Bargain-Bin Banzai!

After a long break from virtual air combat, I decided to plug in the old HOTAS and fly some sims I acquired a few years ago, for old times' sake. Combat Flight Simulator 2 didn't grab me the first time around, probably because European Air War was more immersive despite its simpler graphics and flight models. But this time CFS2 hooked me, and I think it's because I was ready for a new challenge.

Don't let the retro cartoon cutscenes fool you: CFS2 is a top-notch sim that can teach you, excite you, clobber you senseless, and keep you coming back for more. At maximum realism, you can, if you wish, tinker with the fuel mixture and propeller-pitch settings, but even leaving those functions automatic, you'll have your hands full in combat.

The training missions are vital, esp. if you intend to do carrier landings and dive-bombing. The single missions are based on the exploits of actual aces like Boyington and Sakai. These end abruptly after mission goals are accomplished, and I consider them just practice for the campaign, which you can play as either American or Japanese, starting in 1942. Pearl Harbor was left out, but you can find it and other scenarios online. CFS2 has a crude mission builder just for quick action; to create elaborate scenarios, a full-featured mission editor can be downloaded.

The campaign will not let you alter the course of history; if you're Japanese, the Battle of Midway will be a letdown at best. Your performance in battle will earn you promotions and awards, but I discovered later that protecting your wingmen is as important as the mission goals. On Hard setting, you can be "retired" before the war's end if your unit's cumulative losses are too high. The only way AI wingmen can improve is by surviving missions, so you have to watch not just your tail, but theirs, too. They won't attack ships and ground targets with you, but at least you can direct them to shoot specific planes and come to your rescue (if you're not rescuing them).

Where CFS2 really shines is in the damage models: when control surfaces are hit, you may have to adjust trim to maintain level flight. Your plane could limp home riddled with bullet holes; you might find your landing gear inoperative – then you must either belly-land or bail out (or hit X if you've had enough danger).

Carrier landings are not as dangerous as they could be; the island superstructure is not solid, so your plane can pass through it safely. It is probably fortunate that AI wingmen don't take off and land with you on the carriers; at land bases and in combat I have seen planes collide on many occasions for no reason. If a plane collides with you, you're toast.

Enemy AI is aggressive and shows good judgment; enemy planes will avoid you when you're in the stronger position energy-wise, but will pounce on you if you're low and slow. Sometimes, as in real life, chasing one plane will make you easy meat for his wingman. However, your side cannot employ group tactics like the Thatch Weave or Lufbery Circle to compensate for inferior aircraft. This means that if you fly Wildcats on anything other than Easy campaign setting, you'll be lucky to be the sole survivor of your unit after Midway.

One noteworthy glitch in the flight model is the way stalls and spins occur without warning, not even a tremor in the airframe. Then the plane recovers almost regardless of what you do, provided you don't hit the ground first. Compared with EAW, it's bizarre, but it teaches you to fly within the envelope, for sure.

Since my PC is now a relic (Pentium 400 w/Voodoo 2, 288 mb RAM) I was pleasantly surprised to see how great CFS2 looks and runs at medium graphic levels. Those lush tropical islands make me want to take a vacation. Naturally if you have a new top-end gaming rig, CFS2 has all the graphic bells & whistles you could want. A force-feedback joystick combined with throttle and pedals will provide the optimum flying control.

Compared with other sims CFS2 has relatively few planes to fly: Wildcat, Hellcat, Corsair, P-38 Lightning, 2 kinds of Zeros, and the George. More user-made aircraft and other mods can be found online. If you wish to play online, the multiplayer component provides easy setup for different connection modes, including the Zone gaming site.

There are many great sims focused on the European Theatre, but only one for the Pacific, and even with its flaws, it's a keeper.