Sabre Ace: Conflict Over Korea (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.6 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Chet Thomas
• Reviewed on: 11/26/1997
• Updated on: 05/05/2000
• Released on: 10/31/1997
• Originally published on GameSpot: Sabre Ace: Conflict Over Korea (PC) Review

Virgin claims its new flight game, Sabre Ace: Conflict Over Korea, contains "superior aerodynamics and accurate plane physics" and is "the ultimate in realism." Realism implies certain basic qualities in flight model. Those qualities are not up for debate and neither are they optional.

After many hours of testing each of the nine flyable planes in Sabre Ace, I found dozens of modeling elements either badly handled or entirely absent, including more obvious elements like stalls, blackouts, surface drag, spins, speed-dependent turn radii, damage modeling, flap behavior, and on and on. If Virgin had told me that Sabre Ace was a fun little arcade game for novices, these sins of omission would be negligible. But when taken with its claims for realism, they are unconscionable.

And this is a shame because there are elements in Sabre Ace that make for entertaining gameplay. It takes on a rich and sadly neglected corner of historical aerial combat: the Korea War. Coming as it did hot on the heels of World War II, Korea was the place where aerial warfare entered the modern age. Characterized by high-speed gun battles and tough ground attacks, it is a great theatre to fly in, and the campaign captures the diversity of missions, from CAP and escort to bridge busting. The campaign is not dynamic but scripted, which will limit replay potential. You also have no control over how you approach a mission, with force composition, stores, and waypoints all hard-coded.

You can play as an American or Soviet pilot. This is puzzling, since Russia was not an "official" combatant in the war. The non-American career should be Chinese or North Korean. Missions are graduated by difficulty and plane type. As an American, you start with eight F-51 Mustang missions, then move on to the F-80 Shooting Star, and F-86 Sabre. In the Soviet missions, you begin with ten YAK-9 missions and then finish in the MiG-15. In addition to the five combat planes, three trainers are available for custom missions: the T-33 Shooting Star, T-6 Texan, and MiG-18. Each of the eight planes of Sabre Ace may also be flown in custom-created dogfight missions, which let you set altitude, arms, and opponents. Multiplay is available for dogfighting, though not for campaign. Internet play appears to have some stability problems.

Continue reading

Compare prices for Sabre Ace: Conflict Over Korea

This product is currently not in stock at any of our online merchants.

Email me when this product is available