Got this because I never played more than the demo way back when, and I was curious what the rest of the game was like. I must admit I was unimpressed. The bank level was a pretty good introduction, with the memorable pigeon flight, some decent gunplay and Demolition Man-inspired near-future setting, but from there it's mostly downhill with bland enemies, weapons, levels and bosses. The entire game feels very crude and dated, from its '90s macho/playboy attitude to the reliance on labyrinthine keycard levels. It gives off the impression that it was haphazardly put together without any real sense of direction or thought behind it, and while perhaps not a terrible game there's definitely a reason for its lack of popularity when you look at something like Half-Life released at the same time.
I think Red Baron (the original) was one of the first games I ever purchased, a budget release on the Kixx XL label, and I used to play it until my ears were ringing from the ratatatatat of the machine guns. Everything from the Dynamix intro and title screen, to the music, the interface, the various text messages and most importantly the iconic medal/promotion cutscenes, are forever burned into my memory. There's a lot of nostalgia at play here, but that's all thanks to the genuine charm and clean-cut polish that originally made the game so appealing. The graphics still look fine in a stylized manner, since it's mostly simple geometry and from a time before ugly, low-res textures and models too complex for their polycount. Gameplay and controls are still fantastic; the arrow keys and space bar will get you most of the way. Back in the day I always played with invulnerability or at the very least unlimited ammo, but I just finished for the first time a complete campaign using the realistic settings, and the game holds up really well. It does get repetitive if you play it for too long at a time, and those looking for deep simulation should keep looking, but the simple controls, incredibly fluid gameplay and overall polish and streamlining gives the dogfighting an almost timeless quality that's really enjoyable even today.
I have fond memories of playing the demo ages ago, and this was the first time I got my hands on the full version. Gameplay holds up fairly well and the racing is enjoyable, though it's also very simplistic and there's not a whole lot of content. There are two race/bike types: road race and motocross, with four tracks each. You can unlock reverse mode and mini-bike mode, but the latter I just thought frustrating more than anything else. Once you've managed to win all the races-which doesn't take very long-I didn't find much reason to stay. Some of the tracks weren't all that compelling, but it's fun to do a run on "Speed Bay" now and then, just for the great sense of speed and flow.
This pack contains: Pinball Dreams (8 tables) - Some nice tables, but a bit too primitive for my tastes. The graphics make the tables a bit cluttered and hard to read. Pinball Fantasies (4 tables) - A step up from "Dreams", particularly the Partyland table. Pinball Mania (4 tables) - Kind of crude, tables are odd and not very fun in my opinion. Pinball Illusions (4 tables) - Now this is where it's at. Beautiful, clear graphics; super fun table layouts with lots of ramps, various missions and good use of the display with mini-games; fantastic music and audio (I dare anyone to play the Vikings table without feeling the urge to hum along within a few seconds of launching the ball.) Basically the game is just incredibly polished and really enjoyable. Illusions is in my top three pinball games along with Extreme Pinball and Psycho Pinball, which I hope will make it to GOG at some point.
