Fighter Duel

Fighter Duel is a video game in the action genre developed by Jaeger Software, Inc. and published by Philips Interactive Media, Inc. originally released in 1995. It is currently playable on DOS.

Strategy Plus says it all about this fun air combat simulator: 'Fighter Duel is an excellent first-person, modem-playable PC air combat simulator.

It runs smoothly (except very close to the ground) on a superb SVGA on its designated minimal machine (a 486/33). It models seven WWII fighters and their variants, matching 13 in all, including the Mustang, Corsair, Spitfire, Zero and German fighters. Finally, the Battle of Britain aircraft are modeled after a long six-year wait.

In my opinion, as a pilot who has flown the TF51D Mustang and Spitfire in real aerobatics, Fighter Duel has the most accurate feel on the market. Of all the aircraft I have personally flown, the 'heavy iron' (WWII warplanes) have a unique feeling of heaviness, slowness of movement and flight in vertical maneuvers, combined with solid, responsive controls in the horizontal plane. There is nothing yet that comes close to this feel, except Fighter Duel. It features a 'full strength' flight model with torque, inertia, stability differences, correctly modeled 90 degree oscillating turns (a first), negative g engine cut (another first), stall damping, etc.

A large, fully realistic WWII instrument panel dominates the atmosphere in front of you (a first). It shakes when you fire your magnificent guns, has engine instrument needles, and others, that jump and bounce correctly, a working needle and ball, the first really correct WWII artificial horizon, and a unique engine sound that envelops you in a 'heavy iron' atmosphere.

The standalone options are reminiscent of Chuck Yeager's Air Combat (without the missions), to allow you to explore the capabilities of your historical mounts. You can choose to fight up to eight different computer opponents in eight different starting scenarios. You can choose altitudes, fuel levels, cloud options and the level of artificial intelligence.

The arcade mode ('fast flight') is easy to use with the push of a button and is a lot of fun. Modem play works well and smoothly. The sequential screens take you logically from one option to another as you set up your computer and prepare to duel. You need at least a 9600 baud modem to play the modem game. The different startup options allow you to choose user settings or random startup positions. . . . how wonderful!

There are some minor drawbacks to this excellent program. Fighter Duel contains only a Mustang instrument panel, with no dashboard or viewfinder (there is, however, a viewfinder reticle). Some players may be annoyed by this, but the single instrument panel is so realistic that having only one is not so bad (although more would be appreciated in the future). However, the distance from enemy fighters is hard to judge.

The addition of fixed missions, races and controllable co-pilots would add more gameplay. The ground graphics are limited, with only sea and islands, and slow down when you get close to the ground. Flight simulator fans will notice that the fighters don't slow down when taxiing at high speeds, as they should. Also, the correct low-speed handling characteristics are virtually ignored.

Do these problems kill Fighter Duel? Hardly. It's just too exciting as it is. It's the perfect modem game, in many ways: low overhead and great action'.

If you fancy a quick duel with computer opponents or a friend, Fighter Duel is a good choice.

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.