Rather than following the trend towards the combat aircraft of the future, Jane’s Combat Simulations decided to model a true combat veteran. The F-15E Strike Eagle, first introduced in the US Air Force in 1988, was a star player in both Gulf Wars and is still in use today, albeit on a much smaller scale. Following hot on the heels of Longbow 2, which was unanimously hailed as one of the best simulations of 1997, Jane’s F-15 was hotly anticipated by flight enthusiasts everywhere, and for good reasons.

As with nearly all titles of its pedigree, F-15 attempts to cater to both hardened virtual pilots and beginners alike. The training missions are straightforward and to the point. They place you in situations that allow you to experiment with a given aspect of the game, providing brief instructional dialogue along the way. There is definitely some missed potential here; it would have been preferable to have some detailed instruction in the employment of the more complex systems. This and the included “Instant Action” modes provide great opportunities to hone your skills before embarking on one of the game’s two campaigns.