each plane make me happy, as this is what I kept wishing for in Ace Combat but never really got. The replay system is one of the best I've seen so far.

After searching the net I've finally found something with all the special functions for the main aircraft.

http://faqs.ign.com/articles/717/717399p1.html

Turns out the MIG-29G I just unlocked doesn't have the AOA cutter I though it had. Oh well.

[wldr]

Sounds very interesting Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0. Is the realism added just apply to the plane's differing in performance, or did they step up the realism for everything else and account for potential pilot blackouts also? I have been looking for another good air combat game, and while I do not currently own a 360, that is not automatically a deterrent if the game really excels.

[Knight26]

Pictures please

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Sounds very interesting Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0. Is the realism added just apply to the plane's differing in performance, or did they step up the realism for everything else and account for potential pilot blackouts also? I have been looking for another good air combat game, and while I do not currently own a 360, that is not automatically a deterrent if the game really excels.

Redouts and blackouts are implemented. Each plane differs in performance, avionics, armnament, HUDs and cockpit displays.

Knight, here is a link to the IGN gallery. http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/761/761470/imgs_1.html

Hopefully I can find a cable to link up my mac and 360 to give some good screengrabs. I want to post videos of my dogfights somehow too.

I hope sales were good enough to fund a sequel, the Kfir and Phantom are in the game but you can only fight them, not fly them. Same with the YF-23.

Also wldr, if you get a 360 rent this game first, see if you think its worth buying. The lack of ingame music is a bit dissapointing but you music does play in the intro, and in the strategic stages. Also in replay mode so far you can play 4 songs. Some fans say that the lack of music during flight is to add to the realism.

Basically this is nothing like Ace Combat. Your planes only carry the max amount that the real planes can. Gun ammunition runs out EXTREMELY fast. Luckily the A-10 and OA-10 both have a gun select special function where you can choose between a higher or lower rate of fire. The MIG-29s and Flankers have the EOS. Carrier landing in the Tomcat was hard but always keep your speed above 180mph, any lower and you will stall and splash.

I unlocked the TF-18A the other day and what was cool is that its got the Pax river red/white TPS colors.

But guys if your into realistic fighter/attack simulators and have a 360, give it a shot. That and the actual graphics look a LOT better than I thought they would(thats what I get for watching it on youtube haha). Think of it as the grand turismo of flight simulators but punch up the realism and add weapons and unique displays.

btw the F-15E's special function is carpet bombing mode. I have yet to unlock that and most of the other planes. I like the fact that this game has SEAD missions. SAMs are hard to dodge.

And I get a kick out of arming my F-14A with 6 AIM-54C's. Those missles rule. Heh even the gun pipper symbology and aiming systems is different per plane.

[wldr]

Thanks Shin! I have a friend that owns a 360 so maybe I will try renting this game and giving it a play tes at his house. The graphics in the screen shots look pretty good, and if the flight engine is as good as you say, I will no doubt find it, at the very least, worth a try.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Thanks Shin! I have a friend that owns a 360 so maybe I will try renting this game and giving it a play tes at his house. The graphics in the screen shots look pretty good, and if the flight engine is as good as you say, I will no doubt find it, at the very least, worth a try.

The flight modeling is pretty good, certain planes that have audible warnings in real life have them in here too, for example the F-15 has an alarm that warns of pulling too many G's, I believe the F/A-18 has one for pulling too much AOA. The tomcat has none and from my experience in the game, maxes out at 6.5 g, but it might be more.

The F-15 can be pushed but you can overstress the airframe in the game. I hear the F-22 is a pure beast in this game but I am far far away from unlocking it.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Okay guys looks like I was wrong. Unlike Aerodancing2-3, Aero Elite Academy, the F-14 DOES not max out at 6.5g. It maxes out at 7.5! That is when the g overload warning will start beeping.

I can't really tell how the TDI works so I decided to use the onscreen radar and map displays. Those can be displayed no matter what view you are using and I use it in conjuntion with the cockpit displays.

I am stuck on the strategic mission in south america I believe. Its either that or far east but I think its the former. You have to escort a cargo plane back that is being attacked by Yak-141 freestyles, and then a tornado, falcon and 2 other planes. I came close to beating them with the F-15J only to get shot down before my last kill. I spent quite some time trying to beat it.

I'd get more gun kills if I weren't so worried about the cargo plane being shot down and not wasting gas.

There are 2 ways I have found to nail this mission(hopefully). Use the F-14A, load it with 6xAIM-54C, 2xAIM-9M, then RTB to resupply very quickly after the next wave(6 more enemies) shows up. Or use the F-15J, load it with 4xAAM-4, 4xAAM-5 and make every shot count and make sure your wingman does not run into you(which happened recently).

You can decrease fuel load to increase performance of your plane due to the lighter weight but on this mission I would not recommend it.

If anyone has beaten this mission please give any hints or tips!

[striderhiryu]

i actually own this game for my 360 and i think it does a pretty good work simulatind the way the fighters react during flight. as an example you can perform viktor pugachev`s cobra manuever the way it is depicted on wikipedia on the su-27. still i think they should had included the su-37 and su-47 to try them out since it wonder what other variation one caln pull with thrust vectoring. also i do find quite challengin to engage western fighters against soviet plane. specially if you have to face them in strike mode using only machine guns.

any way the think i enjoy the most is flying around with the su-27 and try to pul new stuff like cobars on a vertical plane, either going up or down¨, don`t remember quite well the name for those maneuvers.

one thing thta i liked is the variety of fighter you get to choose to go against, inclding the mig-35 wich i think was called the mig-1.44.

on a side note in noticed that on the credits the name of scott t. hards comes up as one of the voices and if he is the man who own hlj.com i wonder wich characters he played voices on the game.

[striderhiryu]

to shin densetsu kai. as far as i can remember that mission is were you have to escort the rescued chairman ettu. on that one i used the f-16 armed with aim'9 and aim -120b. i remember that i had to be between the enemy fighters and the cargo plane and asigning target to my wing by slecting a target ojn the hud and then issuing the order to engage while i focuse on the most inmediate treath. so far iàm stuck on the last mission wich are quite challenging. but if you need raw firepower to take the enemies from distance my bet woul be the tomcat. tough it`s not that maneuverable. on most interception missions i mainly use the su-27 to get the s ranking. i find this fighter to be amazing maneuverable and the engines put quite some power and can easeky climb to 5,000 meters wich is in my opinion the ideal alttitued to atack my targets and begin missile evasion in case the enemy targets me and shots on my. also speaking on wich what technique do yuo use to evade missiles. for me all i do is from 5000 meters i roll halfway and when the missile enters the second ring on my radar i start going down while deploying flares in such a way that the missile cant`keep with my speed and due to the angle i can manage to evade.

by the way. did you know that you can actually land a su-27 on an american carrier. i remember i saw a guy do it on youtube and i its really dificult but not imposible and have actuaaly managed to do it three times. the key is to pull a cobra at a ceratin distance and very low alttitude so when you begin to loose altitude you land on the carrier. still as i have said it is very difficult.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

to shin densetsu kai. as far as i can remember that mission is were you have to escort the rescued chairman ettu. on that one i used the f-16 armed with aim'9 and aim -120b. i remember that i had to be between the enemy fighters and the cargo plane and asigning target to my wing by slecting a target ojn the hud and then issuing the order to engage while i focuse on the most inmediate treath. so far ià m stuck on the last mission wich are quite challenging. but if you need raw firepower to take the enemies from distance my bet woul be the tomcat. tough it`s not that maneuverable. on most interception missions i mainly use the su-27 to get the s ranking. i find this fighter to be amazing maneuverable and the engines put quite some power and can easeky climb to 5,000 meters wich is in my opinion the ideal alttitued to atack my targets and begin missile evasion in case the enemy targets me and shots on my. also speaking on wich what technique do yuo use to evade missiles. for me all i do is from 5000 meters i roll halfway and when the missile enters the second ring on my radar i start going down while deploying flares in such a way that the missile cant`keep with my speed and due to the angle i can manage to evade.

by the way. did you know that you can actually land a su-27 on an american carrier. i remember i saw a guy do it on youtube and i its really dificult but not imposible and have actually managed to do it three times. the key is to pull a cobra at a ceratin distance and very low alttitude so when you begin to loose altitude you land on the carrier. still as i have said it is very difficult.

Hey man thanks for the tips! I managed to finally beat that mission using the F-15J and just annhilating whatever showed up on screen first as to make the mission go quicker, then landing to rearm and then going up again and doing it quick. You need a plane that is very quick and can hold a lot of A2A missles. The Hornet would not be the best and the Tomcat loaded with phoenixes will be too slow. Though I assume using the F-14B would yield much better results since its power is much greater than the F-14A I have been using.

For missle dodging I usually wait till the missle reaches the inner ring and start turning away while chaffing and flaring. Though I think your Split S idea works better, I have done that and dodged missles that way. I will do that more often, seems more effective. Hard to outturn missles in the Hornet since it can get slow rather quick, though its instantaneous pitch rate is quite high.

I heard that you can unlock the Su-33. I wonder if the special function is the tailhook or the AOA cutter.

What I found cool is that the Russian fighters have their own Russian fire words on their HUDS, and same with the Gripen. BTW the gripen is very nimble and accelerates fast as hell. I was very surprised.

The Flanker is a good anti ship fighter. The AOA cutter can only be enabled under 250mph, but it translates into something else into the cockpit, I think 150 something. I did a cobra into a tailslide, a horizontal cobra. Then I did a cobra into tailslide, and while still nose up, did another cobra but then crashed into the water tailfirst. It was awesome. It sucks that the MIG-29 lacks the AOA cutter and any special function altogethere, unless I am missing something. BTW guys the cockpit alarms are actually spoken in russian too.

I am stuck on the last Barents Sea mission where you have to destroy a battle cruiser and intercept inbound enemy fighters striking your fleet. I was able to get several hits with my AMRAAM in my hornet but managed to get shot down. I'm not sure which fighter got me. So frustrating with that one. But I realized that the key is to rearm at the base, and not the carrier. See the carrier is right in front of the enemy ships after the intermission. And trying to line up the glide path is basically putting yourself in the crosshairs of the enemy ships immediately behind the fleet. So its better to rearm at the airfield. That and as soon as you fire your AMRAAMs, get out of firing range of the fighters you shot at, ASAP. After numerous failures at this mission I tried this last night, and though I still got shot down, I have a glimmer of hope as to win this mission.

Overall I am enjoying the hell out of this simulator. Its possibly the most accurate combat depiction of the Tomcat since Fleet Defender Gold.

And for you A-10 nuts, the A-10 and OA-10 are unlockable and have a crapload of bombs.

BTW guys, here is the BEST site I have found so far for OVERG

http://overg.wordpress.com/

Edited April 16, 2007 by Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

[Sorata]

Hey man thanks for the tips! I managed to finally beat that mission using the F-15J and just annhilating whatever showed up on screen first as to make the mission go quicker, then landing to rearm and then going up again and doing it quick. You need a plane that is very quick and can hold a lot of A2A missles. The Hornet would not be the best and the Tomcat loaded with phoenixes will be too slow. Though I assume using the F-14B would yield much better results since its power is much greater than the F-14A I have been using.

For missle dodging I usually wait till the missle reaches the inner ring and start turning away while chaffing and flaring. Though I think your Split S idea works better, I have done that and dodged missles that way. I will do that more often, seems more effective. Hard to outturn missles in the Hornet since it can get slow rather quick, though its instantaneous pitch rate is quite high.

I heard that you can unlock the Su-33. I wonder if the special function is the tailhook or the AOA cutter.

What I found cool is that the Russian fighters have their own Russian fire words on their HUDS, and same with the Gripen. BTW the gripen is very nimble and accelerates fast as hell. I was very surprised.

The Flanker is a good anti ship fighter. The AOA cutter can only be enabled under 250mph, but it translates into something else into the cockpit, I think 150 something. I did a cobra into a tailslide, a horizontal cobra. Then I did a cobra into tailslide, and while still nose up, did another cobra but then crashed into the water tailfirst. It was awesome. It sucks that the MIG-29 lacks the AOA cutter and any special function altogethere, unless I am missing something. BTW guys the cockpit alarms are actually spoken in russian too.

I am stuck on the last Barents Sea mission where you have to destroy a battle cruiser and intercept inbound enemy fighters striking your fleet. I was able to get several hits with my AMRAAM in my hornet but managed to get shot down. I'm not sure which fighter got me. So frustrating with that one. But I realized that the key is to rearm at the base, and not the carrier. See the carrier is right in front of the enemy ships after the intermission. And trying to line up the glide path is basically putting yourself in the crosshairs of the enemy ships immediately behind the fleet. So its better to rearm at the airfield. That and as soon as you fire your AMRAAMs, get out of firing range of the fighters you shot at, ASAP. After numerous failures at this mission I tried this last night, and though I still got shot down, I have a glimmer of hope as to win this mission.

Overall I am enjoying the hell out of this simulator. Its possibly the most accurate combat depiction of the Tomcat since Fleet Defender Gold.

And for you A-10 nuts, the A-10 and OA-10 are unlockable and have a crapload of bombs.

BTW guys, here is the BEST site I have found so far for OVERG

http://overg.wordpress.com/

Yes you unlock the SU 33 in a big boss fight in the arena. Its special is the AOA limiter. Some fighters are unlocked by a 2nd play thorugh by playing some missions a second time like the mission you get the Griffen and Mig 29 in played again in a new play through unlocks the Mig 29S and Griffen C. I have all the planes but one which i can only unlock in live play with a team mate and unfortunately it takes time and its hard to find a guy to play with. To do a second play through go to the main menu choose new game and save over your previous file and you keep all your stats and old planes. heres a good site for info on unlocking planes : www.gamefaqs.com

[Apollo Leader]

I got the game when it came out last summer, but unfortunately my first 360 died right when I was getting into it and I have not gotten back to playing since.

The thing about games like this, and Aero Elite/Aero Wings/Aero Dancing is that you have to be a true military aviation buff to appreciate a game like this. A lot of gaming sites and magazines will pan games like this when these games are aimed to a type of gamer and enthusiast that is not you typical gamer (hardcore or casula).

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Thanks for the info Sorata. Glad to know the Su-33 has an AOA cutter. Whats the Gripen C got over the A? The Gripen A is pretty cool, performance wise its a beast but I wish it could carry more armnaments.

Apollo Leader, I agree all the way man. Far too many times has this game been compared to Ace Combat, and unjustly so.

If you really want to compare this to something, its closest comparison on consolse would be the aerodancing series, but this has an edge over that in regard to avionics and having more functions per plane. Not to mention long range weaponry. But in regards to other systems such as PC, it can be compared to the Janes' survey sim series, such as IAF, USAF, USNAF, ATF, ATF Gold, USNF97, and Fighters anthology.

Yet even then, this game/sim goes beyond the Janes survey sims, as each plane has unique avionics and radar displays/HUD/symbology. For example in the Janes sims, the Tomcat and hornet have the same exact HUD and same exact radar displays. Not so in Over G. In USAF the similar situation occurs with the F-15 and F-16. Same radar displays. Same HUD. Basically everything you ever wanted from the aerodancing/aerowings/aero elite series but never got.

I would say that this simulator does better than the old pc survey sims but not as good as Lock on, and Lock on or LOMAC is another beast altogether.

But for consoles, this is the BEST you can get, and best you will get for some time. I hope they make a sequel with more planes and a dynamic campaign. Bomb capability for the tomcat would be great, and also way more color schemes for different squadrons.

Whats sucks is that I heard you have to boost your rank online to recieve the JASFDF 305th scheme. And I have yet to get XBL

I think the hardcore sim guys here will get a kick out of this. Makes Ace Combat's ACE difficulty seem "very easy". Seriously.

Oh BTW being able to do Wild Weasel missions is something I have wished for time and time again.

[David Hingtgen]

A real Gripen C mainly adds in-flight refuelling capability.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

A real Gripen C mainly adds in-flight refuelling capability.

Hmmm. I wonder if thats implemented in the game too? I haven't seen any inflight refueling yet but I'd be pleasantly surprised if I did. You could do that in Aero Elite Academy if you flew out to the secret areas on the maps.

Gun kills seem much harder to obtain here than in Aerowings/aero elite/aerodancing.

I REALLY REALLY want to unlock the F-14B, as I am definitely noticing the lack of engine power the F-14A has in comparison with the other planes, especially once you unlock the F-16's, the SU-27, and F-15J. The engine power in the F-14B is much higher but you only get that once you playthrough the game after beating it(1st mission to be exact). Seems like it will take a while to beat but also seems like it will be worth it. Though I can understand, it basically IS the oldest plane available to fly in the game! I wish you can fly the Kfir and Phantom but in the game you can only choose them as enemies.

I recently acquired the F-15E. I was looking forward to this as its my favorite version of the Eagle. Its engine power and mobility are just slightly lower than the F-15C in the game but I believe its engines are rated higher. and good god can you mount a crapload of bombs on it!

Its special function is carpet bombing mode. I wanted to see what it looked like with cluster bombs and it was AWESOME. I would have used it more often in a mission but SAMs kept popping up, so I had to rely on my JDAMs instead. Oh well. Nonetheless I went into challenge mode and tried it out, carpet bombing with nearly 20 bombs to take out one truck.

Also I realized that the SU-27 is quite the striker. It can carry a lot of A2g ordinance as well! Inspired by the Sukhoi Su-27B video I found at Patricksaviation.com from sukhoi, I put a lot of a2g on the sucker to test it out on an antiship mission. I got hit by flak but still beat the mission, taking out the last ship with rockets. (if you'll notice, you can customize your planes with much more variety of weapons than in aero elite academy/aerodancing).

I like the Su-27 in the game, its fast, nimble, and has enough thrust to cope with a ton of a2g ordinance and has enough a2a missles for self defense. Truly a fighter bomber but I have a feeling most players use it as a fighter. Flying it and hearing the Russian warning dialogues and seeing the HUD symbology in cyrillic is awesome too.

Special scheme for the F/A-18F is the VFA-102 Diamondbacks 50th anniversary scheme. I have not unlocked it yet, nor have I even unlocked the F/A-18E. Just the C for now. I wish I had the E, it mounts more weapons and I believe the performance is supposed to be a lot better than the C in the game as well.

I appreciate the C since you can mount so many weapons on it too. And the variety. Its my favorite bird for SEA. You hog lovers will love the fact that the A-10 can mount a bunch of HARMS on it in addition to a ton of bombs and still retain 4 sidewinders too.

[areaseven]

Sample Videos

F-14 vs. two MiG-21s

JAS39A vs. two YF-23s

F-22A vs. four Su-47s

F-22A Aerobatics

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Thanks for the vids a7.

Seeing the tomcat in that vid makes me want the F-14B even more.(using the F-14A is cool and all but compared to the other planes its seriously underpowered and you can feel it. But it does have the 80's, late 70's high viz VF-84 Jolly rogers scheme. Its great for nostalgia, recreating Final Countdown, and of course for you Tomcat fans like me. However I think the B will be so much better.) Bad thing about the B is that its in low viz ONLY. You are limited by color choices, if you want a high viz scheme, F-14A. B for low viz. And only one squadron scheme per tomcat!

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Okay, just unlocked the F-35B and its avionics and cockpit display are AMAZING! Took it on a SEAD mission. Its power is on par with the A model Tomcat but its mobility is higher.

[Sorata]

I got the game when it came out last summer, but unfortunately my first 360 died right when I was getting into it and I have not gotten back to playing since.

The thing about games like this, and Aero Elite/Aero Wings/Aero Dancing is that you have to be a true military aviation buff to appreciate a game like this. A lot of gaming sites and magazines will pan games like this when these games are aimed to a type of gamer and enthusiast that is not you typical gamer (hardcore or casula).

Helps if you an ex Navy aviator like me

Okay, just unlocked the F-35B and its avionics and cockpit display are AMAZING! Took it on a SEAD mission. Its power is on par with the A model Tomcat but its mobility is higher.

The griffen C if i remember just has improved avionics over the A and mid air refuel but in game there is no air refuels. The F-35B (the Marine version) can use VTOL in the game both on land and the carrier. Just hit the left d pad and throttle up or down for Veretical take off and landings and for carrier ops do a vertical landing but for takeoff just throttle up as usual like you do for the F-18E and it will auto kick in and out of vtol as you fly off the end of the carrier without need to use the catapult or lift straight up.

EDIT: get the SU-33 and do like me save all its replays with the prefix VF11, oh in game you can use it for carrier ops unlike the real thing.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Sorata

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Helps if you an ex Navy aviator like me

The griffen C if i remember just has improved avionics over the A and mid air refuel but in game there is no air refuels. The F-35B (the Marine version) can use VTOL in the game both on land and the carrier. Just hit the left d pad and throttle up or down for Veretical take off and landings and for carrier ops do a vertical landing but for takeoff just throttle up as usual like you do for the F-18E and it will auto kick in and out of vtol as you fly off the end of the carrier without need to use the catapult or lift straight up.

EDIT: get the SU-33 and do like me save all its replays with the prefix VF11, oh in game you can use it for carrier ops unlike the real thing.

Thanks man. I hope I get the gripen C soon. I want to unlock the X-35C, I'm itching to see how different it is from the F-35B(I think the bigger wings will make it look better, hopefully it does have bigger wings since the C in real life is supposed to have the largest wingspan.)

I am still having a hell of a time missle dodging. Super hard to do in the F-14.

Hey guys is it better to pull hard as I can inverted and go beyond the AOA limit? Or is it best to use corner velocity and push it the edge of the envelope without breaking the AOA limit?(the moment that the vector on the HUD starts flashing). I guess its because I panic each time a missle fires on to me, and gosh they are so fast in this!

Seems easier to dodge missles in Aero Elite Academy.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Holy crap, strategic mission for Area 7(I think its the pacific) is HARD! The JSF and F-15E seem to be the best bets since their radars can lock onto the flanker fleet a lot quicker than the others. Anyone beat this mission?

Goodness. I can get past the first waves provided I fire AMRAAMs at whomever locks me up. However, going after the battle cruiser and others is quite difficult. Haven't gotten the hanging of VTOL landing either on a carrier.

[striderhiryu]

the area 7 strategic mission might look tough but is not that hard. also it is divided into three stages. on the first one you will engage some su-33 and to you left the area a couple of destroyers wich i usually take down from a distance to clear my path. on the second stage you will engage multiple fighters and my recomendation is to watch your distance and alttitued and to stay away from the enemy fleet. while engaging fighters in this part i kepp an altitude of 4000 mts. and as soon as i take down a target i go afterburner to gain altitude quickly before the next wave of eemies appear. after you past this part you will be ordered to take down the enemy fleet. including one enemy carrier wich take two to three direct hits to take down. after clearing this mission you will go to the last area wich i still have not cleared but will try this weekend.

since there is a lot of aerial and anti-warship fight involved i reccomend the flanker since it can carry quite a deal of weaponry without sacrificing agility and speed.

by the way on this area i still have to clear the mission where you have to eliminate a spy plane. but havent manage to clear it yet. however my brother did it and was given the raptor and now he guns down more plane than i do with complete impunity.

[striderhiryu]

oops, double post.

Edited April 19, 2007 by striderhiryu

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

the area 7 strategic mission might look tough but is not that hard. also it is divided into three stages. on the first one you will engage some su-33 and to you left the area a couple of destroyers wich i usually take down from a distance to clear my path. on the second stage you will engage multiple fighters and my recomendation is to watch your distance and alttitued and to stay away from the enemy fleet. while engaging fighters in this part i kepp an altitude of 4000 mts. and as soon as i take down a target i go afterburner to gain altitude quickly before the next wave of eemies appear. after you past this part you will be ordered to take down the enemy fleet. including one enemy carrier wich take two to three direct hits to take down. after clearing this mission you will go to the last area wich i still have not cleared but will try this weekend.

since there is a lot of aerial and anti-warship fight involved i reccomend the flanker since it can carry quite a deal of weaponry without sacrificing agility and speed.

by the way on this area i still have to clear the mission where you have to eliminate a spy plane. but havent manage to clear it yet. however my brother did it and was given the raptor and now he guns down more plane than i do with complete impunity.

Hm I might give it another go with the Flanker. Thing that bugs me is that its avionics are not as good as some of the other planes, it takes longer for it to lock up an enemy right in front of you in comparison to the F-15E and F-35B. I was thinking it was a glitch till I looked at the stats again and realized that the Flanker is rated high in power and mobility but low in avionics. I like it for the reasons you stated and especially because it has a stand off missle(KH31).

Last few missions I used the F-15E and F-35B. Came CLOSE with the F-35B but got nabbed by a random fighter as soon as I took off from base. Guess the wingman was too far away to notice. Bad thing about the F-35B is that it only has ports for 2 stand off SLAM missles, where as the Flanker has 4. The good thing is that once all external stores are launched, it becomes stealthy provided you make your attacks quick and the bay doors are only open for a short amount of time.

I have yet to unlock the mission in area 7 where you shoot down the blackbird to obtain the F-22. Seems like the F-22 is the easiest way to beat the strategic mission in this area. However, some of the people I've seen beat it were on beginner difficulty which gives you a recharge of weapons rather than having to land back on base and take off again. I am playing on expert since I wanted the most realistic experience I could get.

Also as cool as the F-22 is, I did not want to rely on it since I felt it would make the game too easy. Still, I do look forward to unlocking it on my playthrough after I beat this.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Okay I decided to use the F-35B in that Area 7 strategic mission as to utilize stealth. I used the following strategy:

For the 1st part, destroying fighters, I armed my plane with 6 AMRAAMs and 2 Sidewinders and 2 2000lb JDAMS. 2 target planes will show up 1 after the other. I used 2 AMRAAMs on those, leaving me with 4 more. After that, 2 more targets pop up. I used 2 more AMRAAMS. After them, 2 enemy planes spawn in front of you locked onto you, this is irritating. I loft 2 AMRAAMS at them. Afterwards, 1 more target plane shows up, shot him with my Sidewinders.

In this way, i use up all my AMRAAMS first since they were external, and leave my sidewinders for last as they are internal and as to utilize my stealth once I am down to internal munitions. At that point, when the later plane targets show up, the boats are all around aiming SAMs at you and stealth helps a LOT.

After that there is a intermission for the 2nd part of the mission. At this point, I go for the enemy carrier and drop 2 2000lb JDAMS on it. I then go back to base and on the way there get jumped by a super flanker, I use my sole remaining 'winder on him and ask escort back to base. I refuel and change armnament to:

4xAMRAAM

4xJDAM

2XSLAM

I think that was the armnament because I was surprised that it was the only trip back I needed.

I launch off the AMRAAMs at air targets and very quickly try to acquire enemies using my external ordinance, the key to this is to get stealthy as possible, so it also means using your external weapons for all they are worth but quick, this is hard but key to beating the mission.

Enemy target planes are respawning out of nowhere and honestly that is one of my pet peeves with this game, its not realistic for them to just do that. Anyways the game is great altogethere and I can overlook that part for now.

It comes down to the point where I finally have all my external ordinance expended, hitting the right targets, and only 1 more target to go. Unfortunately the closing distance is very close and ships are locking me up. I realized that using my radar in different weapon modes to acquire the targets is giving my presence away and attracting SAMS. So I intermittently switch between targeting mode and NAV, NAV ceases radar targeting and I did this a lot when a SAM was approaching. Most of the time the SAM will lose track, unless its IR then I am screwed. With one target ship remaining I loft off a JDAM, and then reacquire to drop the last. Unfortunately the ship starts targeting me so I switch to NAV. I tell my wingman to attack but not relying on him, I get the initiative and decide to manually aim the JDAM in a very shallow dive and pull up for all its worth.

THANKFULLY after 3 days of trying I BEAT the mission. Not continuous play, but I played a few hours some days.

After that I didn't want to bother trying the area 8 missions since I had to take care of things. But I did do a quick free flight with the Flanker...and wow. I think it only has an audible warning for "overspeed" and "overG". Maybe going past AOA but I am not sure(I think it only gives you an AOA warning once you disable the limiter and it only beeps for a few seconds). I did manage to pull off an inverted cobra, a cobra right before landing, 2 cobras immediately after a tailslide, and a sideways cobra.

Its a VERY powerful jet, with enough thrust to prevent it from stalling in a very hard turn. I was amazed at how good it's thrust to weight ratio is. I saved my replay and even had the aerobatic smoke one a couple of times.

So all in all, I am glad to have finally beat the strategic mission in area 7 and realized that the F-22 would have been the best bet to beat that mission in expert mode(God it was hard as hell in every plane I tried!).

And I am slowly growing to appreciate the F-35B. Weird

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Okay guys, just beat the game!

Last mission(Area 8 strategic mission) is HARD. Not as hard as 2 of the other previous strategic missions(the one destroying the enemy fleet to protect the carrier or the other one escorting the chairman, wait there is another but I forgot). There are 3 waves. After numerous tries I settled on the F-35B. I armed it with 2 SLAM ER, 2 AIM9X, 4AMRAAM, and 8 red winged JDAMS(the ones with wings that pop open).

1st, take out any incoming fighters with AMRAAMs. If possible, gun down the close ones. SAVE your 2 AIm9X;s for the last wave(third). Take out first 4 ground enemies with SLAM ER then 2 JDAM. Next wave. Take out rest of the ground target with JDAM(4 I think).

Final wave(3rd), 2 YF-23's will spawn DIRECTLY ahead of you and fire at you IMMEDIATELY. The minute this wave starts, BREAK HARD and launch countermeasures. Pull hard as hell and arm your AIM9X's and cue them with your helmet to take down the YF-23's. This completes the mission. Most of the mission is EASY till that part.

I am on my playthrough and unlocked the F-14B. GREAT plane. Seriously a lot better than the F-14A. Its avionics and speed are definitely up. A good amount of power. Also NO ONE MENTIONED THIS ON BOARDS, FAQS OR ONLINE GUIDES BUT....

THE F-14B CAN CARRY BOMBS!!

I armed it with 4 GBU-24's and it replaced one of my glove pylons with a LANTIRN pod. I also put 1 phoenix and 2 winders.

Tested it out. The B has enough power to still be able to manuever with the 4 GBU's slung underneath. Even got into a dogfight on the way to target with those! And a guns kill on a harrier!

Saw 3 targets, locked up 1. Held the pickle switch down till the bomb lofted. ALL 3 TARGETS destroyed with 1 hit/1bomb!

I LOVE using this plane! Such a surprise, can't believe no one mentioned it was a "Bombcat" in this game too!

[striderhiryu]

good to hear yo got trough the game. this weeks has been very busy and now that i have a two-day brake i`m gonna give a try to the last area and finish the game.

by the way in the morning while i was playing acrobatic flight with the flanker i did a really interesting maneuver but only worked once and i`m trying to remember how i pulled it, since as far as i remember i went afterburner and began to clim at a 90 degree angle and then reduced to 60% thrust so i could begin to loose speed. however as soon as i began climbing i was also rolling by pushing the stick all the way to the left. for short as soon as my speed dropped to zero i started to fly heads down as inverted while the plane was spinning on it`s axis. i think the maneuver is called the helicopter but haven`t found any info on how to pulled it or wich angle should i cut my engine. i still have the data on my mem card with the flight and when i showed it to my brother he was amazed.

also do you know what other maneuvers the flanker can pull.

Edited April 21, 2007 by striderhiryu

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

good to hear yo got trough the game. this weeks has been very busy and now that i have a two-day brake i`m gonna give a try to the last area and finish the game.

by the way in the morning while i was playing acrobatic flight with the flanker i did a really interesting maneuver but only worked once and i`m trying to remember how i pulled it, since as far as i remember i went afterburner and began to clim at a 90 degree angle and then reduced to 60% thrust so i could begin to loose speed. however as soon as i began climbing i was also rolling by pushing the stick all the way to the left. for short as soon as my speed dropped to zero i started to fly heads down as inverted while the plane was spinning on it`s axis. i think the maneuver is called the helicopter but haven`t found any info on how to pulled it or wich angle should i cut my engine. i still have the data on my mem card with the flight and when i showed it to my brother he was amazed.

also do you know what other maneuvers the flanker can pull.

I think you pulled an inverted flat spin. I have yet to enter a flat in that game.

The Flanker can do a tailslide, where you go vertical, and then cut your engines, keep the nose pointed up. It will start to fall backwards and then it will nose down.

There is also a Kulbit, in which you nose up, cut your limiter, then IMMEDIATELY pull up, it makes it do a backflip.

Does anyone know for sure if the MIG-29's have special functions in the game? I only have the G and haven't noticed anything. There is a rumor that they can do Cobras in the game as well but I don't know. Previously I read they lacked special functions but the guide I read also failed to mention that the F-14B could carry bombs.

[Sorata]

Once you beat hell mode or if you already have the F-15J and DJ look me up online and we can go unlock the last plane you only get on live. We can do co-op base attack versus the Ai to get it I'll explain more if you want to try when your ready. Right now i am replaying the whole game as my file go deleted when it was saving and the power went out. And my pilot had full maxed stats

EDIT live tag Sorata

Edited April 21, 2007 by Sorata

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Once you beat hell mode or if you already have the F-15J and DJ look me up online and we can go unlock the last plane you only get on live. We can do co-op base attack versus the Ai to get it I'll explain more if you want to try when your ready. Right now i am replaying the whole game as my file go deleted when it was saving and the power went out. And my pilot had full maxed stats

EDIT live tag Sorata

I will try to do that but it won't be for a long while. I have yet to get XBL, and I realized only recently that you need XBL to do online multiplay. (I originally thought the XBL Silver enabled that but you actually need gold I think....whichever is the one you have to pay annually is the one you need).

But I do look forward to that. Do you have pics of that plane to unlock? Is it the golden eagles or 305th? I tried searching for pics but can't find the exact one unlockable.

And hell mode...holy moly. I will have to give that one a shot after my 3rd or 4th playthrough, I heard you have to beat all the strategic missions with the F-1!!

If they ever make a sequel I want all of the JASDF fighters represented, like the ones that got left out here:

F-104, T-2, T-4, F-4EJ

I realize they focused on the teen fighters and up but man if your going to put the F-1 in, you mineswell put in the F-104 and F-4.

Also the Tornado IDS, ADV, and harrier II and Sea Harrier FRS.2 would be welcome additions, as well as the MIG-29K, and SU-30MKI. And the Kfir, what a tease to drag that one in but not let it be playable!

I love the attention to detail and am still wondering if the X-35C in the game has bigger wings than the F-35B like it does in real life.

Also I think in the area where the chairman is hostage, there is one mission to destroy enemy fighters, that has a TON of SAMS in your area. STAY THE HELL away from the SAMs when you do that mission! They fire SO many that the framerate drops and the game lags! You hear them hit your plane repeatedly as well....I hate those things! Best strategy is to destroy the first 2 air targets quick hopefully with an off boresight missle, and BREAK HARD LEFT, light your burners, and climb! Then ispatch the rest of the targets. Helps to have some SLAM ERs also.

[Sorata]

Its the 305th if my memory is correct off hand as the golden eagles is earned in the arena. Feel free to try hell mode its fun but if you get stuck then I'll tell you a cheat I learned after I beat it the hard way.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Its the 305th if my memory is correct off hand as the golden eagles is earned in the arena. Feel free to try hell mode its fun but if you get stuck then I'll tell you a cheat I learned after I beat it the hard way.

I'm on the 3rd stage of hell mode now. Still getting used to the F-1's avionics. Much harder to understand than the other planes in the game, but I do appreciate the authenticity. I still have a hard time finding out how fast I am actually going in the plane, I wonder which gauge to look at?

Using that plane in the game is definitely a different experience in comparison to the other planes available. I hope the cockpit has an AOA guage.

Also can anyone tell me how the VDI or 2nd screen in the Tomcat works?

The F-22 is very powerful in the game. It also has a very large payload. I like it, just wish it had a helmet mounted sight, however since the real one has yet to mount one in its frontline squadrons, I think the developers wanted to stick to accuracy.

Now they did that with the X-35C and....wow the F-35B is a whole lot better. The X-35C in this game is modeled after that prototype that the Pax River team retired 3 years ago. In the game, it lacks a gun, and cannot carry anything internally. I wish we could get the F-35C instead.....that would be awesome. Oh and it does have the bigger wings too.

[RFT]

I haven;t got a 360 yet but this is tiop of my purchase list when I do - I got Energy Airforce Aim Strike a couple of years ago and it;s awesome. 360 visuals and a much bigger plane list (I had no idea till I read this thread it had the gripen!) - wahey!

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I haven;t got a 360 yet but this is tiop of my purchase list when I do - I got Energy Airforce Aim Strike a couple of years ago and it;s awesome. 360 visuals and a much bigger plane list (I had no idea till I read this thread it had the gripen!) - wahey!

It's got 2 Gripens man!

The game looks awesome indeed, I was used to watching it on youtube, then when first played it, WHOA. A world of difference!

I hope it gets a sequel with more planes. 1disc worth of planes and missions as an add on would be GREAT! LIke the F-14D, YF-23, Kfir, F-4, F-104, F-15C AESA with helmet sight.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

BTW I j noticed somethings about the MIG-29G vs MIG-29A.

At first I thought "yea these 2 are the exact same thing, no difference. Well it turns out, the MIG-29G is accurate to the game description about having western avionics, it DOES have western avionics! The radar and some other parts in the cockpit are completely different. I wish I noticed this earlier(I've only started using the Fulcrum more lately).

The G and A lack a special function BUT they can indeed pull cobras. Airspeed has to be below 200km/hr I think, and all that is needed is to yank the stick till you hear the audible warning tone and hear it pause. You can perform a kulbit and tailslide as well, though the cobra is not as dramatic as the Flanker.

I remembered that on the real Flanker the AOA limiter had to be temporarily disabled to perform the cobra. I also remembered that the Fulcrum had "soft" stops that could be pulled through if needed to pull more G by the pilot. Perhaps the game reflects this too?(I read this in a comparison between the fulcrum and hornet and falcon, and how the fbw systems in both the falcon and hornet did not enable the planes to go beyond their AOA limit, but the fulcrum's did).