This has got to be a joke. A company should not be allowed to release something in this state and people give it a 10? On what basis do they give it a 10? These people are mindless Lemmings that would by the Grand Canyon if you tried to sell it to them. Do believe a game in this condition is a 10. If you buy it now, you'll be sorry and if's a gift, you'll be laughed at! Make an informed decision.… Expand

Unfriendly user interface, taxing mission editor, vague missions, bugs bugs and more bugs. The game was rushed out, if your not into tweaking and tweaking then leave this on the shelf until the developers finish it of properly.

Poorly written graphics engine, will not perform on current hardware. Minimum specs (on the box) is a joke / marketing ploy. I returned the game for a refund.

It's a bit shite.

In it's current state, the F15 can be considered still in development, and therefore not flyable at this time. The radar has a few bugs, but more importantly, the missiles are under-modeled by about 10 times. They are simply not effective at all, and extremely unreallistic upon the time of release. They need a complete makeover to bring them up to the level that can be considered realistic. The Aim120 has a range of less than 5 miles, the Aim 7 is the most accurate of the group, and the Aim 9 has difficulty tracking down a target at less than 2 miles (I once fired three Aim 9's at a MIG about 2 miles in front of me while I was on his six and all three missiles missed). Can't beleive that this passed the beta testers. The game can become good, but upon release, it is about 70% complete.… Expand

Great ideas behind the game BUT realisation is poor for now. Very bad. Lots of bugs of important functions, killing the fun to use the game - very, very sadly...

Ok, First I have to be honest about my experience with fighter sims. Im not an enthusiast who logs 30 flight hours per week. In fact, the last flight sim I played religiously was US Navy Fighters (loved that game). But I am a hardcore gamer that tries to keep up with the hardware upgrades (as much as my wallet allows). So with that my review. Dissapointment...plain and simple. Im not talking about the graphics and in-game realism. Im talking about my expectation as a consumer...ipso facto...a money spending one. The amount of support available, the state in which my product was purchased (incomplete), ease of use (this game is more dialed into experienced flight simmers so it has a steep learning curve), and the famous bug issues most lo-mac forums are rife with. Let me say that most of those bugs are fixable if you tone down the settings and take the time to bug hunt your problems. But for ease of use and consumer satisfaction....lo-mac is stuck with a generous 4. Its just not "out of the box" satisfaction.… Expand

Gets only three points from me, because the full version doesn't work with Windows ME. Major issue and a strange thing because the demo worked. There is no key overview card in the package, most of the manual is only available als Acrobat PDF. Some graphic bugs, complicated and confusing menus and mission planer, poor performance especially when flying over city, crashes somethimes with bluescreen. Looks overall very unfinished. X-MAS is coming. SO RUSH RUSH Hope the fix the major issues soon, I don't want another "Strike Fighters-Project 1" in my shelf! But even then LOMAC will be far from being perfect!… Expand

The game is uncomplete, to much emphasis on having to create interesting missions yourself. Default missions are plain and short, starting in the air and not on the ramp, no need to learn engine start sequences. Campaigns are dull und unispiring. Any action on screen or weather other than clear starts to slow the FPS down until unplayable. This game needs a patch before I reconsider giving it another go.… Expand

They 've to give us money cause we need CRY2 system to run this missed game, i said "game" ok? :) that is.

Weak documentation, buggy, rushed out earily to beat Falcon4 Gold OIR in my opinion. Will be a great sim when fixed.

The reason for the low score is that the game is not finished yet by a long shot. Its like a beautifull woman that never stops moaning. An irritation at this stage. The game should still be on the development desk sorting out the similar problems that were in the demo. No doubt this game has potential to be a fantastic flight sim and a 9/10 rating at the end of the day. The minimum specs on the box are a total thumb suck. If you dont have the biggest, meanest pc with an 'UBER' GPU forget about getting this game. Patches will no doubt sort out a lot of the problems, but this is a clear case of getting releasing the game before Christmas just to reap in the sales when they new all to well the game was still in a beta stage. It does have fanatastic potential though.… Expand

So-so game with good graphics. Needs work.

I really should have given a 0, but that's to harsh and would really like to give it a ten, but I hate to lie. This has got to be the most overrated game in a long time. People state to make sure your system is properly configured and optimzed, but even that doesn't cover up the sloppy coding that has brought out hundreds of bug reports. They say they are being sorted out, we�39;ll see. My money goes elsewhere for now, your's should too. Read the 9 and 10 reviews with your fingers crossed, they are misleading and an attempt to ramp up the ratings,… Expand

Really poor programming. This program was not ready to be released. It may improve in the future if they have competent developers on-hand.

Assumptions by some, like Bruce and Steve, are what landed this game in the position its in. The programmers thought they needed to develop the game to novices and it shows and that?s why you see all the 9 and 10 ratings. The hardcore simmers are the ones that don?t like it due to its simplicity and piece-meal design. Some say it?s a follow up of the Flanker series. This game makes you glad you didn?t play Flanker. This game will lead the real flight SIM genre in the wrong direction. There is no immersion factor in the game; the terrain is bland, it contains useless cockpits that add nothing to the feel of the game except in reducing frame rates, and the hundreds of bugs make trying to setup your system to play this things a pain in the royal behind. If you have time and money to waste, this is your game, but realize you?re not getting a true FLIGHT SIM, only an arcadish survey game with aircraft in it. … Expand

Plenty of PROMISE, but in its current state, its still a dream.

Compared to Falcon 4.0, this is just another game. The avionics are arcade-like and a generation behind the king. To compare this game in its current state to Falcon 4.0 only hurts LOMAC! Its graphics are the best thing going for it and if it weren?t for that, who knows where it would stand. It appears plenty of work needs to be done to get this lump of code in working order. It actually appears to be Flanker rewrapped with a few more planes ?thrown? in. The consumer was taken for granted on this one and it seems many fell for the trap and hype. Don?t be one of them. Wait until Falcon 4:OIR comes out before making your decision. There?s more to calling yourself a flight?SIM? than pretty graphics.… Expand

This game has problems, many problems. The system required to play this game is not yet available, but people say to upgrade this and upgrade that. What a bunch of bull! If the game is suppose to play satisfactorily on mid range systems, why do they say to upgrade? To cover up a poorly programmed game, that?s why. Those that say they have bought this and that are only fooling themselves and buying into the hype, don?t fall into the trap they have! How it can be rated over a 6 at this point in time is beyond me. There are bugs everywhere, the game runs slow, setup is horrendous, and no one knows how many patches it will need to bring it up to an acceptable level. As far as looking good, that?s the best thing that people can say about it. See it in action before you buy it. If the store won?t load it up for you, walk away from it until summer. It will need longer, but at least you?ll get it at cheaper price. $40 is way too much for a game that was slapped together with proper Quality Assurance procedures in place.… Expand

If you're old enough to drink a few beers before playing, it's not too bad. When you try it sober, you start looking for another few beers. Who let this out the door? Where were the quality people? You can its Christmas time when trash like this comes out. Under the influence rating: 7 Sober rating: 2.

The first patch has improved many things, but the starting point was so low that it?s moot point at this point in time. It appears several more patches are going to be needed to bring this GAME up to playable levels for the majority of users, not just those on the fanboy sites. If you have a blind obedience mindset, like to play follow the fool, and only want to post rave reviews and comments, warranted or not, about the game, rush out and buy it. Or, you can use common sense and wait until things are fixed before buying a game that contains un-optimized code making unplayable on anything less than a machine made for the gods. Good Luck!… Expand

Sickening framerates and useless support! This puppy is going back. Anybody want to follow me and be the next sucker to buy it?

Unlike others here giving this game an 8 or above, I see it for what it is now, not what it?s going to be after 4-5 more patches. How else should it be rated? People stating they?re getting great performance and frame rates, they achieve this by turning the settings to LOW, don?t be fooled by their rhetoric. There are problems with the F-15?s avionics, along with the toning down of US missiles and radar effectiveness. To the zealots, it?s always ?The next patch? will fix it. Too many with high end systems are having problems and knowing how to setup your system is not the problem. The problem lies in poorly designed code. As you can see in previous posts, those that post other than stellar reviews or comments are called complainers, whiners, trolls, and other names. It?s not that we don?t own or play the game, it?s because we dare post accurate comments, according to what we see, and aren?t so weak-minded that we are swayed by the fan-boys to post lovely reviews and comments. If you?re not expecting outstanding performance and want a great LOOKING game, this is for you. You can always take and post your lovely screenshots to certain message boards or give them to your friends for their desktop. … Collapse

ED/UBI know how to make a flight sim. Graphicly LOMAC will amaze you with it's level of detail. Each of the flyable aircraft have a distinct look and feel. Some people say it's a survey sim but they are wrong. You will have 100s of hours of gameplay as you become proficient with each aircraft. The mission editor is probly the best ever seen in a flight sim. The campaign unfortunatly is not dynamic. Multiplayer runs well and is a good time when you can find a game you want to join. There are some things that prevent the game from getting a higher score...lack of printed manual, poor quality PDF manual, varius bugs that can range from slight annoyances to very frustrating...and what has been the biggest problem with the LOMAC community...the VERY hefty system requirements to see the game run with much, if any of the graphics set to high. LOMAC has some problems but the game is still amazing and you will be blown away by the sence of flight, the weapons, and the landscapes. For any flight sim enthusiast this game is a must have that will only get better as patches are released as UBI/ED is currently to working on patches for the game.… Expand

This is not for the weekend arcade gamer. LOMAC makes a great attempt to keep it as real as a flight sim game can. From the modeling to flight charecteristics all the way to the graphics, hands down this is the best looking modern combat sim around. Worth every penny!

As a Flanker 2 fan, I had waited a long time for this "sequel". Along the road, delays were announced, and features (dynamic campaign, Su-39, etc) were dropped. I had mixed feelings about it, but kept thinking positive. Now, the game is finally available. On the publishing part it should be noted that too many mistakes were made.
First there was the decision to omit a printed version of the manual (although an excellent third party substitute was provided by Nic Cole). What makes things even worse (documentation-wise) is the fact that in several localized versions, the online PDF manual was missing, leaving the users with no manual whatsoever! Also the PDF-based keycard didn't appear to be present (in all versions). Even though these documents were quickly offered for free download, this isn?t really a professional way to do business, especially considering the fact that it's very easy to get access to illegal software nowadays. A professionally written, printed manual could be a means for the publisher to reduce warez.

More communication and support for the community from UBIsoft (and to less extent ED) and support for fan sites (the smaller ones, that aren't "close buddies", to put it politely, with producer Matt Wagner were left out). The publisher should support the community, not the other way around.

The game itself has both positive and negative aspects. To begin, the performance of the game is quite poor, even with sufficient hardware, and when the graphics settings are lowered, resulting in less than amazing graphics (yet still good enough). There are some elements of the graphics that will cripple performance, even on the fastest systems out today, while they shouldn't be such a large performance hit (flares will slow down performance even when not in view). (other performance culprits are smoke, fire of destroyed tanks, water which is rendered even when not visible [covered by terrain] etc) Optimization of the graphics and other parts of the game should be able yield significant improvement. Regarding the performance of the aircraft, it was sad to see the "advanced simulation" package being dropped. It wasn't finished and is thus understandable to see this happen. The radar (low altitudes) and performance of some missiles needs to be fixed. There are also some other minor mistakes (some of which have been acknowledged and may not be hard to fix, such as the amount of rounds for the MiG29?s gun). The game's user interface looks nice but doesn't always work as expected. In some cases it's even confusing.

I know I've said quite a few negative things. They should be considered according to their proportion. Overall, playing the game itself is absolutely great, especially in multiplayer coop missions. As said by others, the game is scalable so rookies and veterans should be comfortable (those who want more complexity may always fall back on F4 SP3 ;) ).

Final verdict: a great game, with a bumpy release, and some issues (technical and gameplay), most of which can be fixed with further support (patches). Let?s hope Lomac is the base of further modern air combat simulations.
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This game isn't even half-way finished. If I buy a car, I expect it to be delivered with wheels so I can drive it. Its a reasonable assumption, isn't it? This game is unstable and unplayable even on high end machines running XP (which im using). A game cannot be released for hardware that hasnt even been invented yet. The minimum system requirements on the cover is not only a joke, is also a legal cause to return the game and getting your money back purely because its a lie. Furher, there isnt a patch in this world that can fix everything that is broken in this game. Im not even going further into that, because its already been dwelled over and over again by hundreds. My advice to anyone considering to buy this game is to think twice (just read the forum posts). Why should you spend your hard earned money on a product that isnt even finished. Its a beta1 release only witout the ?beta? label. If you buy it, youre only going to be dissapointed and feel cheated, like I did, no matter what hardware you have. This game is an insult to all of us that paid good money for it, just to get a box of frustration. It doesnt even come with a proper manual. I could live with that, simply because the good old days of Falcon4-type-of-manuals are long gone and will probably never come back. If the game should be delivered with a proper printed manual, there wouldnt be just as much money over for the sharks, now wouldnt it? What really bothers me though, is that it doesnt even come with a proper un-printed manual!! The documentation that follows this game is the same kind of joke as the system requirements. So what am I exactly paying for? A half way finished, poorly documented pre-beta release for a full retail price. I admit, I must be stupid to have such high expectations. After all, its only a game. Gamers/simmers aren?t real customers, theyre just a bunch of stupid kids we can cheat money from over and over again.. Think again, Ubisoft. The amount of effort put in by the developer in this game is yet amazing. Still, its all wasted because of the short-term economical-or-whatever disaterous descisions leading to this premature release of an unfinished product. I feel cheated, and I?ll certainly think twice before buying anything from Ubisoft again. I also feel sad for the developers that put their hard work and effort into bringing this game to the sim world community. I feel sad because they dont really deserve all this critisims. However, as a paying customer I reserve the right to make some demands. I dont demand a perfect product. At the least however, I demand that the game is playable more than five minutes, has more than 1 fps on a high-end machine 5-6 times faster than the ?minimum? specs, and doesnt contain a zillion bugs and wrongs that ruins the whole experience. … Expand

This is a very serious attempt at a simulation of flying jets of the late 20th centrury era.

The flight models are impressive, the eye candy is unsurpassed and the full mission planner potentially gives you a tool to fly whatever mission you might dream up.

Of course there are som bugs to be squashed still - but show me one pice of software without the need for at least one patch nowadays.

As for the needed sys-specs: I always wonder about people who turn everything up to "maximum" on their outdated systems.

Either turn the options down if you have an old machine (that is the reason for having options in the first place), or go buy yourself a new one. It´s that easy. This simulation will still be interesting from with tomorrows machines - I for my part, I´m apreciating this.

Harald, a.k.a. Odin914… Expand

Great sim I'm running it on a mid level machine and it works very well for me. I've had to back off on the graphics settings somewhat to get a reasonable frame rate but the game still looks great and runs well. Documentation is a weak point but the interface is pretty friendly.

Definitely doesn't deserve an 8 or above. There are just to many things wrong. Still I can't rate it higher than a 4 for several other reasons; poor gameplay, controller setup doesn't work properly, amd the documentation is poor. And I will not be strong-armed into buying another manual for $40 when the proper documentation should've came with the game.

First off, this isn't the most user friendly of sims; no doubt about it. If you want to enjoy it, you will have to put some time in. The plus side of this is, if you do, you will discover an incrediably detailed and rich sim that will keep you entertained for days, nay years! Attention to detail is at times breath taking. The most obvious example of this is are the visuals. Simply amazing. Aircraft and ground vechiles weapon system are all fully modelled, but not overly complicated - again however, a bit of perseverence is required.

Aside from the investment in time the only other 'downers' with Lomac are 1) it has a few bugs (a patch is expected in few weeks); nothing to serious but there are some irritating issues, and 2) system requirements. Put simply this is a hog. Don't expect to ramp all the graphics up to high. A computer that can do it hasn't been made yet - but if you ask me, that's just another feather it's cap to secure it's longevity ;). Overall, if you like jets and have bit of time to spare this is somthing you can't miss!
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I played it for < 8 hours. Not even enough time to get it set up properly. But having dealt with FA/18, Falcon 4, and SU-27, and having to back down to Novalogic F-22 Raptor, (Sorry, I just can't get myself to buy a Micrsoft game. Bad enough I have to pay for their OS, so FS is out).

Until now, there was not a "die hard" sim that gave you the chance to build up your skills. It was either "Arcade" or "Die-hard", really should have been called "Die-real-fast"!

In a few hours I was flying @ 500ft, got below the power lines, and to my surprise, I bounced off the ground"! What a great concept!

Fun aside, this is a game that has the ability to be a lot to everyone. For the Arcade style that want to fly and shoot, it can be there. For the die hard, well that too.

For someone like me, with an engineering background, physics and some avionics, I am working a bit at a time on manuevers, and flight, and as I do, I can "turn the pot" up to attain more reality.

I think a lot of people missed that. If I were to read this board I would get the impression that this was only a "die-hard" sim, and it is a lot more.

First hour I actually landed the F-15! It landed, bounced 15-20 feet, and settled on its right wing. (;-))

After 8 hours and turning on some reality, tried again and made a big-a-hole!

It is great that this sim can appeal to many... thats large sales. How much more value can you ask for?? $50 and you get a lot of play value out of it.

Knowing just enough that I know, I realize I can't really enjoy this sim until I start lighting up those difficulty buttons. It is probably as close as I will come in my lifetime to controlling the real thing.

Md
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This game is a bundle of joy to play and a truly amazing simulator both graphically and technically. What you get is a very detailed simulator of not one but 8 different aircraft from both NATO and ex-USSR forces, with a very high level of realism combined with a high entertainment value.

Graphics: 10

Even at medium settings, this game easily matches the image quality and detail level of IL2:FB, the current benchmark for flight simulator graphics. Set to max this game looks nothing less than amazing, but with a definite performance impact. Like the Janes series from EA, this game was written with an intention of a LONG lifecycle and so the graphics engine was written to use the added performace of current and upcoming high-end products as well as what is common in the market today. Unless you own a radeon 9800PRO or GeForce 5900FX, setting detail to max is madness and completely wasted as your hardware was not designed to handle this amount of load. As I said the game equals or surpasses IL2:FB even on medium settings so do not let the previous sentence in any way deter you from buying this game if you do not own todays state of the art graphics processor - my own config is decidedly midrange by todays standards and I am getting 30 fps average dropping to ~15 only for short times and when things get very crowded.

That being said, it the game could have been even more future-proof had Eagle Dynamics implemented DirectX 9.0 shader support as well - this would have added even more eye-candy in the future when those products become more prevalent.

Sound: 8

Very high quality sound, and to a non-pilot like myself everything sounds pretty much right. You may prefer to turn up the cocpit volume a bit, to make it easier to hear your engines, gear and flap noises etc - the soundlevel you get at default setting is realistic (a fighter pilot is cocooned inside a bulletproof class canopy with a helmet and headset) but personally I feel that the exaggerated noiselevel improves the feeling of immersion.

A minor detractor is the rather sparse ambient voice comms from other aircraft - compared to Jane's FA 18, this is a bit lacking, and I do feel that those wannabe fighter jocks out there would have appreciated a more 'realistic' amount of voice comms in what is after all a combat environment, but I guess the developers chose to 'declutter' the voice comms and focus on the information relevant to the game player. Fair enough and a minor point.

Gameplay: 10

This is a tall order but I really mean it: this game is so much fun to play and has such an amazing replay value that it deserves the top rating for gameplay.


Buyer please note: Most of the bad ratings given on this website have one thing in common: people having problems with their local OS installation and jumping to the conclusion that the game does not work at all on either Windows ME, XP, 98 etc. While there are issues that need resolving, these problems are NOT indicative of the general quality of the product. I personally run the game on WinXP on an AMD XP2400+ and GeForce 4 4600Ti with 1024MB ram, and it hasn't even crashed on me once. … Expand

This Sim has it all and then some! Its photo-realistic graphics lure me up to just fly around and simply enjoy the view... The attention to detail is astounding. Couple that with high fidelity avionics and flight models and you have a bleeding edge sim for a relatively small investment. The Dev team has a 'hands on' approach with the community and is not afraid to get their feet wet and take praise or criticism for their product.

More importantly, they interact with the community on a daily basis and actually listen to them.-KUDOS-
This approach is better than any shiny box for building a customer base.

Looking forward to the 1st patch!
(and ANY addon these guys put thier mitts on).
Thanks again everyone involved.… Expand

The V1.01 patch is out at www.lo-mac.com. It makes a HUGE difference. Before the patch I would have given this game a 5, but after the patch is really ROCKS! I love it. I get great performance and my multiplayer problems with my Nforce chipset are no longer causing problems. It is a blast to play this multiplayer. The game is going to be a classic. Those that still complain after the patch most likely have low end equipment. Don't make the mistake of passing this one up. Buy it , get the patch, and have fun flying jets!!!! JB… Expand

Very beautiful sim. The graphics are truly stunning. I've had some problems with performance but thanks to the reviewer below that mentioned the new 1.01 patch, I am running very smooth now. Thanks. I have only started the campaign for the F-15 but so far it has been lots of fun. It's hard, but really fun. I am glad I ran the training missions before patching to V1.01. Great job Ubi Soft! This is a great game.… Expand

Awesome.

Why would you rate this game if it didn't work for you? Everyone should have Win XP these days anyway. The developers worked long and hard to bring this game to the sim community, and you go and bash it because you're running an ancient system. So please if you havn't played the game, DON"T REVIEW IT!!! Anyway, i love this sim, sure it has it's fare share of bugs and it does require a monster system to have all the graphics turned up but every plane has it's own FMs and radar which are very complex. The graphics are incredible and are probably the best i've ever seen, when on a good system that is. So if you like Hardcore Sims, and you have a good system pick this game up it's a treat. … Expand

Great flight sim, upholds the high standard of IL2, and Flanker. Steep learning curve, and poor manual are the only pitfalls to this masterpiece.

+ Realistic flight modelling (some of the best ever!) + Great graphics would be a 9 of 10, but... - riddled with many bugs e.g. missing radio communications between US airplanes and some graphical glitches e.g. planes dissapearing - Doesn't even start under Win 98SE/ME on three different PCs! - CD recognition problems with some drives - rebooting system problems - blue screen of death - un-user friendly menus (same als Flanker 2.0/2.5) - un-userfriendly battle planner (same as Flanker 2.0/2.5) - small printed manual, ok at least a big one is on CD. - NO keyboard keycard included! - serious framerate/performance problems even on state-of-the-art systems so the best it can get in the current state is 4 points.… Expand

Things will never be the same after this one. The bomb, destined for great things. Great out of the box, and just wait until the first patch is out and watch the add ons and com mods role in. They will be talking about this one for a long time.

Minor bugs exist. There is no way around that. The game is also very demanding on your system; anything less than top of the line and you will have problems. It should be expected that old hardware will work poorly with new software. The realism, the most important thing in a flight sim, is sufficient. No, it doesn't come with a real F-15C, but it's good enough that real world tactics can be applied. The A-10 and Su-25 introduce something that has not been seen recently in flight simulation. Their style of close air support is very different than a way an F-16 or F/A-18 might approach mud moving. I haven't much bad to say about it. The manual is quite poor, but if you are experienced in any modern flight sim, learning LOMAC will not be very hard. And if not, fly the training missions, which are excellent.… Expand

Although the graphics are gorgeous and I don't have many problems running the game, my score reflects the manual, lack of polish which an average QA rep could find within an hour of testings (spelling mistakes in training, buttons in the options not sticking, invisible planes are airfields etc), lackluster missions and poorly implemented ground combat units. In 6 months it might be a 9/10 but as of now, I say 6… Expand

this game will be great once the bugs are ironed out. in its current state it is hardly playable.

Will take time to learn all the options but once you know how to operate them the game is great. Only problem I see is the water has to much impact on the frame rate

Waste of Hard Drive Space !!!

While I see the potential I find it very lacking. The publishers charge teh same amount $39.99 and give you a game with no manual but do place it on the CD if you want to kill 168 pages and dry up your print cartridge. The interface is easy enough and the training missions are ok. With the amount of lag though due to graphic drains even on high end systems, locking on with Mavricks is best saved for auto. The layout and key commands are very clumky and not very well laid out. I recommend spending about an hour going in and reassigning all of the key funtions for not jsut your keyboard but you stick as well. A HOTAS setup with save you lots of time but with the lack of a mouse selectable cockpit there are to many functions that asre basically jsut for fine tuning radar settings etc. BEing able to use the mosue and have an interactive cockpit control enviroment would have really helped. Again though to get decent frames I had to turn many of the eye candy off and I am running a AMD2800+ with 1GB of PC3200 on a GeForce FX5900 256Mb card! Still fun to tool around in though but I am waiting on a patch to see if this simm can then shine.… Expand

the game need to be optimized and alot of bug to be squashed.

Great game that needs polishing. Needs a lot of bug fixes to really be solid. It seems that regardless of your machine specs this game has a difficult time running at 30 fps. Excellent graphics and flight models. Waiting for a patch before beginning the campaign mode is good advice. Even with the bugs, and fps performace, this is a stand out product.

Had to install it 3 times before the multiplayer worked. Whenever me and my friend fly against each other, and one is shot down, both of us are thrown out of the game. Biggest fault i have made with this game is buying it.

great game, I realy dont have any problems running it at all. Ok ive got a high spec computer but if you want to run a high spec game like this then you need the hardware to run it. I some times have to reming my self that its only a sim, the graphics are that good. I know there are some problems for some people but hopefully the up comming patch should sort those problems out.

Considering it has been the only Combat Sim released in the past few years worth playing, how can it be anything less than a 10?

Stunning, no other word for it - the best flight and combat simulation yet. The attention to, and breadth of, detail is astounding. Somehow they have manged to make you feel part of a war, it is a difficult feeling to describe but it is truly a sublime experience watching the world around you unfold as you play your part. There is also a fantastic multiplayer capability, that 'feels like' the single-player game - Lock On will grab your attention and not let go whether you want single or multiplayer action. To see it at it's best, you will need a top-end machine, but the game is scalable in terms of what graphics settings it will run on and you should be able to find a happy balance between beauty and performance. I should add that the game is also scalable in terms of difficulty, so it will appeal to novices and experienced simmers alike. Some reviewers have given this game an unjustly hard time. There are a couple of _minor_ bugs (don't all games have them?) but they'll be fixed. It is truly a gem and the most impressive game I've seen for years, right up there with Doom 3 and Halflife 2. Additionally, it will only get better and better - just like IL-2 and IL-2 Forgotten Battles have. The community is also a great resource for new missions and aircraft 'skins', not to mention being very supportive. There is even an additional, leather-bound, manual available at extra cost. It's well worth getting as it has a wealth of extra information in it. Ultimately, if you want to be able to fly a great range of aircraft, feel a fantastic level of realism, have great multiplayer and single player games and marvel at jaw-dropping visuals - there is simply no other choice. Lock On is THE BEST flight and combat sim around. Go and buy it now, you won't be dissappointed. Matt.… Expand

If you are an avid flight sim nut then you appreciate the beauty of LockOn. It is great currently but has some few growing pains. One thing to remember is all the best flight sims had growing pains. Be patient, get the patch when it comes out and watch your 6.

The game is known to bring even the best platforms to its knees, reason for this is the complexity of the game. A rather unpleasant side effect of this is the prone-ness to bugs, simple logics. Unfortunalty the the game currently is far from bug-free, even though the designers spent lots of time debugging the product some evident bugs have slipped through to the "gold disc". Additionally the creators have done little or nothing to improve compatibility with common hardware such as for example the GeForce 4MX line of graphical cards. Eventhough they have made improvements in that regard, the effort seems a little sloppy through some evident bugs that are connected with this compatibility. One would wonder what's the best suitable system for Lo-MAC? I don't know, I'm able to run it on my P4 2Ghz 768MB PC2100 and my GF4MX460 pretty fine (part from the bugs). Of course if you're used to FPS framerates you'll be disappointed when seeing the FPS readouts. The game itself is magnificent in every way, perhaps the lack of a dynamic campaign is a little disappointing, but the gameplay and realism make up for this, this realism however is something that's not entirely bug-free - BUT don't start saying they're biased in their 'accurate' modeling of softicitated military hardware. The graphical beauty is endless. Get's a 7 from me... … Expand

Every game has it teething problems, and LOMAC is no different. I find this game very good value and a hell of a lot of fun. It will take a bit to learn but that gives the game longevity. All I ask is PLEASE, PLEASE bring out addons for this game and please make it so we can customize our skins!! Way to go UBI! your close to having another winner.

Il2 with modern jet combat. Requires a superlative video card to make the most of its graphics, some of which can't be run on the fastest of todays PCs, however - the best of it genre.

A very nice game. The Flanker roots are still there. Same Mission Editor witch is good. The interface is very easy to use. Only some small bugs,Missiles should be more efficient(all missiles Blue or Red). It is working on modes computers like mine.(XP2000/256Mb/Gf2MX).

Hey, it´s the best! Simple as that!

Needs work, but has the potential to dethrone Falcon 4. Steep Hardware requirements, but third party hotfixes to tweak FPS are out already, a patch to squash some bugs mentioned earlier is on it's way. A must for fans of Migs and SU's.

I love the game. I have a nice system with WinXP Pro and it works wonderfully. If you have a large system to run it the game is wonderful. I'd have liked more depth, but it's still a LOT of fun.

LOMAC is destined to be a good sim in the long-run, assuming the developer follows through with their promises, which I have confidence in. I'm really enjoying it already, but can't give a high score until the overall program code is more refined and stable. I look forward to that taking place. Regarding complexity, I had expected LOMAC to be very challenging to learn the controls and flight, and as it turns out, it's a lot easier than I expected. I somewhat hope there's an enhancement to the difficulty, later, once they release the more important fixes. A dynamic campaign system would be great, especially if it worked for Multiplayer. … Expand

This Simm is 10 times as good as any FPS out there and Forgotten Battles doesn't even come close to the techincial level this simm has set. Go ahead and purchase this one but be prepared to work hard to achieve any type of success.

a must for everyone interested in military flightsims - BUT: a real fps-monster! Hope the patch fixes the drastically dropping fps while flying through smoke...

Very nice game, well done but eats a lot of your pc's performance.

This a fantastic flight sim even with the current issues which I am sure will be resolved in the coming patch. I have flown flight sims for over 20 years and this is as close as it gets to the real thing without being overly "button pushing" realistic. I have already got my moneys worth and it will be what I fly for years to come. Be ready for some steep hardware requirements but it is worth it.

Its just another milestone in Flightsim history, it has great potential to become the best. I play Flightsims for over 20 years now, and ive seem them all, and played most of them. I gave it a Fat9, cos i know that nothing is perfect and complete, But Lock-on will, and then ill give it a 10 with stars*****

If Ubi/ED hadn't pumped up this sim for so long, I would feel better about it. But with all the promises and hype (3 years?) this program should work better than what it does. Runs poorly on box specs, or even worse on high octane machines. I know it's been built for the future, but what good is it if it runs poorly now, or not at all. Bug ridden...and the manual is an obscene joke. Wait til they fix this thing before you consider buying it...you'll be really disappointed.… Expand

+ Very nice graphics Good mission editor Excellent flight model Slightly simplyfied but still very good avionics wounderful cocpits - no dynamic campaign some bugs (crashing in some situations) horrible hardware reqirements for high settings errors in the German version weapon texts bad tutorials no printed manual (only to buy separate)

Supergame!!!!

Initially, I had serious stability issues in Win2k and 98SE. After installing XP and a shader-equipped video card, all performance/stability issues disappeared. This game is fantastic, truly reminiscent of the "golden oldies" such as Falcon3 and Torando. Well done ED/Ubi!

Other than the flight models none of the combat is very realistic, if it has to do with anything on the ground then it's completly unrealistic.

I like the game alot, but I think it needs a better free manual, and not have to spend more then the price of the game for a nice manual $53.00USD. I would have paid more for the game in the first place if it came with a better manual, My keycard was missing too. As far as the gameplay, I'm pleased with it.

Excellent game, detailed graphics, correct modeling, realistic voice communication and a superb controlling system.

Yes there are some bugs in the initial release, BUT it's still awesome in it's current state and as the bugs slowly get ironed out, this sim can only improve. I run it on a 2Ghz P4, 1GB Ram and 64mb GF440 MX. and love it!!

The best graphics in a flight sim yet (you do need a high spec system). Do yourself a favour and get a mike and Shoot software to rattle of voice commands to your wingmen. Forthcoming patches will no doubt improve this sim and let me use my TrackIR effectively. Don't worry about the lack of a comprehensive manual, there are already lots of brilliant articles coming on stream. This sim is an absolute must-have, congratulaions and thanks to the ED team and all concerned for giving hours and hours of fun & pleasure… Expand

This game has good emersion and excellent graphics even at lower settings. Still some bug but seems to be well suported by Ubisoft.

Best flight sim out yet, NOT for W.S.A.D people.

Just a great game. Some people have bugs but with a good config you should be fine. The graphics and flight models are outstanding and the many planes flyable allows great diversity.

Out of the box I believe this game is an 8 easily. The graphics are amazing.. there's no question of this. It's hard on your system though, so be prepared to tune things down. Even so, on the lowest it still looks good. With a patch coming out soon to fix the minor bugs, this will be at least a 9/10!

Diamond in the rough. Great flight models and terrain graphics. Mission editor has limited functionality. Avionics shortcuts reduce realism. Aircraft are dang fun to fly around in, but the combat part and AI need work. Runs fine on my system: XP, P4 2.7, 1 gig DDR, G4.

Terrible game. Got it for me and my roomate. Yet to get his to work and mine will load, but framerates are terrible. No voice and images will ghost at various times. Have to spend hours and hours learning to fly and Sturmovik I got into the cockpit and was flying in seconds. Next time make it as easy as Sturmovik and not such arcadic graphics like it is.

I thinks it great, and i,m in love with this game. Superb graphics, and a realistic flightmodel.

Poor performance, non clickable cockpits and the lack of a printed manual make this game more of a headache than anything fun.

Excellent game, like most sims, it requires constant tweaking, which for me is a part of the game, and I don't mind it at all. This is going to be an interesting game for many years to come, with an active community, so I can only rate it high!

Bugs,Bugs,and more Bugs...had to call the orkin man to get it to run. System specs on the box are a bald-faced lie,F-15 radar doesn't work right,Aim-120 doesn't work right, and a host of other stuff. Support is almost non-existant on the ever-slow UBI boards and anybody not happy with the product wil be jeered by the fanboys and banned by the officials. Was really looking forward to this game, but UBI ruined it after making me wait for 2 extra years by putting out a product that doesn't work as advertised or on the systems written on the box.… Expand

Top quality game. The bugs are being patched as we speak and any issues are USUALLY the result of people who can't tell one end of the PC from another. Top quality future-proof game that I'll be playing for years to come.

The BEST

Outstanding Sim! There are so many positives about this that I could easily fill a page with praise! There are a few bugs in the sim (what new release is ever bug free?) but it's the bugs that aren't there that shows just how great a job was done by Eagle Dynamics! Several flyable aircraft with sliding realisim and minute attention to detail.. and it all works! This Sim shoul dappeal to many.. Flight Sim enthusiasts can take to the skies and fly around the beautiful landscapes and do some sightseeing around the varius historic landmarks and structures of the region. Military enthusiasts can strap on some of the best combat aircraft and get some metal on target. You can even create missions where the AI battle each other using naval, air and land assets. Sit back and watch the battle unfold! A great sim which will continue to improve grow as new flyable aircraft are added in the future.… Expand

I give the game an 8. The graphics are stunning especially down low. The cites are very well modeled. People have had troubles running it in Win98/Me but if your a gamer you most likely aren't using those old versions of Windows anyway. I use Windows 2000 and it works fine. There are some bugs but that is to be expected. None of the bugs I've had are game stopping. Great visuals, realistic flight model, good enemy pilot AI. It's a great game. System I use to play Lock On AthlonXP 2600, 1GB of RAM, Geforce 4Ti 4600 Windows 2000… Expand

Great game with lots of potencial but a FPS killer.

I give this a 7 out of 10. It's got great potential to be the best flite sim out there for the next few years. But the glaring bugs it shipped with tells me this was rushed out unfinished for the Xmas season. I really detest paying 40bux to be a beta tester. Having said that the upcoming patch will "hopefully" fix alot of things that this sim shouldn't have been released with.

Stunning graphics, months (or years) of fun involved in managing the avionics / flightcharacterics. Huge potential.

fps issues...bugs...poor coding...I can't play online b/c I have an NForce chipset...not a good game

For its release, LOMAC isn't bad at all. There are some areas that need a tweak here and there but they sure aren't show stoppers. There would be hardware and gameplay issues for people not familar with the minimum requirements on the box. Most people would tend to expect a lot from LOMAC in regarding FPS but they forget that a modern combat game/simulation takes far more calculations than your standard prop WWII game. Graphically, it is beautiful with its stunning landscape, weather, andeffects/damage modeling. Some 3D models are updated and some are not. The overall color palette is tad bright for my tastes but I do prefer the winter landscape over the summer any day. Artificial Intelligence behavior needs a tad bit of work as they don't use correct logic nor are they using their true aerodynamic capabilities and the redundant/repetative audio calls can be a sore spot. Moreover, the overall atmosphere lacks as they are no abundance of calls from other flights which could lead to a lack of immersion as it is just bland. Yet, in RL isn't exactly Hollywood with its glitz and glamour in the communication department. Flight modeling is nice with the scripted high AOA behavior. Yaw authority is a bit too sensitive enough I have tried modifying the axis curve and it still feels artificial. The bottomline? Well, LOMAC is above average in most areas and below in others. The PROs outsway the CONS IMHO but I don't see higher than 9+ given its current state. Let's just be honest. LOMAC has a lot of potential and hopefully the sales will continue and the saga continues. *crossing fingers* Jewels… Expand

Game is definatly worth the 40bucks, but I think it was a little trumpted up in a few of its features.

Amazing graphics, sweetly modelled planes and incredibely cool ground battles. Good multiplayer and a great sense of teamwork if you play with the right crowd. Cons: Some instability issues, system hog, memory leak, and occasional weird behavious of planes/avionics. Finally: Best modern day sim to date, period.

This is a great aircombatsim but there are many bugs . the grafics look great when they work. don,t get me wrong i love this game , but it just aint finished yet. also some things important for a good flight experience such as training for in flight relueling is not included.