Introduction

The last reputable World War Two Pacific air war theater simulation, 1942 Pacific Air War, had been released over six years ago. Since then a multitude of other World War II flight combat simulations have been offered, many quickly becoming classics, but addressing mainly the Battle of Britain and other European theaters. The drought of a decent World War II Pacific air combat simulation is finally over, and Microsoft is the proverbial rain cloud that has moistened the soil with the latest title in the Microsoft Flight Simulation universe: Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater (to be labeled CFS2 from here on out for brevity’s sake). Microsoft’s second attempt in the World War II air combat series seems to have learned from its shortcomings in the first title and expanded its newest offering with a multitude of added features such as a usable virtual cockpit, target padlocking, detailed damage models, improved flight models, enhanced graphics, and a detailed mission builder.

Getting Started

From the 300+ page manual, it is obvious the folks in that fat Redmond-based company spent quite a bit of time researching the aircraft, pilots, and the entire era of the World War II Pacific theater. The manual does an excellent job of explaining flight combat maneuvers, associated keyboard and joystick commands, the strengths and weaknesses of aircraft with a spattering of facts and real photos from the Second World War. It also includes strategies of the Americans and Japanese, noting their strengths and weaknesses, and offers interesting blurbs on many influential pilots and military heroes. Browsing the manual prior to playing the game is a good idea with this title, not only to become familiar with the game, but also because one can get bored waiting for the two-CD, one-gigabyte full installation.

The manual sets a precedent to the atmosphere of the game that is carried through the game in every respect, readily apparent from the intro movie into the game interface. The game interface is uniquely different from the first Combat Flight Simulator, this time using a comic-book style storyboard that is present in all the cut-scenes, mission orders and results, and the overall design of the game. There are no real-world or even 3D animated scenes, just 2D comic book characters scrolling across the screen narrated by a single voice. At first the thought of a cartoon interface seemed quite lame; however it adds atmosphere that the first Combat Flight Simulator lacked dearly.


Example of How Story Develops	Comic Storyboard... (yawn)

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