Rating: 
Summary: Fighters ONLY, no Torpedo Runs for you!
Review: I love the game, but as a player you are restricted to the seven fighter aircraft in the game. I was very disappointed that there were no missions where you dive bomb or torpedo the Japanese at Midway in a dedicated dive bomber or torpedo bomber, nor can you fly a Japanese torpedo plane at Pearl Harbor...things you could do in the older game Aces of the Pacific. Overall, alot of fun and great graphics with an Nvidia GeForce 256 GTS 64MB DDR video card. Just wish the game had a wider scope.
Rating: 
Summary: Love "Aces of the Pacific"? Think SERIOUSLY about this game
Review: Ok, first off: I have a 700mhz Processor, 128 RAM, and Voodoo 3000 video 3D accelorator. The game works great with near maxed graphic settings for me. If you have less than this, you might want to upgrade before buying the game.Next: In my oppinion you must get a joystick for this game. And if you can fork out a few extra dollars for a force feedback one it is Amazingly worth it. I cannot believe how sweet the game feels with a good force feedback stick. Everthing from starting your engine, firing of guns, hits from bullets and flack, and rolling on the runway/deck are felt through the joy stick. I have always used the keyboard for flight simulators before... but Combat Simulator 2 does not allow you to set the keyboard input settings to self center your airloins, rudder, etc... after pressing a direction key like most other flight simulators. In other words, when you tell the plane to pull up, untill you press the 'dive' key, it will continue to pull up as if you were holding the 'pull up' key the entire time. Very annoying if you are used to older flight sims. So get a joy stick, and get a good one for optimal feel. (It's worth it). The game its self is great. If you played the old game 'Aces of the Pacific" a lot, you will just absolutly love this game. The graphics are unreal. I still practicaly drool when I shoot a zero down and see chunks of it's body breaking off. Even the smoke appearance from damaged planes is diffrent depending on what system is damaged. When a ship sinks, it ACTUALLY sinks like a real ship, slowly dipping down into the water like the Titanic with one end still exposed. When you shoot the water you can see little spurts of water shoot up where your bullets hit! I could go on and on. So, if you have a fairly modern computer system, and enjoy WWII flight simulators I really think you will enjoy this one. If you are new to the flight simulator scene, don't worry. The game has a built in training missions to give you step by step lessons to teach you to fly. Now let's go torch some Zeros!
Rating:
Summary: This is one of the better simulations
Review: I had trouble getting this one to run, but finally was successful. I am running an AMD/K6-2 (350) CPU, with 64 Mb of RAM, and a Diamond Monster 3D II accelerator, with a Flightstick Pro and rudder pedals. According to the package, I meet all of the requirements. My operating system is Microsoft's Windows ME. I loaded CFS2 twice, but when I tried to play it could not get past loading the scenery, when my screen went black. The machine locked up! Finally after trying the new drivers for the Diamond Monster, which I found on their European site, I got it to run properly. You would think, though, that Microsoft, with all of their expertise, could design a game that would run without so many hassles. The game is good. Graphics are superb, sound is good, and the scenery is excellent. The game runs smoothly, when you finally get it to run. I found some fault, of course. First, I dislike the annoying cones that point you at the nearby enemy. They are certainly not realistic. Also, the enemy planes flit about in a most unrealistic fashion, and make them unrealistically hard to track. Even closing at a combined speed of 600 miles an hour, another aircraft should be more easily followed. However, Microsoft is no guiltier than many other simulation designers in such matters. Modeling of the aircrafts' flight characteristics is not bad, but not entirely realistic, either. I took an F6F "Hellcat" up to 10,000 feet above Kwajalein atoll, an airstrip from which I have flown, and put her into a spin. This is an aircraft that was relatively easy to fly (I soloed in 1946 in the real thing.) Although I kicked reverse rudder and neutralized the controls properly, she would not recover from the spin and go into a dive. The F6F was not notorious for having bad spin characteristics. Also, dropping your landing gear at a couple hundred miles an hour should not result in "gear damage." Pilots often did it in combat, to get a sudden reduction in speed. Another problem is the slow reaction of the machine guns to the gun button. And after the button is released, they inexplicably keep on firing for a couple or three seconds. The copy writers who wrote the Pilot's Manual fell into the same trap as everyone else in comparing the F6F with the F4U "Corsair." They claimed that the F6F is "far from the fastest U.S. fighter" but that it was in the "top rank of American fighters in the Pacific theater, along with the Vought Corsair." They claim a top speed for the Hellcat of 327 knots (376 mph) at 17,300 feet, while the Corsair is credited with a top speed of 363 knots (417 mph) at 19,900 feet, making the Corsair seem much faster. One gets tired of hearing such unfair comparisons. I've got news for them: an article in Flight Journal last year by Corky Meyer (a Grumman test pilot) described a side by side test of the Corsair and Hellcat, flat out at the same altitude (they had the same R2800, 2,000 horsepower Pratt & Whitney engine, but different dash numbers) had them performing at the same speed over the ground, but the Corsair was indicating a higher speed due to the different placement of the pitot tube. Because of its wing design, the Corsair had a quicker roll characteristic than the Hellcat. It was also more unstable and difficult to fly, and taxiing and landing visibility was hampered by the long engine nacelle. They called it the "Ensign Eliminator." Otherwise, they were very evenly matched in their performance characteristics. The copy writers call the Corsair "big, tough, and fast," which it was of course, but the F6F pilots shot down over 70 percent of all air-to-air kills in the Pacific war. It is a vastly under rated airplane, by the desk jockeys. Here are some figures: The Hellcat is credited with 5,156 air victories during WWII, and 306 Hellcat pilots shot down 5 or more enemy planes (the definition of an "ace.") Corsairs shot down 2,140 enemy, and made only 93 aces, although they enbtered service in the Pacific first. The famed Mustang was credited with only 296 kills, and made only 5 aces. The little F4F "Wildcat," with 1,006 kills made 58 aces, and was bad-mouthed as being obsolete at the war's beginning. Looking only at results, one wonders at the critics remarks. But, this is a fine game. The graphics are right up there with Jane's WWII Fighters, and it will be a source of much pleasure for a lot of people. Joseph Pierre, USN (Ret)
Rating:
Summary: Better than the original
Review: A while ago in June, I (for some reason) decided to pick up a copy of the Original Combat Flight Simulator, when I got it and installed it, after playing it for 5 minutes, I absolutly hated it. But enough about the original.
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: Pacific Theatre, is a lot better. I finally convinced myself to buy this and when I got it, I played it for about an hour and I was thinking "This is fun." One of the reasons I bought this game was because it includes the "F4-U1 Corsair" what is that you ask? If you have seen the show "Black Sheep Squadron" then you know what I am talking about. In this game you can fight WW2 on the Japanese or American side, you have a fair amount of planes to chose from (7 in all) including the "A6M2 zero" and the "F6 Hellcat." You do everything from taking off aircraft carriers to escorting bombers to hot dogfights over the Pacific ocean. This is a must have for all Flight Simmers.
Rating:
Summary: CFS2: The Pacific Theater... The Best WW2 Flight Sim Ever!
Review: Don't be fooled by the negative reviews of Combat Flight Simulator 2: Pacific Theater found on this site. The vast majority of these reviews are not of CFS2, rather of the inability of many people's PCs to run it effectively. As an amateur World War 2 aviation historian and a real flight sim nut, I find this to be the very finest WW2 flight sim ever offered to the public. This may make it too much for someone looking for a simple and fun flying game, but for historians and flight sim aficionados, this program is awesome! While I have found immense thrill in finally having a flight sim serve up an unrecoverable flat spin, and learning how to (occasionally) recover them; when I shared my sense of glee with a friend whose interests were more 'game' oriented, he told me he'd figured a way to get out of them every time, the Escape key. The CFS2 aircraft flight models seem very accurate, and the graphics are unsurpassed. They've even offered the first independently controllable, multi-engined plane in the CFS series (a P-38 Lightning, with counter-rotating props and all. The whole thing is just 'candy' for someone with interests similar to mine. The maps are, of course, accurate, and the terrain so readable that I'm sure I'd now recognize historic locations like Guadalcanal in real life. Taking the plane off its' automatic settings will also help interested non-pilots learn a great deal about operating airplanes. Lastly, (another graphics and candy comment) the combat environment is so stunningly real, I am struck by the similarities between this simulator and film of the real thing. Burning planes sometimes extinguish themselves or else they burn with occasional explosions that correspond with the fire reaching different fuel tanks and other extra-flammable portions of the plane. Planes that have gone down burning leave an arcing dark cloud to the ground, which takes several minutes to dissipate. You hear bullets and ground fire (ack-ack) whiz by your plane, and the representation is so real that when you see two AA shells whip right past your plane at your altitude (on low-level ground attack missions) and explode 500 yards ahead of you, you know to change your heading and/or your altitude. Either that or you're going to get it. My only frustration is a result of the program being very historically accurate. The Allies (and particularly the U.S.) held there own throughout the war, even when they were in inferior planes, by advanced teamwork and unit tactics. The Japanese were not so strong in these attributes, so as the Japanese campaigns go on, it gets harder and harder to keep your team working together; frustrating but accurate. However, if you aren't aware of these historical realities it may just seem that the game is becoming more difficult for no apparent reason. If you want a 'fun' airplane game, take a look at Crimson Skies. If you want the very best simulator of World War 2 aerial combat ever produced, buy Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator 2. (...and Microsoft, If you want to make me REALLY happy, offer an updated European Theater version offering all of the new features of this program.)
Rating: 
Summary: Fun should not be this hard.
Review: Fun should not be so hard on your system. I liked the grahics to a point, but Microsoft needs to enlarge the print when listing the system requirements. Intially the action was pretty good, but the further I got into the game the harder it was on my hardware. The planes are too jerky when in combat. After a week, I went back to the GREAT...Fighter Squadron, the Screaming Demons Over Europe by Activision. Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the big bucks
Review: I really don't think this game is worth $40. $9.99 would be more fair for what you get, in my opinion. For instance, you find yourself repeatedly doing the following with every campaign mission: start engine, wait for it to sputter and start, wagtail all over the runway or carrier, raise gear, warp to battle area, shoot down enemies, warp home. Over and over. There really is no story line except for the war, which, to me, isn't enough because you know how the war turns out(!), and you don't feel involved in the war because there's nothing interesting about your participation except flying and shooting down enemy aircraft. The briefings are too vague and the map is almost worthless. There are no human voices except radio chatter that's repeated and just gets annoying. The Quick Start and individual missions are more interesting, so the game does have something to it. Microsoft could benefit from studying LucasArts' Star Wars game Xwing Alliance - briefings given by actors, compelling music, interesting storylines, a variety of characters. The missions have a plot to them, much variety, drama and they're individually designed. I'm disappointed in CFS2 because it could have been great, and it isn't. I keep waiting for the campaign to get interesting, but it just doesn't grab me. I'd buy CFS1 except that I'm sick of spending $40 and being let down!
Rating:
Summary: The Best since Aces of the Pacific
Review: First, yes this game is going to be the most demanding on your hardware, however, have no fear if you have an older system. With a P-II 333 Mhz machine, i have to sacrifice a lot of the details, yet the graphics are still spectacular! The damage effects are very impressive. Dogfighting is thrilling and fun, with the realistic graphics and sound effects. The first time you see a Zero catching on fire behind the sights of a Corsair is going to make a lasting impression on your mind. I am already starting to like CFS 2 more than Jane's World War II Fighters. The ocean and islands are breathtaking although you'd be spending much time flying out of sight of any land.. If there's one thing i find below expectation with the graphics, it had to be the gunsights and the general cockpit layout. I think older games like Microprose's 1942 Pacific Air War did a much better job at that. The gun sights look very unrealistic in CFS 2. The documentation came with the game is decent, the 40s-style artwork is fresh, however, its historical review does not compare to Aces of the Pacific. With only 7 flyable planes, CFS leaves out some of the most interesting fighters of the War. It's another area that CFS failed to match with Aces of the Pacific. Although CFS 2 provides favorites like the F4U-1A (my personal favorite radial engine fighter of all time), N1K1 George, it ignored all the Japanese Army aircraft, and players don't have the option to fly dive-bombers and participate in actions like the sinking of Japanese carriers during the battle of Midway. Don't get me wrong, although it's not perfect, CFS 2 is definitely the best WW 2 simulation game available right now and it is certainly worth your money and upgrades. definitely a five-star performer!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Internet Play!
Review: As some of the previous reviews have stated, the requirements are a little steep. I'm running an Athlon 850, 128 mb ram, and a Voodoo 3, I sometimes get a little chop during heavy fight sequences (10 aircraft or more). Other than that the game play is great and as far as playing online on The Gaming Zone, I think I'm addicted. Weather, time of day, and even picking your own cloud cover for quick dogfights make this game a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: flaming wings
Review: First of all I must agree that this game requires a very fast computer with a good graphics card. My system is a P-3 800MHz,128 megs of ram, and a GE-FORCE 2 card. It is very important to download the detonator 3 driver from Nvidia or your game will have continuous crashes and will not even run. Now on to the game I was shocked at how the graphics looked (after the latest driver installed), comparing it to Janes WW2 fighters is close but while the airplane graphics are similar and flight characteristics are similar the big difference is in the ground graphics,the ocean is outstanding with the variety of depths of ocean represented by different shades of blue that are gradual, and the lush tropical jungle is well represented here. I highly recommend this product but only if you have the hardware to run it.
|
