Lock On: Modern Air Combat

 PC
  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • Release Date: Jul 26, 2005
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 553 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 383 out of 553
  2. Mixed: 72 out of 553
  3. Negative: 98 out of 553
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  1. JackCurzon
    Dec 16, 2003
    8
    First off, this isn't the most user friendly of sims; no doubt about it. If you want to enjoy it, you will have to put some time in. The plus side of this is, if you do, you will discover an incrediably detailed and rich sim that will keep you entertained for days, nay years! Attention to detail is at times breath taking. The most obvious example of this is are the visuals.First off, this isn't the most user friendly of sims; no doubt about it. If you want to enjoy it, you will have to put some time in. The plus side of this is, if you do, you will discover an incrediably detailed and rich sim that will keep you entertained for days, nay years! Attention to detail is at times breath taking. The most obvious example of this is are the visuals. Simply amazing. Aircraft and ground vechiles weapon system are all fully modelled, but not overly complicated - again however, a bit of perseverence is required.
    Aside from the investment in time the only other 'downers' with Lomac are 1) it has a few bugs (a patch is expected in few weeks); nothing to serious but there are some irritating issues, and 2) system requirements. Put simply this is a hog. Don't expect to ramp all the graphics up to high. A computer that can do it hasn't been made yet - but if you ask me, that's just another feather it's cap to secure it's longevity ;). Overall, if you like jets and have bit of time to spare this is somthing you can't miss!
    … Expand
  2. Smack5
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    Great sim, even with the bugs (patch is on the way). Having said that, pay attention to the RECOMMENDED specs on the box. I'll second the "don't listen to the crybabies" comment. If your system is meeting the minimum specs, then be prepared for a minimal experience. With decent hardware, you shouldn't have many problems, and it's definately playable in it's Great sim, even with the bugs (patch is on the way). Having said that, pay attention to the RECOMMENDED specs on the box. I'll second the "don't listen to the crybabies" comment. If your system is meeting the minimum specs, then be prepared for a minimal experience. With decent hardware, you shouldn't have many problems, and it's definately playable in it's current state. … Expand
  3. OscarK.
    Dec 16, 2003
    6
    This is a great aircombatsim but there are many bugs . the grafics look great when they work. don,t get me wrong i love this game , but it just aint finished yet. also some things important for a good flight experience such as training for in flight relueling is not included.
  4. FlightSimGuy
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    Great physics, awesome graphics and awesome FPS (if your willing to uprgrade to an awesome machine which i did)
  5. RobertM.
    Dec 16, 2003
    4
    I've been waiting a long time for this game. It's been in the works for a long time. I enjoy Falcon 2, Flanker 2, USAF and have been a flight simmer for many, many years. (I'm 51.) Lomac, sadly, must be reviewed and rated on what it is right now rather than what it plans and hopes to be within a patch (or two or three). Lock ups. Missing textures. Bugs aplenty, I've been waiting a long time for this game. It's been in the works for a long time. I enjoy Falcon 2, Flanker 2, USAF and have been a flight simmer for many, many years. (I'm 51.) Lomac, sadly, must be reviewed and rated on what it is right now rather than what it plans and hopes to be within a patch (or two or three). Lock ups. Missing textures. Bugs aplenty, unfortunately. However, I did enjoy the demo. If you want to fly a fun mission with the A10 (though I think the A10 model is boshed up too) then download the demo and wait on the game. Honestly, I think something's wrong with some of the files on the Lomac CD. For instance, the controlini file keeps overwriting your preferences and cannot be made to be a solely "Archive" file. It keeps reverting to be a "Read Only" and overwrites your preferences. I'll keep looking for a good future for Lomac, but I don't intend to be a beta tester.… Expand
  6. SteveyG.
    Dec 16, 2003
    2
    Terrible, bugs everywhere, had good prospects. The Win 98 bug was a disgrace, false advertising by saying on the box it ran on 98 but they knew rightly it wouldn't, so now I can either spends loads to upgrade my computer or jus throw it away, what a great buy that was.
  7. JanneG.
    Dec 16, 2003
    7
    A sim with a great potential, but also with some child diseases.
  8. Jenikov
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    Amazing graphics, sweetly modelled planes and incredibely cool ground battles. Good multiplayer and a great sense of teamwork if you play with the right crowd. Cons: Some instability issues, system hog, memory leak, and occasional weird behavious of planes/avionics. Finally: Best modern day sim to date, period.
  9. Paulh
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    I gave it 9 but would have liked to have put 8.5, 0.5 for the bugs still in the game in the release version. All in all I love it.
  10. WouterW.
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    The game has some bugs, difficulties and needs tweaking, both on the user-end and by the devs. this is normal for a flightsim and it is not excessive imo. That said, once it runs, it is a dream come true for every flight simmer. The graphics are absolutely top notch, as is the 'feeling of flight' Weather effects, the detailed objects, the sound effects, everything in it The game has some bugs, difficulties and needs tweaking, both on the user-end and by the devs. this is normal for a flightsim and it is not excessive imo. That said, once it runs, it is a dream come true for every flight simmer. The graphics are absolutely top notch, as is the 'feeling of flight' Weather effects, the detailed objects, the sound effects, everything in it conspires to really put you there as you fight in one of the six lovingly crafted planes. Returning to the point of the bugs and neccesary tweakage, this sim has a very active community, working closely with the developers to make it even better, and helping new players out in mastering this very complex piece of software … Expand
  11. JanR.
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    This game is well done with stunning gfx and sound and despite a few bugs out of the box a series of patches is planned and the first one already close for release. For a simmer this is a must have game :D I love it.
  12. WouterW.
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    The game has some bugs, difficulties and needs tweaking, both on the user-end and by the devs. this is normal for a flightsim and it is not excessive imo. That said, once it runs, it is a dream come true for every flight simmer. The graphics are absolutely top notch, as is the 'feeling of flight' Weather effects, the detailed objects, the sound effects, everything in it The game has some bugs, difficulties and needs tweaking, both on the user-end and by the devs. this is normal for a flightsim and it is not excessive imo. That said, once it runs, it is a dream come true for every flight simmer. The graphics are absolutely top notch, as is the 'feeling of flight' Weather effects, the detailed objects, the sound effects, everything in it conspires to really put you there as you fight in one of the six lovingly crafted planes. Returning to the point of the bugs and neccesary tweakage, this sim has a very active community, working closely with the developers to make it even better, and helping new players out in mastering this very complex piece of software … Expand
  13. StuntieS.
    Dec 16, 2003
    8
    Superb graphics and loads of atmosphere. If you've never flown a fast jet sim before you can scale down the complexities for a barrel of fun, or for the more advanced you can crank it up a sweat out your own personal hell of archers inbound. Some bugs and a couple of bits to be rounded off so not a 10, but from a developer with a history and reputation for fixing and expanding so the Superb graphics and loads of atmosphere. If you've never flown a fast jet sim before you can scale down the complexities for a barrel of fun, or for the more advanced you can crank it up a sweat out your own personal hell of archers inbound. Some bugs and a couple of bits to be rounded off so not a 10, but from a developer with a history and reputation for fixing and expanding so the 8 is only temporary till they get to work. … Expand
  14. JonathanH.
    Dec 16, 2003
    8
    Great; needs some tweaks here and there. Mission builder not very intuitive. Cannot place objexts with precision like IL2:FB. Cannot multi-player in to games that launch from carrier :-( Manual was (.pdf) was crap. I would kill for a LO-MAC manual that looked like F4's. VERY GOOD huds, weapons delivery, general "flight" characteristics.
  15. CarlosA.
    Dec 16, 2003
    7
    There are many bugs for fix... but the sim is nice.
  16. Essemmnope
    Dec 16, 2003
    4
    fps issues...bugs...poor coding...I can't play online b/c I have an NForce chipset...not a good game
  17. JakeM.
    Dec 16, 2003
    2
    graphics are great but no filler. You can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig.
  18. AnthonyB.
    Dec 16, 2003
    2
    This game is in dire need of some more work. Too many things were left unfinished and the amount of bugs and the fact that members of the community have to rely on third party programs to run the game with the joystick they have is just upsetting. I hope this game gets a good strong patch to fix this soon.
  19. KayronM.
    Dec 16, 2003
    8
    The game is extremely great! Though I first thought of rating it as 10/10, I have to degrade it to 8/10 because of the many bugs, both minor & major... I realize this game is very demanding on specifications, but there have been reports from all sorts of users with all sorts of machines (including top top top of the range), that Lock On doesn't run THAT well, and by THAT well I mean The game is extremely great! Though I first thought of rating it as 10/10, I have to degrade it to 8/10 because of the many bugs, both minor & major... I realize this game is very demanding on specifications, but there have been reports from all sorts of users with all sorts of machines (including top top top of the range), that Lock On doesn't run THAT well, and by THAT well I mean that it can get to an unplayable state... For example, I can't play online or on LAN until a patch comes out that fixes the major issues Lock On has with nVidia nForce II motherboard chipsets (FPS loss & synchronization loss in LAN, and EXTREME lag online)... 8/10, for now, 10/10 when a patch or several patches come out to fix what's wrong with it!… Expand
  20. JackC.
    Dec 16, 2003
    6
    A great game is here, but it obscurred by the numerous release bugs. If the first/second patches address the major playability bugs, then I would give this game a solid 9 or even a 10 for it's great depth of realism and many aircraft. It's still a blast at 6..when it works...at 5 frames per second...
  21. BlingBlingbling
    Dec 16, 2003
    3
    Could be good, but too many glitches and problems. Its really no better than the demo. I really don't think that it has the same accuracy and attention to functional detail as the likes of falcon 4 or Janes f18. More of just an eye pleaser with lots of bugs.
  22. VarunA.
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    This is truly the state of art combat flight simulation. There may be initial problems in getting the game to be playable. But once finely tuned I feel NO OTHER SIM COMES CLOSE!!! It really feels that we are in the virtual world. I agree there are bugs and Eagle dynamics are going to solve most if not all of them in patches. I suggest everyone that this is a MUST HAVE game for any flight This is truly the state of art combat flight simulation. There may be initial problems in getting the game to be playable. But once finely tuned I feel NO OTHER SIM COMES CLOSE!!! It really feels that we are in the virtual world. I agree there are bugs and Eagle dynamics are going to solve most if not all of them in patches. I suggest everyone that this is a MUST HAVE game for any flight sim fanatic.… Expand
  23. VaporB.
    Dec 16, 2003
    8
    Great game with lots of potencial but a FPS killer.
  24. ChuckC.
    Dec 16, 2003
    8
    I give the game an 8. The graphics are stunning especially down low. The cites are very well modeled. People have had troubles running it in Win98/Me but if your a gamer you most likely aren't using those old versions of Windows anyway. I use Windows 2000 and it works fine. There are some bugs but that is to be expected. None of the bugs I've had are game stopping. Great I give the game an 8. The graphics are stunning especially down low. The cites are very well modeled. People have had troubles running it in Win98/Me but if your a gamer you most likely aren't using those old versions of Windows anyway. I use Windows 2000 and it works fine. There are some bugs but that is to be expected. None of the bugs I've had are game stopping. Great visuals, realistic flight model, good enemy pilot AI. It's a great game. System I use to play Lock On AthlonXP 2600, 1GB of RAM, Geforce 4Ti 4600 Windows 2000… Expand
  25. FerryW.
    Dec 16, 2003
    8
    The game has a lot of potential, looks fantastic and has a very high replay value. This combined with the power of hyperlobby and soon come 3rd party software and the patch which should fix the main issues... It holds a great future.
  26. AnonymousMC
    Dec 16, 2003
    0
    This game isn't even half-way finished. If I buy a car, I expect it to be delivered with wheels so I can drive it. Its a reasonable assumption, isn't it? This game is unstable and unplayable even on high end machines running XP (which im using). A game cannot be released for hardware that hasnt even been invented yet. The minimum system requirements on the cover is not only aThis game isn't even half-way finished. If I buy a car, I expect it to be delivered with wheels so I can drive it. Its a reasonable assumption, isn't it? This game is unstable and unplayable even on high end machines running XP (which im using). A game cannot be released for hardware that hasnt even been invented yet. The minimum system requirements on the cover is not only a joke, is also a legal cause to return the game and getting your money back purely because its a lie. Furher, there isnt a patch in this world that can fix everything that is broken in this game. Im not even going further into that, because its already been dwelled over and over again by hundreds. My advice to anyone considering to buy this game is to think twice (just read the forum posts). Why should you spend your hard earned money on a product that isnt even finished. Its a beta1 release only witout the ?beta? label. If you buy it, youre only going to be dissapointed and feel cheated, like I did, no matter what hardware you have. This game is an insult to all of us that paid good money for it, just to get a box of frustration. It doesnt even come with a proper manual. I could live with that, simply because the good old days of Falcon4-type-of-manuals are long gone and will probably never come back. If the game should be delivered with a proper printed manual, there wouldnt be just as much money over for the sharks, now wouldnt it? What really bothers me though, is that it doesnt even come with a proper un-printed manual!! The documentation that follows this game is the same kind of joke as the system requirements. So what am I exactly paying for? A half way finished, poorly documented pre-beta release for a full retail price. I admit, I must be stupid to have such high expectations. After all, its only a game. Gamers/simmers aren?t real customers, theyre just a bunch of stupid kids we can cheat money from over and over again.. Think again, Ubisoft. The amount of effort put in by the developer in this game is yet amazing. Still, its all wasted because of the short-term economical-or-whatever disaterous descisions leading to this premature release of an unfinished product. I feel cheated, and I?ll certainly think twice before buying anything from Ubisoft again. I also feel sad for the developers that put their hard work and effort into bringing this game to the sim world community. I feel sad because they dont really deserve all this critisims. However, as a paying customer I reserve the right to make some demands. I dont demand a perfect product. At the least however, I demand that the game is playable more than five minutes, has more than 1 fps on a high-end machine 5-6 times faster than the ?minimum? specs, and doesnt contain a zillion bugs and wrongs that ruins the whole experience. … Expand
  27. Victor
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    Exelent flight sim, what else can i say, i love it, best sim i have ever played. Game has few bugs, but very soon it all will be fixed. Have fun playing Lock on.
  28. RobN.
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    This is the best game I've ever played. I actually noticed a few people complaining about crashes & stuff with their gforce 4s. I guess they didn't read the readme. This IS NOT BATTLEFIELD pissclams.
  29. RonB.
    Dec 16, 2003
    9
    Will take time to learn all the options but once you know how to operate them the game is great. Only problem I see is the water has to much impact on the frame rate
  30. DavidD.
    Dec 16, 2003
    10
    The new Benchmark in Jet Sims. Minor bugs, but what software doesn't?
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Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Best PC Game of 2005
2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2005
66
#66 Most Shared PC Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. PC Format
    88
    Our favourite is the A-10 Warthog – cruising at 50 feet, on the prowl for enemy tanks, it’s one of the most exhilarating missions available in any recent simulator.
    Read full review
  2. Computer Gaming World
    70
    Detailed terrain, buildings, water, and effects lend an unprecedented feeling of speed to low-level flight. [March 2004, p.82]
  3. Gamer's Pulse
    70
    It has great graphics, fairly simple controls, great scenery, a decent choice of planes, and a great editor. Although the sounds easily get on your nerves, it will be the load times and need for a computer upgrade that will have you pulling your hair out.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »