Cheap Lock On Gold (Software) (Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000) Price

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Customer Reviews of Lock On Gold

A good simulator in need of some work
Lock On (referred to as 'LOMAC' throughout this review) is a simulator (don't even think about calling it a game - you'll regret it) where you get to fly several modern jet aircraft in the Black Sea region, centralized on the Crimea peninsula. The game's aircraft consist of the A-10A, F-15C, MiG-29A, MiG-29K, Su-25, Su-25T, Su-27, and Su-33. If that has you a little confused, let me explain: <
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>The A-10A doesn't really need any explaining - the Warthog is iconic in it's own right. You attack ground targets with it, preferrably with the massive gun. You also get a variety of dumb bombs and rockets, plus the ubiquitous AGM-65 Maverick missile. It's probably one of the biggest reasons to get the simulator, as it's one of the few to feature a Warthog. <
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>The F-15C is the Eagle. It's an air superiority fighter. Find enemy fighters and destroy them - rinse and repeat. There's not much else to say about this aircraft other than it's probably one of the better dogfighters availible in the simulator. <
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>The MiG-29s come in two versions: MiG-29A and MiG-29S. The MiG-29 is a basic front line fighter, short ranged and designed to cover friendly ground from enemy aircraft. The differences between the MiG-29A and MiG-29S is primarily in weapons - the MiG-29S has the capability to use fire-and-forget (that means you don't have to track the target for the duration of the missile's flight) R-77 missiles. The MiG-29 can also use some basic unguided ground attack weapons at the expense of air-to-air weapons. <
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>The Su-25 is availible in two versions: Su-25 and Su-25T. The Su-25 is a very simple aircraft - in it's cockpit you won't find anything more than a HUD and some analog gauges. It's basically a simple 'bomb truck' where the primary munitions it deploys are dumb bombs and rockets. It can employ a few guided missiles, but these are difficult to use without practice. The Su-25T comes with the Flaming Cliffs expansion pack (part of LockOn Gold) and is a upgraded version of the Su-25. It features a TV display in the cockpit and some more guided weapons, plus an advanced flight model not availible to other aircraft. <
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>Lastly, the Su-27 and the Su-33 are almost the same aircraft. The Su-27 Flanker is a advanced fighter designed to counter the so-called 'teen' series of US fighters. It's basically a mirror of the F-15C (to a degree) with strong offensive capabilities and a more straightforward design. It can carry a short range missile, R-73 'Archer', and the long range R-27 'Alamo'. There are several different variants of the latter availible to the Su-27, and the difference is usually range and guidance system. Overall, the Su-27 basically does the same thing as the F-15C. The Su-33 on the other hand, is a Russian carrier based version of the Su-27. You can take off from the Admiral Kuzenetsov (Russian aircraft carrier) and can carry some limited ground attack weaponry. It's otherwise the same as the Su-27 in terms of what it does. It can carry a massive anti-ship missile, but it's designed for air superiority. <
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>Now that I've explained the aircraft, it's time to explain the game. There's no plot or underlying story involved in LOMAC - the rather dull campaigns have different backgrounds, and do not sufficiently describe the detail of a campaign. Instead, LOMAC prides itself on attention to detail, lots of eye candy, and enough buttons to press to make you wish you had an extra arm or two. LOMAC is not a straightforward game that you can jump into, but one that you have to learn in order to be proficient at it. Unfortunately, once you've learned a few of the aircraft, your options become limited. The campaigns might be able to hold you over for a bit, but there's so much missing from them that the replay value just isn't there. I was bored after the 2nd mission of the A-10 campaign, and the 3rd for the F-15 campaign. Even the Su-27 campaign failed to appeal me after the 2nd mission. I believe the lack of background and atmosphere really hurts LOMAC in this respect. If more detail was provided in the campaigns other than a basic breifing (political situation, causes of conflict, etc.) they might be better, but there's little to go on. <
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>Fortunately, LOMAC comes with a mission editor, so you can keep yourself entertained for a while with this handy little tool. Eventually though, you'll find yourself looking for more, and there's no other place to go than Multiplayer. Multiplayer gives you the option of playing a cooperative game or head to head modes. Cooperative games are pretty much the same as single player missions, but with the added bonus of some real teamwork thrown in. If LOMAC were based purely on the cooperative capability, it would really shine. Unfortunately, I ask for a little bit more. Head to head is pretty straightforward, either dogfights or objective based missions. I haven't had much luck finding many head to head games, so my experience with that part is limited, but cooperative is so much better, you have to ask yourself what the point of dogfighting is other than to have a little fun. <
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>Also, beware! The simulator has very high system requirements. You can run it on a low end system, but I definately wouldn't advise anything less than a 2Ghz processor, a video card made within the past 2 years, and at least a gigabyte of RAM. I ran it on the minimums and came to regret it. <
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>LOMAC is a good simulator, but only a moderate game. If you took the realism out of it, you'd lose everything the game has to offer. For those of you looking for a more 'run and gun' kind of flight game, I would shy away from LOMAC. For the rest of you who enjoy the complexity, I can recommend LOMAC - but make sure you plan to play it in multiplayer more than anything, otherwise you will be disappointed with the single player game. <
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>If you want an accurate depiction of an A-10, I suggest you try the demo out. That's one of the main reasons I bought this simulator, and while I have been pleased with it, I don't advise it to anyone looking for a quick thrill. I can't stress this strongly enough: you WILL get bitten if you approach this simulator as a game. <
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>Otherwise, if you're looking for nice eye candy and an accurate depiction of what it feels like to fly a modern jet fighter, look no further than Lock On. <
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>If you're expecting simple action dogfights, look elsewhere - you won't find them in Lock On.

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WHO SAYS YOU CAN NOT MAKE A SOWS EAR OUT OF A SILK PURSE
I first would like to say that this is a complex and realistic with great graphics , sound and promise,, however it is cumbersome , repetitive , and confusing.. This is not user fliendly. AN EXERCISE IN MEMORIZATION , TYPING , AND DEXTERITY.. THERE ARE SO MANY COMMANDS THAT ONE NEED AN IQ OF 200 TO GET THEM STRAIGHT,MANY ARE MULTIPLE KEY STRIKE COMMANDS , JUST WHAT YOU NEED IN A DIFFICULT TO CONTROL PLANE(IE FLIGHT CONTROL TRIM NEEDS CONTRL / FOR ONE OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS , OH THATS RIGHT THIS IS NOT A PLANE THIS IS A COMPUTER , BECAUSE THAT ACTION ON THE PLANE IS A HAT SWITCH FUNCTION , SO MUCH FOR SOMETHING ELSE UBSOFT MISSED.