Lock On: Air Combat Simulation - PC

Combining an authentic flight sim with the more action-orientated game you'd normally associate with the likes of Ubi Soft, Lock On: Modern Air Combat gives players the opportunity to pilot a variety of modern combat aircraft, whilst offering scalable realism so as to appeal to both the hardcore simulation fanatic and the more casual gamer alike. The result is neither arcade nor simulation, but a comfortable middle ground that provides an intense combat environment, realistic flight modelling and plenty of in-your-face action.

Set in the Black Sea region - which includes the Crimean peninsula and the eastern Caucuses - the concept of the game is based around hypothetical, present day air conflicts. Gameplay itself is made up of a wide range of individual missions, each with its own background and story, as well as other options such as training, quick start and fast battle planner. Multiplayer gaming is also strongly supported, with up to 32 players able to go head-to-head or co-op over a LAN and, at last count, at least six over the Internet

There are eight flyable aircraft on offer in total, comprising two US, five Russian and one German plane. As such, you can get behind the controls of the likes of the A-10A Warthog, F-15C Eagle, Su-27 Flanker B, MiG-29 Fulcrum A, MiG-29 Fulcrum C, Su-25 Frogfoot, Su-33 Flanker D, and German MiG-29. In each case the aforementioned scalable realism and difficulty settings allow you to tweak a few options, such as 'anti-spin control' and 'easy landings', so you can get straight into the action, whether you're a beginner or an expert pilot. Furthermore, for the more advanced flight enthusiasts, there's even the inclusion of such details as ultra accurate rates of acceleration, fuel consumption and flight range. more