''F-22 Interceptor'' is a 1991

combat flight simulator Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mil ...

created by Ned Lerner and Gene Kusmiak. It was released by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

for the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

. The player controls one aircraft, the

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was de ...

, throughout the game. At that time, the prototype of the F-22, the

Lockheed YF-22 The Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22 is an American single-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, stealth aircraft, stealth fighter aircraft, fighter technology demonstrator prototype designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design te ...

, had only first flown in 1990. Like '' LHX Attack Chopper'', another flight simulator by EA, the playable aircraft had not yet been developed.

Gameplay

The player has three skill levels to choose from: Cadet, Training, and Combat. The player must then pick one of four campaigns, called ' US', '

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

' (North Korea), '

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

', and '

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

' (Soviet Union). In each level, the player's F-22 is targeted by

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s, enemy aircraft, and

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

. The mission is to destroy the targets and complete the objectives using a wide range of missiles, from heat seeking missiles, precision-guided bombs, and

chaff Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...

. The aircraft is also given two cannons for engaging enemy targets. At the end of each mission, the player is required to either land on a

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

or an

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

. Sometimes

in-flight refueling Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling ( en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to an ...

is needed to prevent the F-22 from crashing. As the game progresses, the player will be able to unlock an

Aces An ace is a playing card. Ace(s), ACE(S) and variants may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Awards * ACE Awards (Award for Cable Excellence) Comics * ''Ace Comics'', a 1937-1959 comic book series * Ace Magazines (comics), a 1940- ...

campaign, where they will face off with advanced pilots from

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the four countries the player visits while playing through the first four campaigns. The game also had a rudimentary mission editor. Although there is not conventional multiplayer, two players can fly as pilot and copilot; a second controller allows a second player to target while the first player flies.

Reception

MegaTech ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Pa ...

magazine said the game was "absolutely fantastic. The graphics, presentation and playability are all spot on". Mega placed the game at #30 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time.Mega magazine issue 1, page 76,

Future Publishing Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was founded by Chris Anderson a ...

, Oct 1992

References

External links

*{{moby game, id=/f-22-interceptor, name=''F-22 Interceptor'' 1991 video games Cold War video games Combat flight simulators Electronic Arts games MegaTech Hyper Game awards winners Sega Genesis games Sega Genesis-only games Video games set in Iraq Video games set in the Soviet Union Video games set in the United States Video games developed in the United States Video games set in North Korea Multiplayer and single-player video games