Combat Flight Simulator 2 WWII Pacific Theater
Written: May 10 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great detail and geographic accuracy.
Cons: Quite complicated.
The Bottom Line: There is so much detail and choices that the beginner can be overwhelmed. For those with some experience in the Flight Simulator line or actual aircraft experience, it is great!
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| lucie30's Full Review: Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe For W... |
Oh there are no fighter pilots down in hell,
there are no fighter pilots down in hell,
for hell is full of queers, navigators, bombardiers,
but there are no fighter pilots down in hell!
An old Air Force Song
The words of that old song came rushing into my mind as I prepared to load the Microsoft Combat Simulator 2, WWII Pacific Theater. It takes a long time to load this program, so I eagerly searched the manual to see which aircraft were featured. Although I graduated from Air Force Flying School in 1952, there were many WWII aircraft in use and almost all of the instrumentation was of WWII vintage. My interest, of course, were there any aircraft in the simulation that I had actually flown. The Pacific theater was principally a Navy show, so my hopes were not too high. This proved to be correct, the only Air Force plane included in the simulation is the P-38. I had never flown one, but did have a remote historical connection. It was a P-38 from my squadron (a decade before I joined it) that shot down the top Japanese leader in the theater, Admiral Yamamoto. The P-38 triggered another old song in my mind,
Don't give me a P-38,
the plane with the twin tail gate,
she'l loop, roll and spin,
and you'll soon auger in,
don't give me a P-38.
Just make me operations,
way out on some distant atoll...
Enough nostalgia, the program has loaded and it is time to take a look. Having some familiarity with the simulation by using the Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator, WWII Europe, I jumped right in.
I selected the Corsair as my aircraft, mostly because of an old TV series. My first surprise was the increased reality in the visualizations because of the enhanced details and graphics since the European theater version. The resolution is four times better. I really did not want to fool around with carrier landings right away, so I went straight to the in-flight mode. I selected Training Missions and then the aerobatics section. I started with a loop, then an aileron roll, immelmann, barrel roll and my favorite descent maneuver the Split-S. I was favorably impressed with the way the simulated Corsair handled. The biggest drawbacks were the lack of g-forces, stick and rudder tactile feedback and the smells. Those who never experienced such things would probable never miss them. It took a considerable amount of rudder to keep the ball centered and the lack of a slip/skid "feel" forced me to pay more attention to the instruments then I typically would during aerobatics. I got a big kick out of seeing the "old type" instruments again.
There are four US aircraft and two Japanese aircraft that you can select. The realism is such that the Japanese aircraft have the panels and instrument labeled with Japanese characters. However, holding your cursor on one of them produces an English translation. Should you select a Japanese aircraft, all your radio transmssions will be in Japanese, but who pays attention to those ground guys anyway?
There are many mission scenarios that you may select and the data is quite accurate. Islands are at their actual geographic locations. You may select weather conditions, although WWII instrumentation and radar support were primitive compared to today's standards. My Piper Arrow was better equipped than any of these aircraft. Even during my Air Force days, during the Korean fracas, navigation was relatively primitive. There were no Omni ranges, ILS, DME or coupled autopilots.
One fantasy feature is the ability to import aircraft from other Microsoft Flight Simulator versions, so you may actually insert an F-51 or even an F-86 into the WWII Pacific theater. With a jet, you could become a simulator Ace in no time. Scenery may also be imported, so that you could fly an ME109 versus a Zero over Chicago. That is fantasy!
There is a tremendous versatility built into this simulation, with enough detail available so that you may recreate many historic air battles. There is enough to keep you busy forever.
There is a training program included in the simulation, so you might actually experience some of the trials, tribulations and exhilaration that comes with flying high performance combat aircraft. The good news is that the lump-in-the-gut fear factor is missing. I can recommend this simulation for its informational and sheer fun characteristics. I do not recommend the real thing.
One final song,
Down in the hanger, they rave and they shout,
on all sorts of things they know nothing about.
But, we are the boys who fly high in the sky,
...we are the boys that they send up to die...
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lucie30
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Location: A small island in the Intercoastal.
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About Me:
3 University degrees. 30+ years in Electronics R&D. Registered Professional Engineer. Graduated USAF Flying School.
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