Lock On: Modern Air Combat

Flight Journal, Apr 2004

For a while there, Lock On: Modern Air Combat (LO:MAC) seemed like it would be one of those stillborn "great idea" flight simulations that was doomed to never see the light of day. The idea of a "survey" or multiple-aircraft, modern, flight simulation that accurately conveyed the complex world of the present-day combat pilot seemed too much to expect in a market increasingly ruled by mindless shoot-'em-up games. Countless delays in the release date and rumors that the project was shelved did little to build confidence in sim fans who have a need for speed. They thought they would never see Ubi Soft's latest entry into the genre. Well, fellow kerosene-heads, the time has come to rejoice. LO:MAC has arrived, and I'm happy to report that this eagerly anticipated title has been worth every chewed fingernail.

The results are nothing short of incredible. The cockpits are so lovingly detailed that it seems as if you can just reach out and touch the cold metal. The aircraft exteriors are also works of art and modeled in exquisite detail. Moscow-based software developer Eagle Dynamics, known for the excellent Flanker series of simulations, is once again at the helm. It is, therefore, no huge surprise that most of the aircraft featured are Russian built. Sukhoi's Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft, the air-superiority Su-27 Flanker B and the Flanker naval multi-role variant Su33 Flanker D are all featured as flyable aircraft. If close-in dogfighting is your cup of vodka, Mikoyan's famous MiG-29 appears in two variants and can even be flown as a NATO aircraft in German Luftwaffe paint. But Western aircraft have not been given short shrift; the mighty F-15C Eagle is ready to sweep the skies of bandits. If enemy armor is of a more immediate concern, the brutish A-10A Warthog can be spooled up.

This is, however, a simulation and not a static reference program for airplane geeks. Once again, LO:MAC does not disappoint. Surrounded by a bewildering array of avionics, radar systems and other bits of technological wizardry beeping and chirping for a fighter pilot's attention, it has been said that one doesn't so much fly a modern combat aircraft as manage it. With these levels turned way up, WMAC becomes an incredibly immersive study in task management, particularly when engaged in air-to-air combat-a situation made even more daunting when the instrument panel is labeled in Cyrillic! Wisely, Eagle Dynamics has made LO:MAC highly scalable for varying abilities and difficulty levels. This allows the sim to be as accessible to casual and new flight-sim players as it is to the more "hardcore" simmers that demand full realism. It is this very complexity, however, that's at the crux of my sole criticism. While it's true that printed manuals have been increasingly going the way of leisure suits, not including a manual for a simulation of LO:MAC's technical complexity is a gross oversight.

Various aircraft-centric missions and campaigns over the detailed Black Sea region come with the program. When these become stale, a powerful mission editor is . also included. Multiplayer support via the Internet is also easily accomplished, offering the ability (for example) to fly air cover for your buddies in mud movers while another group of friends attempt to regain air superiority. If the scent of JP-8 is enough to trigger a Pavlovian drool reflex and the challenge of doing three or four things at once while flying sounds like your idea of fun, LO-MAC is the next best thing to joining an air force. It's a lot less dangerous, too.