Back to Baghdad

"Saddam Hussein is back and the allies are on full alert!"

Quite clearly, many people regret the fact that the Gulf War ended the way it did. They wish the allied forces had pushed all the way into Iraq and given Saddam the kicking he so righteously deserved. If you feel that way then you're in the right gaming quarter with this military flight sim. Back to Baghdad is based on the premise that Saddam has returned with his incredibly sophisticated army and is on the march again. Your tool in the battle is the F-16 fighter - a sophisticated aircraft, the American Airforce's front-line tool and a key player in the Gulf. The F-16 is capable of flying at Mach 2.0, has a 50,000-foot ceiling and offers a flight range of 2,100 nautical miles. It's also extremely good at dogfighting and easily a match for a MiG.

There are two ways to play this game. First, you can start from scratch and fly all the missions in the game. Second, you can opt for Instant Action, set up the enemy and indulge in a bit of simplistic dogfighting.

The first thing you should know about Back to Baghdad is that it is one of the heavyweights of the flight sim market. If your idea of realism is the kind of bubblegum warfare depicted in older games like Top Gun or Strike Commander then this game isn't for you. However, if you're an aircraft nut with an in-depth interest in flight envelopes, energy management, airframes and engine dynamics then you'll feel right at home.

Back to Baghdad was created by Military Simulations Inc. This was their first foray into the entertainment market, but if you've been through fight training with the US Airforce then you'll probable recognise the company, because it's responsible for creating the flight simulators used to train real pilots.

So serious is this flight sim that a staggering 23 pages out of the 65 in the manual are devoted to setting up the game with a ThrustMaster joystick. In contrast, the only material which is useful for getting novice pilots up in the sky and shooting things occupies a single page. Clearly this game isn't for flight-sim rookies.

Fortunately, Back to Baghdad comes complete with a keyboard template which explains what each of the hundred or so key presses do. The one key you should familiarise yourself with immediately is the [Pause] key, because you have to refer to the manual constantly if you want to get anywhere.

The best way to familiarise yourself with the F-16 is to fly the 12 training missions. These cover take-off, landing, formation flying, navigation, radar and weaponry topics, meaning you can fly your first sortie with some idea of what you're doing. At least, you could if you recieved more than a one-paragraph explanation before you took off. There's no commentary, no in-game mission list and no explanation in the manual.

On the off-chance that you manage to familiarise yourself with the controls of the F-16 and figure out how the way-point, radar and weapons systems operate, you can sign up for active duty and engage in one of the 40 missions on the CD.

The range of missions covers all the usual tactical fighter sorties. These include fighter sweaps, base defence, close escort, deep interdiction (into very unfriendly airspace), close air support, strike escort and high-value strike missions. You can fly any of these missions at any time, because there isn't a career option.

The in-game graphics look very good for a game of this age. The programmers used real Department of Defence satellite photographs to create a photo-textured landscape of great detail. Similarly, lots of time has been spent on the aircraft's graphics, which shift around at a satisfyingly frantic pace. Perhaps the neatest effect occurs when you let loose a missile: you see it appear from one of your wings, trailing vapour behind it, as it soars towards the target. This is still very impressive today.

The feeling of movement around the Baghdad game world is as impressive as the texture-mapped ground. Run head to head against an enemy fighter and you find yourself instinctively flinching as he sores past you. You usually forget to fire at him, too. Get down to ground level, for a bombing or strafing run, and you almost feel the wind up your bum.

The gameplay is excellent, though, in common with the rest of the game, 'serious'. What this means is that your enemies are just as good at flying their planes as you (although you can make them stupid and your missiles super-intelligent by tweaking the difficulty settings). This also means that you have to do everything properly - such as getting a lock before firing a missile or correctly lining up for a bombing run.

Back to Baghdad leaves a lot to be desired. I've never encountered a flight sim which is so hostile towards the novice, and even if you're an old hand, you might feel you've been thrown in at the deep end. It might be a precise simulation, but it has a steep learning curve. If you're a jet geek, you will love it. If you're just a PC gamer like me, you're likely to loathe it.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/02, Updated 02/25/02