F-15 Strike Eagle II

F-15 Strike Eagle II expanded and modernized the successful concept of an accessible flight simulator that MicroProse had launched back in the mid-1980s. The player takes the controls of an F-15E strike fighter and flies missions over several real-world conflict zones, from the Middle East to Vietnam, with the goal of destroying designated targets and returning safely to base. Compared to the first installment, the second offered a substantially more elaborate campaign structure, a wider selection of weapons and missions, and an improved choice between a more arcade-like and a more realistic flight model, which made the game accessible to both impatient players and fans of more detailed simulations. The campaign gradually unlocks more demanding missions and new aircraft; the player collects decorations for successfully completed tasks and can watch their pilot career gradually expand to include further conflicts and scenarios around the world.

The graphics used the vector 3D environments typical of MicroProse flight simulators of the time - flat colored polygons, but with smooth movement and a solid sense of speed and altitude. On the DOS platform, the audio benefited from support for the sound cards of the time, which delivered engine roar and radar warning tones convincingly by the standards of the day, noticeably heightening the tension during evasive maneuvers against enemy missiles. Contemporary reviews praised the game's balance between accessibility and authenticity, and it became one of the commercially successful titles of the genre at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, helping MicroProse cement its reputation as a leading name in flight simulators.

Even years later, F-15 Strike Eagle II demonstrates how MicroProse managed to make flight simulators fun even for players who didn't want to study thick manuals. Its accessible difficulty and emphasis on action made it an ideal entry point into a genre that, in the 1990s, was further developed by titles like Falcon 3.0 or Aces of the Deep - games with substantially higher demands for simulation realism.

Why play: Thanks to its accessible difficulty and emphasis on action, it was an ideal entry point into the flight simulator genre, even though it was later surpassed by more demanding titles like Falcon 3.0.