F24: Stealth Fighter – NDS – Review

Fondly
remembering such classic flight-combat arcade games like Top Gun and After
Burner, I was most eager to jump into F24 Stealth Fighter for the Nintendo DS.
This was a chance to dive into a portable flight combat title that has all the
looks of an arcade-styled action game where you’ll be dodging missiles and
taking down enemy fighter jets as well as destroying enemy aircraft carriers or
SCUD launcher sites. For the most part, this is exactly what we get to do in
this game but never has taking down enemy MiGs been so, well, boring.

The game’s main
“story” mode offers a scenario that could be ripped out of future headlines.
With the current instability in the Middle East, Iran is beginning to try the
patience of the U.N. and when Iran announces that they plan to carry out
offensive air operations over the current No Fly Zone, the president of the
United States orders any flight over that specific No Fly Zone to be an act of
aggression and therefore grounds for the military to do anything in their power
to put an end to the problem by force. You are tasked with clearing the zone
from any enemies that are currently breaking the restriction with extreme force.

While that
sounds like the making of a really good single-player main mode, the very first
mission shows us how a good setup can be ruined by weak game design. You begin
the game on an aircraft carrier and a full first-person view of the cockpit. You
can easily take your F24 out the runway and fly arcade-style without worrying
about any pesky realism such as altitude and fuel. All you’ll really have to pay
attention to is your mission objectives as well as not getting shot out of the
sky by an enemy missile or crashing with the ocean. The game often introduces
multiple objectives such as taking out a number of enemy MiGs as well as
everything from aircraft carriers to enemy emplacements and even enemy bases.
For the most part, though, you’ll be fighting enemy planes so be prepared to get
into a number of dogfights.

Aerial combat is
where the game really goes wrong, though, and the main reason is the fact that
navigating and keeping track of your waypoint is downright confusing. You can
highlight a specific target such as an enemy bogey, enemy transport vehicles or
even submarines but there are times when you won’t know whether the target is in
front of you or behind you. You will often be checking your radar system to see
where you’re facing. Dogfights aren’t as fun but it’s not due to the confusing
navigation problems but rather the fact that hunting down enemy fighter jets
don’t require any strategy. Secondly, the controls aren’t ideal for fancy
maneuvering. Then there’s the fact that your load-out weapons remain the same
throughout the 20 missions. The truth is that you will find that hunting enemy
fighters gets tiresome and boring quickly. Even the four-player multiplayer mode
is unexciting.

Controlling your
fighter is also handled badly as well. You can use your Stylus to increase or
decrease the throttle as well as deploy flares or chaff to shake off enemy
missiles. The problem is that the touch-screen controls aren’t responsive,
forcing you to fly away to regroup and launch your attack all over again. You
can also take control of your landing, a feature that could have been fun but
just means a death sentence thanks to the poor controls.

The visuals are
also quite appalling and there’s very little in terms of visual effects that
really stand out … even explosions look rather dull in this game! At least the
first-person view of the cockpit is a nice touch. There’s very little in terms
of voice acting in this game but at least the sound effects are decent. There is
even a running soundtrack but it seems ripped straight out of the Top Gun score.
Really, the Nintendo DS could do a lot better than this.

In the end, F24
Stealth Fighter for the Nintendo DS is a major disappointment for flight-combat
fans looking for a game with high-flying action fit for the DS. A flawed game
that handles the aerial combat aspect of the game rather poorly, the game –
despite the 20 missions – comes off as boring and uninteresting. Fans looking
for another flight-combat game will have to look elsewhere because this one has
very little to offer. Sorry, Majesco, but this one flight combat game we will be
avoiding.

Review Scoring Details for F24 Stealth Fighter

Gameplay: 3.2
Flying the
unfriendly skies should have been a real blast but the game does dogfights a
great injustice and the game’s action hardly picks up. The mission objectives
aren’t very clear so you’ll feel like all you do is fly around waiting for
enemies to come to you. There is a multiplayer mode but it does not make this
game any better.

Graphics: 3.5
The Game Boy
Advance visuals will not fail to produce a groan and the game is complete devoid
of grand visual effects. The dual screens do a great job of giving the
impression of sitting in an F-24, though, and that’s not bad.

Sound: 3.2
The soundtrack
sounds like a rip-off of the Top Gun soundtrack and not a very good rip-off at
that. As for the sound effects, they’re decent but nothing special.

Difficulty:
Medium
You’ll find it
hard to lock on to the enemy in this game but not because the AI is excellent
but rather because the gameplay is flawed and the missions awkwardly complex.
There are times when attempting to shake off a missile lock is hard but that’s
about it.

Concept: 3.5
The game
deserves some points for including a variety of mission objectives as well as
Touch Screen landing and takeoffs but the rest of the game just doesn’t work.
Even the game’s multiplayer mode feels barren and lacks any excitement.

Multiplayer:
3.0
The
four-player multiplayer mode could have been fun but – just like the
single-player experience – it’s actually quite boring. If you’re looking for
proof that a deathmatch mode can go so terribly boring then this is it.

Overall: 3.4
The Nintendo
DS is certainly more than capable of bringing flight combat fans a game worthy
of the genre but F24 Stealth Fighter is a shining example of how bad
implementation could turn a great idea into a badly designed game. Complex for
all the wrong reasons and outright boring, this is a game fans of the genre
should skip altogether.