![]() Since we have no idea of how these birds will fly or what their avionics, weapons systems, and performance envelopes will be, any comments of the realism, or lack thereof, in JSF would be spurious. These planes are not yet online (hence the "X" designation), but one probably will be in the next century. But what, in fact, is it? And how does it fly? Well, it's a midlevel sim of two new designs being considered for the new Joint Strike Fighter program by the DOD: the Boeing X-32 and the Lockheed X-35. So you get the main point here: JSF looks very, very nice. Most structures are modeled in detail and well integrated into the terrain, with the exception of city buildings, which look like cracker boxes with holes punched in them. The terrain doesn't come apart like a cheap suit once you're down in the mud: It looks as sharp at low altitude as at high. Terrain isn't a lumpy wet blanket of wiggly textures and flat horizons, but a finely contoured, artistically shaded rendition of four different regions: Afghanistan, Korea, Columbia, and the Kola Peninsula. Even without a 3D card, this sucker screams. The prime strength is right there on the screen: the most detailed, fluid, impressive graphics of any combat simulation now available. Once you pop your eyeballs back into their sockets after your first aerial tour of JSF, you begin to sense both its strengths and limitations.
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