Recent reviews by Mr. Unidentified

I've picked this game up because of its extensive damage models of the vehicles (both air and ground) and that it features nukes for me to drop and destroy cities with. I was also getting bored of War Thunder at the time, so I wanted a breath of fresh air.

I ended up staying because it is quite possibly the greatest air-combat game I have ever played, bar none.

I hopped into the tutorials and stock missions for a few hours, getting the feel of the controls until I could comfortably fly without feeling like I would bumble into crashing or something. It only took me about 2-3 hours at the MOST to learn the fundamentals before I was off to the races. Most Flight Sim games can't say that, it usually takes me about 5 hours to learn the basics, and that's not counting the advanced features (like trimming elevators and such) that those games might have.

But Nuclear Option? All that N.O. tries to teach you is how to fly, how to shoot, and how to use countermeasures, and THAT'S IT. You have a selection of stock missions you can play through to hone your skills afterward if you wish, and for you to try different aircraft with their arsenal, but it doesn't try to spoon-feed you information, nor does it try to keep it actively hidden away from you. The game has a sort of Goldilocks zone between trying to keep the advanced features of the game hidden, and trying to teach you everything you need to know about the basics. It's a perfect balance for the starters, because it keeps you invested enough to want to learn more.

You can repeat those tutorials if you wish, but that's ALL the game gives you because when you start out, that's all you really need to know in order to begin actually playing. And because of that, the game tricks you into thinking the rest of it will be that simple from the start.

You would think that all you really needed to learn was how to fly the aircraft, and the rest will come easily to you, right?

Only for you to find out that it is one of the most comprehensive flight simulator games you have ever played. It features arcade mechanics, like a score system to level you up--and using those points to give you more aircraft to play with--but the game also retains various aspects from other flight-sim games as well. Aspects that I just so happen to really enjoy. It utilizes real-world sensor mechanics, like notching radar missiles and using terrain to mask your approach. You have to utilize real-world tactics to get ahead of your enemy. It features a VERY LARGE map to play in, dotted with a variety of biomes such as scorching deserts, rolling hills, gargantuan mountains, wide open plains, churning planes of water, and sprawling urban cities. You can dodge missiles if you are fast and have practiced enough.

The missions--especially the long-running operations spanning all across the maps like "Escalation"--utilize a real-time economy system that tracks your team's performance and rewards income accordingly based on you and your team's actions. Did you just sink a corvette at sea? You just earned several million dollars as a reward for doing so, and you now can use that income to upgrade your aircraft. Not only that, but you killed an enemy asset that no longer can be used against you.

Another review already mentioned this, but the game features a persistent battlefield system for the missions. You neglected to kill that convoy you spotted earlier? Well, now they made it to your vehicle depots, and your side can no longer spawn ground assets on that side of the map. You failed to spot a ship on the coast? Well, now they are swatting down aircraft flying over near your airfield before they get too close. And so much more.

But where this game REALLY shines above the rest is the community. The people of Nuclear Option, aside form a couple of bad eggs that no community is safe from, is very helpful and friendly to new players and newbies alike. They can teach you all kinds of stuff, and are generally just a blast to play with or against in multiplayer. There is even modding capabilities for the game with mission editors and aircraft skins, so you can create and submit your own custom missions and aircraft to the workshop if you wish!

Oh yeah, and the Multiplayer is amazing. You have a selection of missions to choose from--some small in scale, while others take up the whole map--and you can choose to play these missions either in Singleplayer or in Multiplayer. But I highly recommend Multiplayer, as you will get the full experience of the game by working together with other players to complete missions--Co-op or PVP.

Not only does the game let you choose between Co-op and Competitive settings for these mission--and not only does it let you customize the multiplayer settings of the server you host--but you can also change the way the missions ITSELF is played: you don't like the fact that the other side has more troops and more money than you? You can nerf their income, and buff your own. Want there to be not as many aircraft in the skies? You can reduce that. Do you want there to be no Turbulence from the wind? You can disable that.

There's so much more about this game that I can't really remember at the top of my head, and I am running out of space, so you will have to take my word for it. This game is well worth paying full price for. I did so, and I do not regret it, and that is a RARITY to say in the gaming industry nowadays. This indie title is a gem, and it deserves your time, your money, and your love.

I crucify the living embodiment of what is considered to be the world's "Jesus Christ" and I burned the greedy nobles of the Empire at the stakes atop of my walls for my enemies to see.

We're so back, bois

<<MAJOR ORDER: DEFEAT SONY.>>

The voices in my head allowed me to live a few days longer by playing this.

Meh. It's unique, but also drowned in P2W aspects and gargantuan-scaled grindfests

It's like a toxic relationship that you cannot ever really leave. I tried. And I keep coming back to it, like a bad habit.

I didn't spend $20 and hundreds hours on this game because it's "bad."

Game Good. Recommend.

10/10 would die by STDs to a wench again