The game is characterized for its balance of an action laden gameplay which focuses on classical dog fights and a simple yet realistic flight model.

The latter version is considered superior as its graphical display is at a much higher resolution, multi-player network play is supported, and saved movies may be exported in QuickTime format.

[4] In 1994, the magazine stated that Hellcats Over the Pacific and F/A-18 Hornet had better graphics on the Macintosh but Chuck Yeager's flying was more realistic, despite the lack of a rudder.

The magazine concluded that it "is worth a test flight, especially for we Mac-types who must live on a thin diet of top-flight games".

[8] In 1998, PC Gamer declared it the 23rd-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "classic" and a "golden oldie".