| F22 Lightning III
by Steve Martin |
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Voice Over Net Another new feature is VON: Voice over Net. This allows people to talk with each other while in multiplayer games. F-22 Lighting III even comes complete with an Andrea Electronics microphone which offers excellent voice quality. Of course it could not replace my trusty headset with microphone and headphones, but I don’t think Andrea will complain much because my headset is the Andrea Electronics GameWare headset, also excellent quality.
 The VON quality itself is decent with some people reporting good quality and others complaining. I think it’s a line quality factor rather than a problem with VON since voice over Internet has always been a little flaky. Using VON I was able to communicate with several people in the co-op game, and I found communication discipline to be an issue since most people haven’t used voice for simulation flying much (See our Military Flight Comms and Operational Brevity). I guess we can hope that people learn quick and concise formats in which to transmit information to avoid confusion while flying a mission. Novalogic has an update checker in Lightning III, so updates are simply a matter of clicking the button to check for new software. As I am writing this, I am updating my F-22 Lightning III with the latest software, a whopping 13 MB of update! Usually, they are good about keeping the updates small, but considering the rough edges here and there, I can see the need for a larger update. I’m waiting to see what the update addresses as I write this article. Final Analysis I started really enjoying Novalogic’s aircraft simulations with the release of F-22 Raptor and the introduction of Novaworld. F-22 Lightning III continues this fine tradition. I have had a LOT of fun flying on both Novaworld servers and my own server. The co-op multiplayer is the best new feature for F-22 Lightning III. I would have loved to have seen selective chat muting in Novaworld, but I guess I’ll just have to ignore the rude people and sort out the useful commo. The Voice over Net feature is nice when you have a good connection and are talking to someone with a good connection. The graphics are as nice as ever, and even better than F-22 Raptor with 3D Acceleration. The game itself is geared for easy learning and fast and furious gameplay. |
 The price of F-22 Lightning III is low compared to other sims. I have seen it on sale at CompUSA for only $29.95, and I think that’s a good deal for the amount of fun you get from this sim. Bottom line, if you liked F-22 Raptor, you’ll love F-22 Lighting III, but if in doubt, try out the demo on Novalogic’s site first, and you may be surprised at how much fun it can be. If you’re looking to jump right in and duke it out with a lot of other people online, or you want to get together with some close friends for a game, or even if you want to fly the single player missions, F-22 Lightning III is sure to bring you hours of entertainment.
 Systems Requirements w/3d Hardware:
w/o 3D card:
Reviewer’s System:
Download Steve's Thrustmaster config by clicking HERE. Download Kevin Wood's Thrustmaster config by clicking HERE. Join a discussion forum on this article by clicking HERE.
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