Rating: 
Summary: Huge five stars for this awsome game!
Review: A huge five stars: Still my favorite game after five years and three upgrades, Red Baron 3D continues to be addictive in 2004. Unfortunately, the company that made the game is defunct, but there is a huge online community keeping the game alive with lots of awesome upgrades and options. I hope some rich guy, or perhaps a savvy game company resurrects this awesome game someday. I'm a huge fan of combat flight simulators, so I routinely buy all the new games. Nothing comes close to Red Baron for the sheer joy of dog fighting, the thrill of the hunt, and the fear of flaming death. The campaigns are virtually unlimited in their variety. The missions vary from routine to absolutely terrifying, requiring you to 'bug out' or die plummeting in a flaming wreck. Even at the height of your skill, the lifespan of your pilots can be very short, or perhaps you will survive the war captured in a POW camp, maimed in a hospital, or victorious with a chest full of medals. A player has to be cunning and skilled to play this game and survive, but with some training, a bit of practice and some luck, you can become a canvas falcon and rule the skies as the Ace of Aces!
Rating: 
Summary: Is it my machine or am I doing something wrong?
Review: Being a fan of the original two RB games, I ordered this game when I got a new PC with Windows ME. Only problem is, I get "jitter" everytime I move the joystick up or down. I tried a new joystick, but it didn't fix the problem. Inquiries to Sierra went unanswered. The game is cool when I fly in a straight line, but having to go up or down gives me motion sickness. Anyone else have this problem?
Rating:
Summary: Is it my machine or am I doing something wrong?
Review: Being a fan of the original two RB games, I ordered this game when I got a new PC with Windows ME. Only problem is, I get "jitter" everytime I move the joystick up or down. I tried a new joystick, but it didn't fix the problem. Inquiries to Sierra went unanswered. The game is cool when I fly in a straight line, but having to go up or down gives me motion sickness. Anyone else have this problem?
Rating: 
Summary: The Baron is back and better than ever!
Review: Fantastic! But let me give you a warning first. I received this as a Christmas gift two years ago when I had a P133 with 48m of RAM and 4X CD-ROM. According to the system requirements on the box, I satisfied the MINIMUM requirements. Upon loading the game, I experienced extremely lengthy load times for missions, jerkiness, and jitter during combat (an enemy would be in my sights one second and then up above me the next second). Missions with over 4 planes in the air brought my machine to a near stand still and the time compression feature was useless as it would take sometimes ten to fifteen minutes to reach a waypoint or target, even with time compress set to 16X. These experiences occurred with the graphics settings set to their minimum. I even tried it on a P166 with little improvement. Frankly it was not very fun and I was relegated to the "Fly Now" missions only. Later I took advantage of the Red Baron 3D upgrade and rebate offer hoping for some operational improvement, but there was none. After several weeks I shelved the game and forgot about it thinking that I would soon upgrade my computer. Well that time came two days ago. I upgraded to a P600 with 128M RAM and a 40X CD-ROM. I pulled Red-Baron 3D off the shelf, loaded it up, and the improvement is AMAZING!. At the highest graphics setting I have difficulty finding any flaws in performance. The frame rate is smooth, time compression is tremendously improved, the planes handle well, and the graphics are pretty sharp even without the 3DFX chip required for the 3D enhanced graphics (I'm running a 16m RIVA TNT, which is not supported for this game.) The campaigns are very immersive although sometimes the AI seems to get a little stupid. I was able to shoot down Manfred Von Richthoven on my first mission! He was very passive, making no attempts to get away or to turn and attack me. Flying against him in the "Single Mission" scenarios he is very aggressive and difficult to pull into a turning duel. I would expect that same level of difficulty when meeting him in a campaign mission. One of the things I love is the little touches included in the missions. During one combat I shot down an enemy plane and watched it hit the ground. As I circled the downed planes neighboring air field, an ambulance came out of one of the hangars and I was able to watch it go to the site where the plane crashed. Incredible! Little things like this really pull you into this game. As it is, it is one of the most engrossing flight sims I have played and I don't see any chance of sleep for the next several nights. I recommend the game but only if you have at least a P300 with 64m RAM and a high speed CD-ROM. When game manufacturers determine minimum requiremnts I would like to think that this is a minimum requirement by which the game can still be enjoyed. So purchase wisely.
Rating:
Summary: descent sim
Review: Good descent ww1 sim, but we must remember this sim is old, so the graphics are not going to be the best in the world. It's sort of a classic. The planes probably handled the same as they did during that particular time.
Rating:
Summary: It isn't Mach 3 but it is enjoyable
Review: I found this to be a respectable game, with good value and reasonably good realism (I especially liked the ability to change seasons and time of day or night, and the ability to always "track" the enemy with the touch of a button). Drawbacks included the lack of spinning or recovering when you pass your limits, and the seeming ability of some aircraft to always come out way ahead of another (try the Fokker DVII against the SPAD -- the flight envelope doesn't seem realistic here). I also had considerable difficulty loading missions despite having a top-of-the-line computer and gear. All that said, the game gives a good feel for what the dawn of aviation may have been like (without the discomfort or the low life expectancy of a WWI pilot). The planes are slow, but sometimes low-tech is more immediate and just plain more fun (your enemy is not just a pipper on a screen, and when you look around you'll see open sky or countryside and not a cockpit frame).
Rating:
Summary: It isn't Mach 3 but it is enjoyable
Review: I found this to be a respectable game, with good value and reasonably good realism (I especially liked the ability to change seasons and time of day or night, and the ability to always "track" the enemy with the touch of a button). Drawbacks included the lack of spinning or recovering when you pass your limits, and the seeming ability of some aircraft to always come out way ahead of another (try the Fokker DVII against the SPAD -- the flight envelope doesn't seem realistic here). I also had considerable difficulty loading missions despite having a top-of-the-line computer and gear. All that said, the game gives a good feel for what the dawn of aviation may have been like (without the discomfort or the low life expectancy of a WWI pilot). The planes are slow, but sometimes low-tech is more immediate and just plain more fun (your enemy is not just a pipper on a screen, and when you look around you'll see open sky or countryside and not a cockpit frame).
Rating:
Summary: My Lord is this fun
Review: I hate computers, computer geeks and computer games. I bought a computer only because I needed it for work. I was given RB3D as a gift and didn't even open it for five months. This is the coolest thing I've ever seen. That's really all I have to say. The online setup where you play people around the world in giant air battles is the most fun I've ever had indoors with my clothes on. You have to download free patches from the websites to get this to work, but it's ADDICTIVE! BUY THIS!
Rating: 
Summary: How do I fly this thing?
Review: I have tried to take off numerous times, finally gave up.. I just cant get it to take off. I read the instructions but it doesnt want to leave the ground. It did once! ha but couldnt get it to fly, so I have put it back on the shelf till I learn :-(
Rating:
Summary: Update
Review: I originally gave this game a four star review--it deserves FIVE! Since purchasing this, I've tried many other games and NONE compare. For it's market, this game is number one! I've owned it now for over a year and still I enjoy it. Only in books have I experienced the ability that this game has in pulling you into the subject. If you purchase this, then you'll see the mastery that the designers injected it with. Happy flights!
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