ATF: Advanced Tactical Fighters

Advanced Tactical Fighters is a flight simulator from 1996 that bases its specs, weaponry and aircraft on a publication by Jane’s Information Group, one of the premier researchers in flight and naval technologies. As a pilot, you fly some of the most advance aircraft of the nineties and some experimental aircraft that were still in the early stages of development. Unfortunately, you fly them into cliché missions that will feel like old hat if you have played any other flight sims such as US Navy Fighters.

Most of these bland missions consist of bombing enemy targets or simply taking down an enemy fighter. If you have not played any other game of this nature, the missions will seem fresh and extremely difficult, since this game’s text briefings prior to each mission are sketchy at best. The pilot needs to learn by trial and error. This makes the missions themselves much more frustrating than difficult. Fortunately the game does offer some test scenarios to build your skills up before entering the skies for real.
ATF does, however, feature some excellent game play. By selecting a Quick Mission, the pilot can customize a simple dogfight to his or her level. The pilot chooses everything from his own plane, enemy planes and his payload and setting. This allows for a more tailored play based on the pilot’s skill level and familiarity with this style of game. To offer added spice, ATF allows pilots to combine with their friends in multiplayer cooperative missions via the Internet. Pilots can also fly against one another in a chaotic, six person, every-man-for-himself style of dogfight.
True to the Jane’s Group, the planes are accurately rendered, as are their abilities and payload capabilities. The pilot has to learn the capabilities, such as stalling and rapid acceleration, of his chosen aircraft. Fuel management also comes into play on longer runs, adding to the realism. The manual is also helpful and complete and offers a lot more information on the individual planes from which you have to choose.
The graphics, like the missions, are bland. However, at the time this game was released, detailed graphics in the sky and texturing on the ground often led to slow play and trouble running on various systems. By today’s standards, the display is very basic and pixilated, but it wasn’t horrid in its day. The sound effects are there, but not in the foreground and do not detract from the game play. All in all, this game is for flight sim fans, not the casual player.