First Impressions: Konami’s Xbox launch title will prove, once and for all, that all of us armchair fighter pilots have not “lost that lovin’ feeling…”
Konami has a superb title in store for the Xbox launch, and it has nothing to do with the infamous Solid Snake. All of the fans of Air Force Delta on the Dreamcast will get their second helping of mach 2 maneuvers with Konami’s second installment, Air Force Delta Storm, arriving on Microsoft’s Xbox just in time for launch (no pun intended). Strap yourself in, grab your flightstick, and get ready to buzz the tower!
Players will have over seventy planes to choose from as they take part in over fifty clandestine operations for a secret “agency,” including the F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18 Hornet and A-10 Thunderbolt. These missions include dogfights, bombing runs, surgical strikes, and reconnaissance.
Graphically, the reports coming in place the action at a smooth 60 frames per second, albeit with a considerable amount of fog on the horizon, but Konami has stated that this will be cleaned up for the final version. All of the special effects one would expect from a flight combat sim will be present, including lens flare and massive fireballs when your target lock hits home. As you might not expect, the game will also include a myriad of minute detail effects including the jet wash from behind the fighter, and the particle debris that will fly off of a plane when damaged. The texture mapping seems to be varied in its quality, from photo-realistic at high altitude to a bit muddy when flying low to the ground. Perhaps this will also be cleaned up in the final version. Konami promises to utilize a great number of the Xbox’s groundbreaking graphical assets in this title.
Surprisingly, the game will feature two control schemes. One is designed in a simpler, arcade style fashion and one is designed for a more complicated flight sim setup. This should serve to satisfy both the impatient and the detail freaks alike (you’ll be able to adjust flaps, etc).
