Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: Pacific Theater
by Microsoft

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Product Summary

• You'll be amazed at the exquisite detail of the aircraft, cockpits and scenery
• Fly in the most amazing flying machines of the era, from the Corsair and Hellcat to the Mitsubishi Zero
• Jungle hillsides and majestic coral reefs are yours to explore as you face off agianst the enemy over Papua New Guinea, The Marianas Trench and Midway Island
• Complete your mission goals and battle in campaigns based on 10 actual historical events during the war
• Enhanced 3D objects and high-resolution terrain combine with incredible weather effects and sound, to bring you the ultimate in WWII realism!

• CH Products Flightstick Pro USB 4-Button Joystick 8-Way Hatswitch

Video Game Reviews of Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: Pacific Theater

Customer Review: An improvement over CFS1, but I expected more
Summary: 3 Stars

In many ways, CFS2 excels as an improvement over the older CFS1 (naval aviation aside), but is also a major disappointment for the exact same reason: if you own the older game as I do, you'll probably spend more time trying to spot the improvements than just enjoying it. Though the premise is different and sports a newer look between the missions (where the bleak look of CFS1 seems to have been inspired by episodes of "World at War", colorful comic-strip panels that seem inspired by nose-art ala Roy Lichtenstein dominates CFS2; if you saw the old Marvel Superheroes adventures of the 1960?s, you know what I mean), the game never capitalizes enough on its newer concept to break away from CFS1. You're still in a pure fighter sim, using the same tactics and weapons as in CFS1. Terrain is a huge improvement, but the graphics quality of the aircraft is not. Smoking effects are an improvement (the kind you get when you mortally wound an enemy plane) but the sound/graphics related to enemy bullets is completely unconvincing (bullets sound as if they're whizzing past you, even while punching holes through your Hellcat). The naval aviation aspects of CFS2 are also a mixed bag between "wow" and "huh?!" On the one hand, ships actually move (not like the perpetually parked steamers and U-Boats of CFS1) and even bob. On the other hand, the sim doesn't let you fly the planes that flew anti-shipping strikes: dive bombers and torpedoe planes like the TBF or SBD, and none of your flyable planes are armed with torpedoes. Though ships are an improvement over those in CFS1, that's not saying much. While ships in CFS2 now burn, and even stop dead in the water before sinking, (rather than just disappear in a puff of polygon-fire) they otherwise slip quietly, and whole, beneath the Pacific - never breaking apart, listing or disgorging fuel or men like the game's planes (or those in "Their Finest Hour" of 1989). Your own aircraft carrier remains curiously pristine (considering how they were magnets for enemy planes) but also devoid of any activity - human or mechanical - unlike the airfields of CFS1. To help you land, there's an LSO (Landing Signal Officer), but he appears, not on the carrier, but in the "radar" window on your left side. Looking much like the AOL stick-figure, I can't imagine this guy guiding anybody up the gangplank, let alone talking a landing airplane onto the wire. (I've become proficient at carrier landings despite getting a "WAVE-OFF!" on every approach). He doesn't even speak - the LSO has a pretty finite number of phrases ("wave-off", "power", "raise altitude" or "you're too high" to think of a few). A talking LSO was a fixture of "F-14 Fleet Defender" (1994). Not that carrier-flying isn't a welcome challenge, it's just painfully obvious that nobody explored the cool ways to make the most of it. Campaigns are pre-scripted, though dynamic campaigns would probably be wasted on a sim of this type. That doesn't excuse an unnecessarily rigid mission requirement system that won't allow you to "jump" once you're out of ammo or damaged. That itself was not as problematic as the alternative - I was willing to fly back to my carrier in real time, only to find that the in-flight map brought me back to where my carrier had been when I launched, not where it had gotten to about 2 hours later!

In short, CFS2 is more of a game-engine than completed game. Likely, you can fill in the gaps described above with third-party software on the internet. But it's an insult that CFS2 is so far short of its potential out of the box. I bought the newer game because I expected more than an evolved form of CFS1 (I could've gotten that myself). That's a shame, because the sim itself is such a beaut - one in which those interested enough can learn about the mechanics of WWII engines, face the challenge of carrier-landing battle-damaged planes or triumph over the supremely nimble Japanese planes using dive-and-zoom techniques (rather than trying to out-turn them as pilots will try by instinct). It wasn't until I reached mid-1944 that I encountered clouds - but they were beautiful. For its faults, CFS2 is that rare sim that keeps you coming back, and goes to lengths to keep you out of "slew" mode.

I ran CFS 2 on a P4-2Ghz, WinXP w/game port controls. Graphics were acceptably fluid and there were no controllability problems, though load times are high. If you haven't bought any WWII sims since the mid-90's, I'd suggest this one. Otherwise, you'll have to weigh your interest in WWII naval aviation against the price of this one and your eagerness to have to customize a sim in ways you'd expect it to behave out of the box.

Description of Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: Pacific Theater

After choosing to fly for the Japanese or American forces, you can pick from a selection of seven ultrarealistic aircraft. Experienced flight sim fans will drool over the plane models, accurate down to the number of rivets. Newbies will appreciate the excellent flight and landing tutorials.

There are over 100 missions to fly, many based on historic missions from the war. This unusual level of realism and attention to detail comes from the game developers' personal love of flight: many members of the CFS2 team are pilots. Their extensive research included interviews with Japanese and U.S. aces from the real war in the Pacific. The missions themselves are lengthy and often complex, and are just as accurate as the planes; players take part in history, but cannot change the outcomes of battles.

Because the action takes place in the South Pacific don't expect to see a wide variety of ground scenery. Not that you'll miss it: the water, small islands, planes, aircraft carriers, and battleships are always very sharp and detailed. However, if you expect to play with the graphics at their best settings, be aware that you'll need a blazing fast machine with a fast video card. On lesser computers, the graphics in Combat Flight Simulator 2 start to degrade from stunning to merely ordinary.

The between-mission story arc is told through 1940s-style comic book panels. The artwork does a good job of moving the story along while giving the feeling that your character and his fellow flyboys are aware they're never far from instant death. That the game also allows you to fly the full Japanese side of the campaign gives the player an interesting glimpse at the Japanese perspective of the war.

While the game does include such famous planes as the U.S. Corsair, Wildcat, P38F Lightning, and Japanese Zero, its mere total of seven craft left us wanting more. We were impressed with the vastly different handling of each plane, but the lack of variety is disappointing.

But this is a relatively small shortcoming in an otherwise deep and involving game. If you have a powerful enough PC, Combat Flight Simulator 2 is a delight, and is sure to please both war historians and flight sim enthusiasts.--Mark Brooks

Pros:

• Easy to get into, but can be adjusted to become very difficult and realistic
• On highest-quality graphics settings, the game is simply gorgeous
• Plenty of missions and great tutorials
• Full Japanese campaign adds depth and historical balance

• Only seven flyable aircraft
• Steep system requirements

Simulation Games

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