USAF Gains Free Add-On

Electronic Arts has announced that owners of its latest flight-simulation title, Jane's USAF, will fly the skies to perform air-show maneuvers as one of the US Air Force's Thunderbirds. Offered as a free downlod through Jane's web site, potential pilots slide into the cockpit of a red, white, and blue F-16C. Don't know how to do tricks? Well, Thunderbirds' pilot number six, Dean "Wilbur" Wright, will teach pilots how to perform detailed choreographed maneuvers though a series of training missions. Moves covered in the free add-on include the "Inverted to Inverted" and the "Max Climb Split S" over crowds at the Nellis Air Force Base.

If you're a Thunderbirds fan, you can fly as your favorite pilot, and as you master your tricks, you'll earn new ranks and medals. The USAF team actually recorded the tricks in action to make sure they were accurately re-created in game form, and the add-on also features a mission recorder (a digital VCR, of sorts) that lets you review how well you completed your maneuver.

If you don't have a copy of Jane's USAF already, you can find the game at retail for about US$39.99.