Rating: 
Summary: A":S:K
Review: this game is great i am a 12 yr old kid and i love it i bought it bout 2 yrs ago and i am still enjoying it alot i am getting the cfs 3 for christmas which i have played be for and is a great gam and i would advise that you buy it i am also geting cfs1 i am usulally very chose with wat i buy and i dont get alot of pocket money so i saved or a very long time to get this it costed me 70 dollars austrlian and i belivitis worth every cent any one will eenjoy this game i have about 50 aircraft because i have dowloaded heeps u can download ww1 planes up to modern air craft it is great
Rating:
Summary: A MUST HAVE Flight Sim!
Review: Microsoft's follow up to the European Theater's Combat Flight Simulator is a vast improvement. While the game's look is quite different, the gameplay remains compelling. The 1940's comic book styled user interface is much more interesting to look at. The game is superlative in most categories. Beware...your PC needs the juice to run this game. If you can double the minimum req's, you'll be fine.The stock planes are too few (only 7)however there are many internet forums out there where a sim pilot can acquire a multitude of add-on aircraft and mods. These sources transform a really good flight sim to a hypnotic experience. I really enjoy this edition better than CFS3. It is simply more fun.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great one
Review: I bought a used copy, with some reservations! It was in perfect condition! The graphics are great, if you love WWII Navy planes you'll like "Combat Flight Sim 2" WWII "Pacific Theater". I have several flight sims, this one is my favorite, even better than the newest 2004 version. 5000 feet over the Pacific, you in your Hellcat in command of your squadron against the oncoming foes........write your own ending........
Rating: 
Summary: An improvement over CFS1, but I expected more
Review: I've got Combat Flight Simulator-1 (CFS1 - Europe) but bought this one too for the naval aviation aspect, and thought it cheaper to buy CFS2 than the pacific expansion disks released for the older game. (Virtually all WWII sims of the past decade were set in Europe. Despite a large number of titles, there hasn't been any PTO sims of note since "1942: Pacific Air War" and "Pacific Strike" of the mid 1990's. Microprose followed PAW up with European Air War and the similarly set "B-17"; EA/Janes followed "World War 2 Fighters" with "Attack Squadron" - both set over Europe; MS returned to Europe with CFS3, bypassing Korea which richly deserved attention) In CFS2, you fly missions from Japanese or American island bases or carriers. 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.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfactory Game
Review: After getting hooked on FS2000, I wanted to be able to do more while I was flying than crashing into stuff - what better way than to shoot down some bad guys?!! I have spent quite a few fun hours with the game, at the same time have had some disappointments with it. The "cartoon" format is a little cheesy, and I was disappointed to not be able to take off and land from a starting airport. With the exception of 1 mission where you take off from an aircraft carrier (not as much fun as it sounds), and an aircraft carrier landing exercise (pretty fun) there is no taking off and landing. Missions start and end abruptly, and much of the time it is impossible to get the upper hand on the bad guys. Maybe I'm just not that good, but many times I've got a guy dead in my sights and he's practically on my windshield and none of my rounds are hitting him!! However, the bad guys seem to never miss - even on the easy level. So, if you don't mind getting shot down (a lot) - bailing out of a dying plane is pretty neat - the game can be pretty fun (my 11 year old loves it) as long as you are not expecting the realism of a regular flight simulator. This game is more like a Star Wars game. I just purchased FS2002 which should arrive in a couple of days........
Rating:
Summary: Realistic Flying
Review: The graphics are great, the flying experience is realistic,
the simulation allows the installation and use of my CH Pro Pedals USB, operating a flying simulation with the use
of Rudder pedals and toe brakes is as realistic as it gets.
This simulation, (I wouldn't call it a game) has all the
feel of Pacific WWII combat and flying that anyone could
want, just using the free flight capability without the combat role is exciting and rewarding...I have a Pentium III 700 mhz machine and although my plane crashes quite a bit (while attempting to land on carriers) the computer never crashes.
If you don't own this one your missing one of the best
computer flying simulations ever produced.
Rating:
Summary: Hell in the Pacific Skies -- CFS2 Soars High!
Review: Having enjoyed Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator - World War II Europe Series, it was only natural that I would want to try out Combat Flight Simulator 2 - Pacific Theater. Combat Flight Simulator is, after all, one heck of a World War II buff's dream games, so I figured its Pacific counterpart would be as good. I have to admit that I am not the best of pilots. I still fly at the most basic of realism levels in Combat Flight Simulator (Europe), and that is enough of a challenge. Facing off German bombers and fighters with Rookie-level artificial intelligence is tough, and I still am not skilled enough to set my realism settings (flight models, ammo loads, enemy skill levels, and sometimes invincibility levels) to 100% Nevertheless, having completed the two Campaigns in the European theater, I recently decided to try Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater. Although it is similar to its European-set predecessor, CFS2 is markedly different in many ways, both good and not-so-good. First, the good:
Like CFS1, it immerses players into its WWII setting, using historically accurate settings and time-appropriate aircraft (you don't get Corsairs or Hellcats in early 1942, for instance). Unlike CFS1, however, the title scenes and end-of-mission screens are rendered in 1940s comic-book style art, which I find more fun than the European Theater game's more documentary-style narration. I like the "you are there" feel of a more story-oriented game premise that has comic book panel art and a narrative voice over that reminds one of either personal war logs or pilots' letters to loved ones back home. Also as in CFS1, players can fly for either the Americans or the Japanese, although thus far I have only been playing as an American. Because I have only been flying for seven "months" (in the game, not real life), I am still only an ensign, even though I have almost 25 aerial victories and several medals and commendations in my "jacket" (service record file). The game's basic flight control commands are nearly identical to the WWII Europe simulation, although here one has commands that affect artificial-intelligence wingmen. I have had a hard time getting the hang of this (more on the negatives later, I promise), but with trial and error I am learning. The graphics, like in many computer advances, are improved from the older game. The scenery is a bit monotonous in some battles, but that's because the Pacific war took place over large expanses of ocean, with sometimes little or no land below to use for reference points. The ships here look better than in CFS1, and the planes themselves are beautifully rendered. I particularly like the visuals when I hit a Japanese plane: if hit just right, Zeroes and Betty bombers have a tendency to catch fire easily. Microsoft's game designers render this quite nicely, and because the Japanese fighters are particularly difficult to hit in the first place, I just feel so rewarded when flames spurt out of a Zero's cowling and the Mitsubishi product spirals down with a trail of realistic smoke. The flight models, I assume, are as realistic as game designers can make them. I've noticed that Japanese fighters are much harder to hit than the German planes from CFS1, and that even enemy planes with "pilots" and "gunners" at Rookie level are deadlier. I humbly admit that my realism settings are all at zero per cent; I tried one mission using settings similar to the ones I have on CFS1, and got shot down fairly easy. The negative features are things that are missing in the game rather than how hard it is to play or the graphics. Sorely missed is a hard-copy manual. CFS1 had one, and although it is somewhat intimidating to look at - many game players hate thick manuals - it is nice to know one can read up on how to fly and fight. Most of the manual of the European Theater game helps gamers understand and learn the context of the game, as well as providing the basics of flight and survival in combat without bogging down into boring technical detail. CFS2, on the other hand, comes in a smaller box and has all its instructions on Help files. That is fine for gamers who hate reading manuals or are naturally-born-flyers. But for me, a manual or even a keyboard command card would have been helpful: I still don't know, for instance, how to drop a bomb...which in a few missions has cost me valuable points. Maybe the "online manual" feature saves Microsoft a few bucks, but it's giving me fits. The other flaw I see is that it focuses on American naval aviation rather than the multi-service aspect of the Pacific air war. True, CFS1 has a similarly small aircraft selection: only 3 different planes for each combatant air force (for a total of 9 aircraft), but I had hoped to fly a few Army Air Force fighters as well. So far I have seen only one Army plane that is player-flyable, and that's the P-38 Lightning. I would have liked to fly the P-40 (maybe in a Pearl Harbor introductory game) and the P-51D on escort duty over Japan. Still, I understand that game design often involves compromises to enable different computers with different capabilities to run this kind of software, so this gripe is not a major one that should deter you from buying this game.
Rating: 
Summary: All Flash and no Pan full of Cookies.
Review: Briefly; beautifully rendered graphics, potentially interesting scenarios. Lousy FPS, lousy AI, and any third party upgrade is simply painting the same fire hydrant a brighter color.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid CFS3 - - Upgrade CFSM2 with Add Ons
Review: I was thrilled when news of CFS3's release came out, but then was scared away by all of the horrible reviews about the game. CFS2 was such a huge improvement over the original I expected a quantum leap in CFS3 and I gather that is not the case from what I have read. But all is not lost. After doing some research I found that all of the features I wanted that were absent from CFS2 are available as free add-ons easlily downloadable from dozens of websites authored by flight sim enthusiasts. With some simple add ons to CFS2 you can fly any type of plane from any era - - you can fly in any theatre (i.e. Europe, North Africa, etc.) - - you can fly single missions or huge campaigns. Sick and tired of flying Wildcats against wave after wave of Kates, Vals and Zeros in repetitive stock missions? Jealous of the Daultless pilots who dive down to hit the Soryu on those Midway missions while you fly escort or CAP? Just plug in the various add-ons and you can fly in any plane and under just about any scenerio (fictional or historic) you like. The available add-ons can vastly improve game play and variety. I was amazed by the number of historically accurate add-on missions that are available for free. "The Midway Project" is a terrific add-on that lets you fly any one of the many air missions of both sides in that historic engagement - - and they're all deadly accurate. Just another example . . . there's an entire campaign relating to the Austrialian defense of Port Moresby and New Guinna available entirely for free. All of the missions, planes, ships, campaigns and utilities that I've added to the program have been easy to install and they run perfectly. It took me roughly 2-4 hours to find and download everything I wanted and when I was done I had added just about every combat aircraft that was flown in any theatre in WWII, had added about 20 individual missions and three whole new campaigns. Having opted to stay away from CFS3 I can't really comment on that game. I understand it's quite good if you have a brand new ... machine and can be a horror show if you don't have the latest Pentium and the fastest graphics card available. I can say that upgrading CFS2 with various free add ons has totally changed the game into everything I was hoping I would get with CFS3. The games runs perfectly even with all of the miscellaneous additional files, it's much more historically accurate and it's a LOT more fun.
Rating:
Summary: A heartpounding good time!
Review: If you're a buff of Tora Tora Tora or Midway this sim is a dream come true. The scenery and aircraft are awesome, improved over CFS1. You will find out that you can still fight and win in the F4F Wildcat against a Zero. You won't want to lose when there's nothing below but blue ocean and dense jungled islands. The little touches are superb, smoke belching from engines coughing into life, the 'bouncy' landing gear, brass falling out from under the wing, the 'ting' of brass in the cockpit. This sim will let you find out what it was really like!
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