Pacific Fighters

Rating:
Summary: History Buff
Review: As a pilot and WWII History fanatic, I found this sim extremely fun and exciting (especially when married with the IL2 AEP-FB packages). I think the flight model is pretty good, though I think the high speed stalls are a little exaggerated. This is by-far the best WWII flight sim I've found in terms of detail, number of aircraft types (and varients) available to fly and fight against, and over-all realism. Looking forward to further expansion of the series.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty sad that this is the best flight sim on the market
Review: Don't believe the hype. This game is all graphics and no substance. For a company that claims to make super-realistic flight sims Maddox Games does a really poor job. This is basically an arcade flight game with super-realistic graphics. The campaign is clunky and inflexible; the damage models are so poor that it's easy for even a complete novice to shoot down enemy planes; and the FM in Pacific Fighters is poor even by Maddox standards. Not only are these things poorly-done, but Maddox doesn't allow any mods for damage, so it's not even possible for the community to fix this aspect. All-in-all, a terrible sim. The 10 year-old Aces of the Pacific, although graphically inferior, was much more fun than this lemon.

Maddox has made its name for years by over-hyping their pretty yet shoddy products. It's about time someone came along to make a real simulation. Sadly, Maddox is currently the only game in town, which just shows the sad state of the simulation genre. If only Dynamix was still around to show Maddox what a good simulation looks like.

1 star for graphics. As usual with Maddox titles, awful gameplay, poor realism, and no ability to mod the game's interior workings make this game a big disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Another fine simulation from 1C:Maddox
Review: Firstly, I am writing this from the point of view of someone who has installed the game on top of Forgotten Battles and the Ace Expansion Pack - a feature that needs to be advertised more prominently in the box art literature. It can also be installed as a stand-alone.

Pacific Fighters introduces carrier and carrier operations into the 'Forgotten Battles' series. It does so quite entrancingly with astonishing graphics and a level of realism that completely eclipses that found in the older Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 game. I found myself captivated as I wobbled down to a carrier landing in my little Wildcat - this game is first and foremost a lot of fun.

A number of features new to the IL-2 game engine appear - reduced and less blinding muzzle flashes, aircraft landing and staying on the airfield rather than just disappearing (a definite improvement for strafing missions), a 'skip' feature that allows you to jump rapidly from waypoint to waypoint - amongst more specific carrier functions such as arrestor hooks, wheel chocks and opening/closing cockpits.

With a GeForce 6800 GT card, I can get an astonishingly real looking ocean - sadly at maximum settings my hardware runs rather slow (Athlon64 3200), and it is more fun to watch the game play out rather than be an active flyer under those condtions.

The only major problem with the game is it currently being sold is that it is incomplete - a major and extensive patch should be available shortly to increase the aircraft complement and address a number of bugs. The post-release support offered by 1C:Maddox is second to none, and I am totally confident that all problems will be fixed based on my experience with prior releases.

Rating:
Summary: DON'T EXPECT TO FLY !
Review: I returned this useless flight sim... Installing this sim.
was a pain (*#*!) For some reason, it wouldn't
install right. It took about an hour, to finally get
the 2 discs installed! Trying to take off, is very complicated!
The instructions suck! My computer kept freezing up on me!
I have a brand new Dell Dimension 8400 PC, with more than
enough ram for any game! If I'm having all these problems
on my computer, imagine the problems you'll probably have,
on an older computer! Save yourself alot of aggravation,
DON'T BUY THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for an unreleased game?
Review: I'm sure the game will be well done, but what do we gain from a 5 star rating for a game that isn't scheduled for release until late NOVEMBER. Please play it before you rate it.

Thank you

Rating:
Summary: Best WW2 Pacific theater sim out there
Review: I've played this game in its Beta testing release, and it is everything that a WW2 flight sim enthusiast could ask for. Runs very smoothly even on my modest PC (Athlon XP2100+ w/ 768MB RAM, GeForce 4 Ti4600) - more so even that its predecessor, IL2-Forgotten Battles. Taking off and landing on a carrier is a daunting and incredibly fun experience! The difficulty settings are configurable from arcade-type settings all the way to full realism, where you'd better watch out or you'll find yourself in the drink. Graphics are very good, and with a faster system I can only imagine how beautiful it would look at max settings.

I like the fact that you can either install this game as a standalone, or over top of an existing IL2-FB installation. This makes for some very interesting possibilities - Bf109 versus Corsair! Zero versus Macchi!

The only drawback I can see is the complete lack of any torpedo planes. There are plenty of divebombers, though, and supposedly Maddox Games will address this in a patch sometime down the line.

Rating:
Summary: Best WWII flight sim
Review: Note: this is out in Australia and I have played it, and I did pay for it:

The latest instalment of the IL-2 Sturmovik line of combat flight sims. First released in October 2000 IL-2 Sturmovik was met with praise for it's attention to detail and also for covering a area of conflict (the eastern front) that has up to that point been ignored. Following this was the release of IL-2 Sturmovik -Forgotten Battles (from this point on referred to as FB) in 2003. This was initially expected to be a add on to the original game, however this developed into having a greatly improved version and was released as a stand alone install. Earlier this year a expansion to FB was released; Aces Expansion Pack (from this point forward referred to as AEP). This included a new Western Europe theme with new maps and new aircraft.

Shortly after the release of AEP it was released that the next project would be a pacific theme combat flight sim called Pacific Fighters (PF). This was based on the FB game engine but would include aircraft carriers which was something that was missing to this point (no need for a aircraft carrier on the eastern front) along with a host of other refinements and additions to make it truly a Pacific combat sim.

I must admit that I have followed the development of this game with much anticipation and had high hopes for it. I really enjoy the FB + AEP (this refers to the game Forgotten Battles with the add on aces expansion pack) and am a regular online flier. So how did it hold up when I played it; love it!

But before I go on any further I need to clarify something. There are 2 options for installing this game.

1. install PF as a stand alone game
2. install it over FB+AEP

If you choose the stand alone option you get the aircraft that were developed for PF. The important thing to note is if you intend to fly online you can only play with others that have the PF stand alone install (sorry, no joining games that are FB+AEP+PF based.

The second option of installing the game over your FB+AEP installation will give you one mighty combat flight sim. You will have all of the content from the previous install plus everything new to PF. This gives you approximately 200 flyable aircraft! The same online restrictions apply for this install, you can not join a game on the internet that is a based on the PF stand alone install. Now with the Forgotten Battles Gold pack (this has FB + AEP bundled) out at a good price this option of installation is the way to go.

Moving along with the review. The level of playability is scalable to match different levels of skill. New people to this series of games have a entry level difficulty setting which will allow them to enjoy the game without getting frustrated. On the other hand if you want to change the settings to their hardest level you give yourself a challenge, and a step learning curve. Overall, a very flexible game to match all peoples wants.

How does it look? Fantastic is the word for it. The attention to detail in this game is amazing and the effects such as the water, smoke, explosions, clouds, not too mention the look of the planes is great. A great thing about this series of games is the ability to configure the graphics to match your PC. You don?t need a super computer to run it, but be warned. If you want the eye candy level up, you better have a machine that is has at least a 2.8Ghz CPU, 1Gb of RAM, and a video card along the lines of a ATI X800 (9800 line is good as well) or a NIVIDA 6800. It's a compromise on the look of the game and the playability. The only real concern that I have with the game is all of the anti aircraft fire from the carriers. While it looks impressive, it can cause you PC to chug along a bit.

The aircraft; a good selection of the important aircraft in the Pacific theatre during WWII though a little thin of the different types for the Japanese. My biggest gripe at the moment is that there are no carrier borne torpedo bombes in the game that are flyable (they are their, but they are AI controlled by the computer). In saying this however, there has been a long history of releasing free patches for the game that include new aircraft. In fact, there is a patch due very soon that will include more aircraft to fly. The word is that more planes were developed, they just couldn't fit them on the 2 disks. So expect over time new aircraft to be released (along with maps and bug fixes) and for free. The commitment to this game from the developers is well known, this is no drop it in the market and leave it with all it faults game, it's a evolution of the best combat flight sim ever made.

Carrier Operations - this is the new part of the game that I've personally being looking forward to, and it doesn't disappoint. Take off is the easy part, landing it isn't. But it is fun, and the rolling motion of the ship adds to the level of immersion (the amount that the ship rolls is weather dependant, so bad weather leads to a one rocking ship). Arrestor wires are fully animated, along with folding wings (for the aircraft that had them), tail hooks (to catch the wires with), and a new raise seating position (again, for the aircraft that had them). This last bit helps see over the nose when on approach to the carrier.

Training- This has always been a issue with the game. The training is bear bones and the manual is very light on information (something more and more common now days). There is some more information with the installation of the game (as pdfs) but it still leaves you wanting to know more. In saying that, there is a great community out there on the net with sites that provide guides and there is much help from people on the UBI forums. Don?t be afraid, ask them for help if you need to.

So there you have it, long winded (but I only covered the tip of the iceberg) but I think the game is fantastic. Well worth it regardless of whether or not you have FB+AEP installed. If you love flying, or have had a interest in combat sims, this is the one to get.

PS - I realise that I refer to PF as a game and a sim throughout this review, it's up to you as to what you think it is. To me, it?s a lot of fun!




Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Air Combat Game
Review: Pacific Fighters offers the user the chance to fly over forty different Allied and Japanese aircraft. The graphics in this game are exceptional. I choose to fly the F4F Wildcat fighter, and the realism is impeccable. From the canopy view to the actual outside views of the plane, the user gets a true sense of what it was like to fly a fighter plane during World War II.

A quick reference card is included to assist the user in configuring their aircraft. The whole spectrum is included; from making sure the oil mixture is correct to which type of armament to carry. Different missions are available to choose from, including take offs and landings from aircraft carriers to dogfighting amongst enemy aircraft.

The installation is easy, but somewhat lengthly, as this game consists of two CDs, each containing approximately 50 percent of the information. When playing the game, disc #2 must be used in the CD drive. The keyboard may be used for controlling the aircraft, but I use a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick, which works extremely well with this game.

This is the first air combat game I've played, and I recommend it highly. The graphics are excellent, and the realism is perfect. My only complaint is that sometimes you can fly for long periods of time without encountering the enemy, but there is a game speed up option to help in this case. Try this exciting game and recreate some of the epic air battles of the Pacific war.

Rating:
Summary: C1 makes another great WW2 game
Review: this is a great ww2 flight sim. the cockpits and models for just amazing..along with the flight models and damage models as well. it runs pretty well on a computer that is a year or two old as long as you don't max the Gfx up.
for those new to the C1:maddox flight sims this is pretty real, some people new to flights sim have trouble, but it you go to the website and get on the fourms there are tons of people who would love help..even fly on-line with you and coach you!
one last thing if you get this make sure you also get IL2:forgetten battles gold pack(with aces add-on) that will give you also 200 flyable planes!! plus tons and tons more AI-only planes...it really is amazing how many and how well the planes are done up in this game!

Rating:
Summary: Warning
Review: This is a warning to all prospective buyers. This game does not work on any CD or DVD drive that has R or RW capapbilities, you have to have a plain CD/DVD drive to run this game. I found this out the hard way, and now I can't return anything to Best Buy w/o a receipt.
Learn from my mistake, make sure you have the proper hardware before buying this game.

Don't get me wrong, I've seen this game in action. It's a great game, I just can't play it on my computers.