TFX was a genuine advance in combat flight simulators for the PC. For the first time (fairly) realistic 3D graphics were combined with a set of flight models (F22, Euro fighter and the F117A) that actually got somewhere near the real thing, while giving all the benefits of being able to blow things up, using missiles, cannon, laser guided bombs, cruise missiles, and even your drop tanks! Because of the inclusion of the F117A Stealth Fighter, the game also had a basic stealth / radar model making some of the F117A missions actually quite claustrophobic.
TFX was a genuine advance in combat flight simulators for the PC. For the first time (fairly) realistic 3D graphics were combined with a set of flight models (F22, Euro fighter and the F117A) that actually got somewhere near the real thing, while giving all the benefits of being able to blow things up, using missiles, cannon, laser guided bombs, cruise missiles, and even your drop tanks! Because of the inclusion of the F117A Stealth Fighter, the game also had a basic stealth / radar model making some of the F117A missions actually quite claustrophobic. This game had me absorbed for months and as a poor, impoverished teenager, made me want to be able to afford a proper PC that could really do the game justice!
The basic
premise is simple enough. You train through a short set of missions that are either extremely easy or improbably difficult. Having completed that you go on to proper missions in a variety areas of conflict serving under a UN task force. Scenarios include the usual Middle Eastern adventures, but also include missions in the Balkans and protecting oil interests around the Falkland Islands. Some also include being based from aircraft carriers which occasionally meant that landing was the most testing part of the mission (especially if you had some battle damage). Each scenario progresses along a fixed story board as you complete missions - unfortunately there is no branching of stories if you happen to get a mission wrong. Missions are quite varied and are generally quite replayable given the ability to change weapon loadouts according to your own preferences, and adopt different strategies.
You can also generate your own missions using the list of available targets for each area (a very long list) and possible starting bases. You could set the level of friendly help and enemy resistance to tune the level of difficulty, as well as adding air-air refuelers for those who like long missions. This is quite a nice feature and significantly extends the longevity of the game.
For the time the graphics were impressive. Especially with the inclusion of a first person view that enables you to look all the way around in a 3D rendered cockpit and also allowed you to padlock onto targets.
A true benchmark in PC gaming, TFX paved the way for much of what we see in modern simulators - and did it remarkably well.
