Microsoft started developing flight simulators 12-odd years ago with a small title called Microsoft Flight Simulator. From the start, the company focused on realism above all else and has built up a loyal following of Flight Simulator fans who enjoy the trials and tribulations of flying commercial planes without having to be concerned about aerial combat.
However, a couple of years ago Microsoft released Combat Flight Simulator I: WWII Europe Series that combined the realistic flight dynamics of the Flight Simulator series within an historically accurate World War II aerial combat environment.
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theatre (CFS2) builds on the success of the first title, and is set between 1940 and 1945 in the Pacific directly after the Pearl Harbour offensive. It offers six play options and an impressive mission builder.
Cruising at 5 000 feet
The free flight option is ideal for users who want to get to grips with the look and feel of the different planes. Gamers can choose from any of the seven available planes ranging from the heavily armed and manoeuvrable Shiden-Kai to the big and cumbersome Lockheed P-38F Lightning.
Players can also select from five different armourment setups - or "loadouts" - for their planes, including various machine guns and bombs. However, it is when selecting a starting location and modifying the time and weather settings that the fun really starts.
The player can insert the altitude and starting speed, the latitude or longitude or choose to start from any one of the available airfields in the game. For those pilots who want to get the most out of their planes, the time and weather settings should provide ample challenges.
You can select any time of day, from dawn through to flying at night. Fancy flying in a thunderstorm, or a scissors manoeuvre in gale-force winds? There are several options for adjusting clouds and wind, and the advanced weather options cover everything from selecting the exact temperature, the wind direction and even the thickness of the ice forming on your plane when flying through cloud cover.
Watch your six!
Of course, the whole point of playing CFS2 is to be involved in dogfights and that is what the quick combat option is all about. You can set how many wingmen are flying with you and the type, amount, skill and position of your enemies.
If you`re not used to playing Microsoft flight simulators it is advisable to play the training missions first as the flight and combat dynamics will probably scare off the uninitiated (and taking on four enemy planes on your own won`t help matters either). Having said that, you learn to appreciate your first kill when playing on the hardest difficulty level with the multimedia realism set to 100%.
Testing the waters
Once you`re ready to move up a step in your combat flying experience, it is time to try the single missions. There are 10 missions for American pilots and seven for Japanese pilots to select. Unfortunately, there are only air-to-air missions and no air-to-ground missions. This isn`t a major problem due to the amount of downloadable missions available on the Internet. However, I did expect at least one air-to-ground mission in the packaged game.
After you`ve chosen a mission, you can view advanced mission information containing the mission objectives, a detailed map and historical information. Also, the quick combat missions are all based on real excursions by the combat aces of the day, giving gamers the opportunity to try to better their historical counterparts.
Once upon a time
The campaign mode offers you the choice of playing as either an American or Japanese pilot. However, if you select the Japanese mode of play you must still be prepared to lose the war (as Japan did in real life).
You can select to either play from the beginning of the campaign or from nine different dates. After you`ve selected your campaign, you get access to the squadron roster enabling you to switch places with your wingmen. The squadron roster also gives you access to some handy scuttlebutt (that`s news and rumours to the uninitiated).
The missions also feature nice animated cut-scenes in the 1940`s comic book mould. Failing in a mission does not necessarily mean that the game is over, you simply get a less important mission to fly next time round.
You are also able to receive medals, promotions and additional rewards such as special commendations when playing in campaign mode. Both Japanese and American pilots can receive six different medals and awards ranging from the American Purple Heart to the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure (this, along with the American Distinguished Service Cross, is the most difficult to receive in the game).
Real-life dogfights
There are two types of multiplayer games to choose from. The free-for-all pits you against all the other fighter pilots, while the squadron game allows you to fly in a team.
The host can specify the start location and victory requirements ranging from none (you play till your machine crashes), or based on the number of planes you destroy or until there is only one plane left up in the air.
Flight school
Fortunately, training missions have been included for those unskilled in the intricate art of flying World War II combat planes. Again, players can choose to fly as either American or Japanese fighter pilots with both options offering 10 training missions.
These missions complement the theoretical knowledge covered in the manual. The player is shown takeoff and landing procedures as well as some useful combat manoeuvres like the split-S and the Immelman. However, the most fun and difficult training mission involves landing on an aircraft carrier. While it is not advisable to attempt a carrier landing when you are doing 200 knots and don`t have your tail hook extended, it is still fun (albeit fatal) to try.
You have the option to change your plane during training, but I recommend the standard planes (the F4F-4 Wildcat for Americans and the A6M2 Zero for Japanese fighter pilots) for newcomers. The Japanese commentary adds to the gaming experience, but can become annoying (as does the American commentary) if you are stuck doing one mission several times.
Unfortunately, the commentary and planes are the only differences between the American and Japanese training missions. While this does cover the basics, these could have been presented differently.
In the beginning
CFS2 also ships with a comprehensive mission builder that allows advanced users to design their own missions. While I won`t go into all the intricacies of the mission builder here (there are more than enough variables to fill an entire review), suffice it to say that you are equipped to create any scenario that your imagination can come up with.
There is also the now standard option to play a mission as it is being designed to test its playability. While advanced users will derive the most use out of the mission builder, beginners should not find it that difficult to create a rudimentary mission. The interface is clean and straightforward to use.
Hitting the books
One of the greatest things about CFS2 is the manual. This isn`t an indictment of the game but rather a testimony to the amount of work Microsoft has put into creating a complete gaming experience. It takes me back to the days of games like Sword of the Samurai and Railroad Tycoon which shipped with comprehensive manuals that drew a player deeper into the game world.
At 300-odd pages, it is by no means a quick read, but it gives valuable insight into the era in which the game is set. The manual also contains several chapters examining the real missions CFS2 is based on and the American and Japanese aces of the day.
Signing off
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 will be found enjoyable by flight simulator aficionados and novices alike. The manual, training missions and quick combat missions should be more than enough to draw a player into the game while the campaign mode and mission builder will provide experts with more than enough hours to keep them busy.
Graphically, the game is beautifully crafted but it is in the sound effects department that it really excels. Listening to your wingman through the crackle of the plane radio is a nice touch and the different plane engines and controls do sound distinct when you`re sitting in the cockpit.
The ability to change the realism settings in every department will go a long way in winning gamers who do not necessarily like complete realism when flying a plane but enjoy dogfighting a lot. However, the strength of CFS2 lies in its realism and anyone who ever wanted to know what it must have felt like to fly in the South Pacific during World War II will really enjoy this game.
Related links:
Official Microsoft CFS2 site
Combat Flight Center
CFS2 Online
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