Sidewinder Max

In the wake of the Cold War, two global factions emerged: the Advanced Countries Economic Cooperation Council (ACECC), backed by major capitalist powers to guide the recovering Soviet and Chinese economies; and the Emerging Nations Security Organization (Grand Powers), consisting of smaller emerging economies wishing to retain their independence and autonomy. These conflict between these two factions centered via a proxy conflict in the politically-unstable Mediterranean nation of Escala. The inevitable finally happened in June 199X following the "Black April Incident" — after a high-ranking official in Escala was assassinated, full-scale conflict broke out in the region. ACECC mobilized an air combat unit known as the "Fighting Birds", and among those deployed was one young rookie pilot named Kazuya. Sidewinder Max is a 3D combat flight simulation game and the third title in the Sidewinder series, comparable to the contemporary Ace Combat series but with a more grounded, realistic story and tone. The player takes the role of rookie pilot Kazuya Kiryu in the Fighting Birds squadron, flying in 32 total missions across three chapters, and earning promotions which increase their responsibilities and options in taking on each mission as the game progresses. Between each mission the player can check the mission briefing, speak with other squad members, and go on training missions; later on the player can also manage squad personnel and aircraft selection and loadouts. A wide selection of real-life aircraft and ordnance are available, which gradually increases as the game progresses. Each mission has a fixed time limit of five minutes; the objective in most missions is to eliminate all targets, though there are also escort missions where the player must ensure a specific aircraft reaches its destination. The game will continue even if the player doesn't achieve their primary objective; the mission is only failed if the player is shot down or crashes.