Strike Fighters 2

Strike Fighters 2 is a flight simulator from the small studio Third Wire Productions, focused on the Cold War era and modern combat aircraft of the second half of the twentieth century. The game emphasizes a combination of relatively accessible controls with credibly rendered avionics and armament for each aircraft, which made it a popular choice for players who wanted deeper simulation than arcade flight games but without the extreme demands of full-fledged study simulators like DCS World. The roster of aircraft covers both the Western and Soviet blocs, allowing a range of fictional and historically inspired Cold War conflicts to be simulated.

The base game was gradually expanded with numerous paid and unofficial add-ons that added further aircraft, maps and conflicts, from Middle Eastern wars to fictional Cold War scenarios set in Europe. It was precisely this openness to modification and the ease of community content editing that gave the game an unusually long lifespan well beyond its original release, aided by tools for creating custom missions and campaigns. The graphics were solid for their time, though not on the level of major simulator productions, a shortfall made up for by the breadth of content and the variety of scenarios and available aircraft.

The sound design and modeling of individual aircraft reflected the studio's many years of specialization in this type of simulator, dating back to even older entries in the series from the late nineties. Thanks to its low performance requirements and extensive modifiability, Strike Fighters 2 has kept an active community for many years after release, despite being a product of a small independent studio without a major publisher's budget. For those interested in Cold War and modern-era aircraft, it still offers today one of the few more detailed simulation alternatives outside the big commercial series, with a very open and friendly modding community.

Why play it: For those interested in Cold War and modern-era aircraft outside the big commercial series, who will appreciate low performance requirements and an open, friendly modding community.