Jetfighter (series)

Jetfighter is a series of 3D combat flight simulation computer games that was developed by Velocity Development starting in 1988. The player would fly a combat jet aircraft in the skies against enemy forces. The game boasted 3D graphics that were cutting-edge at the time of the game's release, and used real-world terrain. The games seldom sold well because they occupied an uncomfortable middle ground of game design - too much flight simulator for action game fans, as they realistically emulated actual combat aircraft, but too simplistic for the hardcore sim fans, who always preferred games more along the lines of the Falcon series. The series ended after the commercial failure of Jetfighter 2015. The later games had support for 3dfx Voodoo cards to run natively in DOS.

Jetfighter
Logo used for Jetfighter 2015.
Genre(s)Air combat simulation
Developer(s)Velocity Development, Mission Studios, Interactive Vision, City Interactive
Publisher(s)Velocity Development, Mission Studios, Interplay, TalonSoft, Global Star Software
Artist(s)
  • James H. Dargie

Jetfighter II was produced before the winner of the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition was announced; the programmers chose to emulate the YF-23 "Black Widow II" as the winning aircraft rather than the eventual winner, the YF-22 (which "entered service" in 2004 as the F-22 Raptor).

Games
Title Details
JetFighter: The Adventure

Original release date(s):
 Release years by system:
1988—DOS
Notes:
  • Developed and published by Bob Dinnerman and Moses Ma under the name of Velocity Development, Jetfighter: the Adventure is the IBM version of the Amiga game F/A-18 Interceptor.
  • Daniel Hockman of Computer Gaming World gave the game a positive review, saying it "has the smoothest, fastest, most pleasing graphics I have yet seen on a flight simulator".[1]
JetFighter II: Advanced Tactical Fighter

Original release date(s):[2]
 Release years by system:
1990—DOS[2]
Notes:
  • Developed and published by Velocity Development[2]
  • Computer Gaming World stated that the game was much more difficult than its predecessor, and concluded that for those who did not attend United States Naval Aviator flight training, "this will probably be the closest they will ever get to landing on a carrier in a high-performance jet ... [it] does a great job of simulating both the difficulty and exhiliration a pilot experiences once he finally places his jet on the carrier deck".[3] A 1992 survey in the magazine of wargames with modern settings gave the game three and a half stars out of five.[4]
JetFighter II: Advanced Mission Disk

Original release date(s):
 Release years by system:
1992—DOS
Notes:
Jetfighter III

Original release date(s):[5]
  • NA: October 31, 1996
  • PAL: February 19, 1998
 Release years by system:
1996—Windows[6]
Notes:
  • Developed and published by Mission Studios[6]
  • It was repackaged in 1997 with Jetfighter III: Enhanced Campaign CD under the title, Jetfighter III Platinum
  • An updated edition, entitled Jetfighter III Classic, was published in September 1999 by Take 2 Interactive. The update includes extra such as 30 new missions[6]
Jetfighter III: Enhanced Campaign CD

Original release date(s):[7]
  • NA: April 30, 1997
 Release years by system:
1997—Windows[7]
Notes:
  • Developed and published by Mission Studios[7]
  • It is an expansion of Jetfighter III that adds 74 new missions, two new flyable regions and the ability to fly the F-14 Tomcat[8]
  • It was repackaged in 1997 with JetFighter III under the title, Jetfighter III Platinum
Jetfighter: Full Burn

Original release date(s):[9]
  • NA: July 2, 1998
 Release years by system:
1998—Windows
Notes:
Jetfighter IV: Fortress America

Original release date(s):[10]
  • NA: November 8, 2000
 Release years by system:
2000—Windows[10]
Notes:
Jetfighter

Original release date(s):[11]
 Release years by system:
2001—Palm Organizer[11]
Notes:
Jetfighter V: Homeland Protector

Original release date(s):[12]
  • NA: October 21, 2003
 Release years by system:
2003—Windows[12]
Notes:
Jetfighter 2015

Original release date(s):[13]
  • NA: September 9, 2005
 Release years by system:
2005—Windows[13]
Notes:

Reception

In the United States, Jetfighter IV's jewel case version sold 270,000 copies and earned $2.6 million by August 2006, after its release in January 2002. It was the country's 75th best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Jetfighter computer games released between January 2000 and August 2006 had reached 450,000 units in the United States by the latter date.[14]

In a 1994 survey of wargames the magazine gave Jetfighter: The Adventure two-plus stars out of five ("still an entertaining product"). Jetfighter II received three stars ("contemporary graphics and play value").[15]

See also

References
  1. Hockman, Daniel (April 1989), "The Need for Speed", Computer Gaming World, p. 12
  2. "JetFighter II Release Information for PC". GameFAQs. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  3. Hoover, Jim (November 1991). "Soar on Drugs". Computer Gaming World. p. 96. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  4. Brooks, M. Evan (June 1992). "The Modern Games: 1950 - 2000". Computer Gaming World. p. 120. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  5. "JetFighter III (Jetfighter 3)". IGN. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  6. "JetFighter III". allgame. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  7. "JetFighter III Enhanced Campaign CD for PC - Technical Information". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  8. McDonald, T. Liam. "JetFighter III Enhanced Campaign CD for PC Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  9. GameSpot staff (July 8, 1998). "New Releases". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 24, 1999. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  10. "JetFighter IV: Fortress America for PC - Technical Information". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  11. "Jetfighter [Palm]". allgame. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  12. "JetFighter V: Homeland Protector for PC". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  13. "JetFighter 2015". IGN. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  14. Edge Staff (August 25, 2006). "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century". Edge. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
  15. Brooks, M. Evan (January 1994). "War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000". Computer Gaming World. pp. 194–212.
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