Air Force Delta

Pros • Polished presentation • “Bingo” pops up whenever you ace an enemy! • Intuitive control scheme • Over 30 aircraft to choose from	Cons • IT’S ON THE DREAMCAST!! • Where’s the replay-editing mode? • Dated gameplay
Bottom Line A solid, if uninspired, airborne combat-sim for a platform capable of eating its ilk for breakfast I’m happier on the ground, thank you very much. Lest I be behind the reins of some slick star-fighter, or something. Air Force Delta didn’t do a thing to change my mind about this. It may look pretty (Dreamcast, duh) and play okay, but ultimately feels like every other old console combat-sim, regurgitated and Dreamcasted. I guess I expect more from the magic white box. Nutshelled: The Republic of Laconia, a splinter-group in a war-torn country, has hired you, a crack mercenary pilot, to help in the air-struggle against the forces bent on reuniting the state. You’re sent on a whole mess of missions to prevent them from doing this. After each mission, you’re granted cash, with which you buy new craft. Ad infinitum.

You start the game in the cockpit of the F-5E Tiger II, and are ordered by your higher-ups to blast some bombers invading Laconic air-space. After dispatching them, you’ll undoubtedly earn enough cash for that MiG you’ve been eyeballing. Then, you’ll fly another mission, earn more bucks, and buy a cooler plane. This formula will not change.

Well, this is the military, you know...

Right. So I’ll break down the routine for you, Private. Before each mission, you’re briefed: text scrolls down a fraction of the screen, and key-points are highlighted on a map. No voices to speak of (ha-ha). Makes you wonder what happened to the guy Konami hired to do Solid Snake. Anyway, after the briefing, a number of options will become available. This is when you get to shop for ships, as well as save, load, and mess with in-game options. Then, the real fun begins.

Wait... I get airsick...

Don’t worry, scout--Air Force Delta isn’t brain-surgery. While the expert control-settings do allow for some tricky flying, they’re by no means intimidating. Throw in the novice-settings, and even your jock brother will be Top Gunning with the best of them. Seems like the Dreamcast’s controller is good for something other than fouling up my 2-D fighting--the right and left analog triggers actually work well into AFD’s novice-scheme; the right trigger speeds you up, while the left acts as a brake, leaving your thumb free for trigger-happiness. Alternately, the expert-setting has the acceleration and weapon controls on the button-pad, and the pitch controls on the triggers. Considering the clunky nature of the Dreamcast’s pad, Konami did a decent job in setting this up.

Does it... uh... look pretty, sir?

Dammit, private, are you getting soft on me!? War isn’t aesthetically pleasing! The 30 real-life aircraft are rendered STARK, not pretty, in gorgeous, true-to-life 3D! Okay, enough of colonel maniac. The cityscapes are rendered beautifully, and the cloud-effects are dazzling. The engine handles it all chivalrously, with absolutely no slowdown. The only blemish on its fair countenance are the backdrops--they’re static, even grainy at times. Totally unacceptable, considering the hardware. Someone at Konami needs a talking to...

Um, does this mean I’m dismissed?

Calm down, son--I need to sum this up: Konami’s released a decidedly past-generation console combat-sim for a platform that is capable sooooooooooo much more. Given Konami’s resources and track-record, Air Force Delta could have taken advantage of that. I guess we can blame its uninspired design on the fact that it’s a first-generation title. All that aside, though, Air Force Delta is a solid combat-sim with some nice graphics, intuitive controls, and 30 planes to boot. But where’s that much lauded replay-editing feature that Konami advertised? I don’t want to have to sic Snake on their asses...

Info & Screenshots