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Red Baron 3-D

Rating

Brand Vivendi Universal

Type CD-ROM

Special Price

Lowest Used Price $15.93

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Description

Despite the Red Baron, the Sopwith Camel, zeppelins, and other famous reminders of the oft romanticized aerial battles of World War I, the conflict has been grossly underrepresented in the gaming world. This's a shame, for the reason that when a strategy as fun as Red Baron 3-D comes along it only leaves us wanting extra. This upgraded version of Red Baron 2 is vastly better than the strategy this preceded it, from the improved 3-D graphics (if you have a 3-D accelerator this maintains the Glide API) to the new flight models.

Flight simulator fans used to screaming all-around the sky at mach 2 will be in for a bit of a shock. Few of the planes exceed 150 mph, and much of your time will be spent at double-digit speeds. However, the slow speeds do not do for a boring strategy. Thanks to a handy time compression aspect, climbing to a reasonable altitude doesn't get too long, and the inherent instability of these crates means active handling is necessary at all times.

Many of the 22 flyable planes in the strategy are extremely fragile. You can actually listen to the wing spars creak and groan as you pull tight turns, often followed by a sickening "snap!" when novices are at the controls. Players can fly a diversity of single scenarios or participate in complete campaigns, but the real fun of Red Baron 3-D is the online have fun. No matter how good you are at the single-player strategy, an experienced human player will pull off moves this do your head spin. Fortunately this is one of those games where practicing is actually fun, and the strategy's low cost (and free multiplayer component) only adds to the appeal. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

Much improved flight model
Graphics look excellent (if you have a Glide-compatible 3-D video accelerator)
Online multiplayer battles are a blast

Cons:

Players not including a Glide-compatible video card will have to do do together with older graphics
Fragility of aircraft and lack of radar and complex weapons do the strategy difficult for beginners

The realistic graphics and results of this strategy get you back to the early days of aviation, when daring pilots flew their dogfight missions on one part courage and one part technology. Red Baron 3-D excels in its attention to detail and use of innovative graphics technology. The strategy is suitable for all ages.

Additional Accessories

PC Gamer [with CD] (1-year)

Customer Reviews

I miss this game's heyday 2005-11-06

By David Calhoun (La Mirada, CA United States)

This is a GREAT game, and with the Full Canvas Jacket addon it looks even better. But I never really played this for its single player - I absolutely LOVED multiplayer. I only stopped playing this game when it became difficult to find servers with people in them.

This game got me into the genre of WWI aviation - I now have tons of books on the subject even. In terms of the game itself, it still remains unmatched, mostly due to the fact that no significant WWI sims have been released since, sadly enough.

Overall, very fun and definitely worth purchasing. Be advised that you will need access to mods to make this game with with modern video cards and operating systems. Just run a Google search for mods.

Best All Around WW1 Combat Flight Sim 2004-12-05

By Duffy Sullivan (Seattle)

Yes it is true! despite being released way back in, what was it, 1998? Red Baron 3D remains among the top of tier of combat flight sims.

If you are looking for this classic sim the bad news is that all original published copies are sold out. The good news is that used copies are not hard to find. Shop around and try to get the actual Red Baron 3D game and not the upgradeable Red Baron 2. Also, try and find a copy that includes the Red Baron 3D manual. This manual is chock full of everything you need to know about every aspect of the sim. There is also a large historical section devoted to the pilots and aircraft of the period covered in the sim and lots of period photos. It resembles a paperback novel more than manuals found with PC games these days.

Other good news is that although the game/sim is old it has been lovingly modded and kept up to date by a large community of artists and programmers. The game in its current state of modification hardly resembles the game as it was originally shipped.

The Campaign in RB3D remains to this day the standard to which all others are held. Really, there is nothing else in the world of 3D flight sims that can compare to it. It is the key reason why so many have been flying and modding this sim over the years. Very little about the campaign is scripted. Once you take off from your aerodrome how events unfold from then on depends largely on the decisions you make while in the air. While flying a mission there is a real sense of a war going on all around you. Looking off into the distance dogfights and ground fire that have nothing to do with your mission can be seen unfolding. I have seen planes little more than specks in the distance spinning out of control towards the earth, shot down out of the sky trailing smoke.

The game was programed to run with the now extinct Voodoo video cards and Glide API. There is a program called dgvoodoo that can be downloaded and installed that allows modern ATI and Nvidia cards to run the game in Glide, otherwise the game runs in Direct Draw and doesn't look nearly as sweet.

Anyway, I wanted to write up this review because the sim is still in use and message boards with enthusiastic modders and simmers from all over the world are currently active and they are a great place to get started and ask Qs about anything having to do with Red Baron 3D or any of its many mods and patches.

Here is a good place to start if you are ready to take the plunge! [...]

Huge five stars for this awsome game! 2004-02-20

By Brian E Mathieson (Danville, Virginia, USA)

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!

Red Baron 3D, More Than Just a Flight Simulator 2003-01-19

By Eric Snyder (Seattle, Wa United States)

Red Baron 3D is not your ordinary flight simulator program. Red Baron 3D is a highly interactive WWI flight simulation where you can immerse yourself in honorable combat in the skies above France. Red Baron 3D can be played in a wide variety of ways. You can choose your aircraft and fly against any one of many enemy aircraft flown by an AI pilot in whats called the "Fly Now" mode. You can create a pilot and fly from the beginning of WWI, flying realistic computer generated missions in the "Campain Mode". As your pilot gains experience and as the War progresses, your pilot will advance in rank and responsibility. In "Single Mission" mode, you can fly your choice of a number of missions that will test your skills as a WWI fighter ace. You can even generate your own missions to fly, such as bomber escort or intercept, offensive patrols, even balloon busting. You can also play via the internet and pit your skills against other players in real time from all over the world. To play via the internet, you will need to download and install an official Sierra patch called RB3D1078.EXE. This patch will allow you to see and play in the many game servers devoted to Red Baron 3D since WON.NET no longer supports internet play. There are numerous Web Sites devoted to Red Baron 3D where you can get information on how to play the game.

Regards;
JGS4SparksJ79bCO
Commanding Officer JGS4 Jasta79b, Red Baron 3D On-line squadron

Red Baron 3-D 2003-01-09

I purchased this game via Amazon.com after playing Red Baron-2. Installed it and had nothing but problems. My system met the requirements to run it but the Campaign portion of the game refused to work. I contacted Sold Out for tech assistance but they were unable to solve the problem. They requested I return the game so they could check it for flaws. I plan to return the game to them(at my cost)and see what they come up with.
I was able to play Red Baron-2,by Sierra, and really liked it. This version is less than I expected and unless the flaws can be addressed, I wont purchase another game via Sold Out.

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