''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
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
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
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
series. The series ended after the commercial failure of ''Jetfighter 2015.'' The later games had support for
3dfx
3dfx Interactive was an American technology company headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in 1994, that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units, and later, video cards. It was a pioneer in the field from the l ...
Voodoo cards to run natively in DOS.
Jetfighter II was produced before the winner of the
Advanced Tactical Fighter competition was announced; the programmers chose to emulate the
YF-23
The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 is an American single-seat, twin-engine stealth fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (A ...
"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
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.
In a 1994 survey of wargames the magazine gave ''Jetfighter: The Adventur'' two-plus stars out of five ("still an entertaining product"). ''Jetfighter II'' received three stars ("contemporary graphics and play value").
See also
*
''F-22'' (series), a series of combat flight simulators by NovaLogic
References
External links
* {{moby game, id=-group/jetfighter-series, name=The ''Jetfighter'' series
1988 video games
DOS games
DOS-only games
2K Games franchises
Take-Two Interactive franchises
Combat flight simulators
Video game franchises introduced in 1988
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games
Windows-only games