NovaLogic's latest effort puts you in the cockpit of the F-22 Lightning, the world's most advanced jet fighter. It's so advanced, in fact, that half the time you feel slightly surplus to requirements...
Andy Ashwin

F-22 Lightning 3 is not one for the purist. Almost every aspect of flight can be set to auto, from the takeoff to the landing. Heck, this bird is so fancy that it'll even line you up behind an enemy, leaving you to simply squeeze the trigger. No, this is definitely one for the casual flyboys and girls, and that's not a criticism.

As you hop into the hotseat for the first time, be sure to take a while to look around you - the airfield is a hive of military-type activity. To the left we have the E3 AWACS aircraft, taxiing into position to offer support on the coming mission. Over to the right, Sir will notice a couple of cool Humvees tearing up the tarmac. These little touches really make you feel as though you're part of a carefully co-ordinated team.

Graphically speaking, F-22 Lightning 3 is a tour de force, providing you've got the now obligatory 3D hardware. The aircraft are beautifully textured and animated, with moving control surfaces and the Lightning's revolutionary thrust-vectoring engine nozzles, erm, vectoring (they make you turn quicker, apparently). But what will really grab you are the weather effects. The rain and snow look so realistic you'll be glad that you're cocooned in glass. As for the thunderstorms... BOOM! Seeing is most definitely believing.

There's plenty to keep you amused for a fair while, with over 50 single missions and six campaigns. The missions are nicely varied and some are even downright original (to a degree). Our favourites always seem to involve the deployment of a B-61 tactical thermonuclear bomb, decimating everything within a three-mile radius. We can't remember ever being able to do this in the past.