Falcon 3.0 was claimed to have used flight dynamics from a real military simulator, and required a math coprocessor to enable the high fidelity flight mode. Even in less demanding modes, it was still virtually unplayable in computers running on less than a 386 computer (recommended 33 MHz 486, a top end machine at this time). It was announced well in advance of its actual release date (1991).
Falcon 3.0 offered "padlock" view - in which the player's POV will be slewed in the direction of a selected target, scanning around the cockpit if necessary. It also offered players more naturally looking topography than was available in existing commercial PC flight simulation - with mountains, hills, valleys and other features having their own unique shape. In older games, the user typically had to settle to ranges of uniformly shaped or sized mountains on flat ground, with areas or lines of blue for lakes and rivers.
Falcon 3.0 game retained its reputation as the most realistic flight simulation game for years. It also has a dynamic campaign mode where the player can contribute to the war effort by performing missions.
An expansion pack Operation Fighting Tiger contains several additional scenarios, including a future skirmish between Japan and Russia, which gave the player the Japanese F-16 variant, the "FSX".
Art of the Kill, a video tutorial that teaches aerial dogfighting basics used Falcon 3.0's built-in ACMI recorder to reconstruct engagements, explains tactics and counter-tactics. Falcon 3.0 was also the subject of dozens of aftermarket books, some written by actual F-16 pilots. Only the Microsoft Flight Simulator series spawned more books.
The game was re-released in 1994 as Falcon Gold a compilation which included Art of the Kill video digitized on the CD collection, along with Operation Fighting Tiger and the announcement for Falcon 4.0. It noted for their early multiplayer support, as even the first version supported two players via a null modem serial port connection.
Falcon 3.0 received 5 out of 5 stars in Dragon. In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked Falcon 3.0 as the tenth best computer game of all time for its introduction of "the first truly realistic flight model" for a jet aircraft and for adding "the useful (and necessary) wingmen and the first truly dynamic flight sim campaign," as well as the seventh most innovative computer game for setting "a standard for realism and connectivity that is only now being surpassed."
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