DragonStrike

The Good
You get to fly a Dragon. How can you beat that?

Oh, the storyline is the War of the Lance. Every DragonLance friend should feel right at home. The graphics were very good for the time being (for the most part). Controls were easy, and you could redefine them. The storyline was variable, and depending on some in-game choices would change. Also, there is a mission editor so the game has a lot of replayability. There are also a lot of neat easter eggs: if you land on a grassy area, the dragon would start munching cows as it waits to take off again!

Plus, I nearly peed my pants when I first saw that awesome skeletal death dragon.

The Bad
Sometimes the graphics would become blurry, especially when you were flying too close into a mountain it became hard to see where what was. Very excusable though as this was one of the first games to use early vector graphics.

The Bottom Line
Well worth a look, although I haven't played this game in ages (I need another copy, damnit!) and don't know if it has problems on newer machines.

The Good
The very idea of simulating aerial battles on the back of a dragon is truly one of the boldest ever realised in a game. A simulator is supposed to emulate reality to some extent, and dragons are not part of what sane people would define as reality. However, RPG games actually simulate a fantasy world in a manner that makes them seem realistic in their own way, and this game combines RPG elements with the gameplay of a combat flight simulator into a truly remarkable blend. Players assume the role of a Solamnic Knight and actually choose which Order they will eventually follow in the course of the War of the Lance, the climactic conflict between the forces of Good and Evil. The player controls everything, from altitude and flight speed, to the dragon's formidable breath weapon and a powerful dragonlance which can instantly kill most dragons. For gamers who admire and revere the most remarkable creatures of fantasy this game was a unique experience. The package contained large cards with classic artwork from TSR's best, describing each kind of dragon. A veritable jewel in my collection.

The Bad
It was quite hard, especially later on when you were forced to face several evil dragons at once. Other than that nothing really bothered me in this game.

The Bottom Line
All the other games that cast the player as a dragon or its rider are purely action-based. This is the only simulator of its kind and it is a game worth a dragon's lair in gold, if you can ignore the old graphics and sound.

The Good
The 3d graphics were excellent for their time, especially the complexity of the terrain (the 3d creature models lacked character so i preffered the bitmapped versions) missions were varied and tense role-playing elements made it more fun - you could have taken on special challenge missions to improve your and your dragon's statistics, and advanced through more and more powerful dragons

The Bad
at the time i was in love. playing it a few years later i came to dislike the claw to claw battles, which usually just amounted to endless turning around until you got lucky. also, it was way too easy to outdistance most enemy dragons. the flight model was also too simplistic.

The Bottom Line
Dragon Strike is a classic, and we're long overdue for a new dragon simulator. Maybe "ozzy's black skies" will fit the bill?