Combat Flight Simulator 3

Its not all bad though: for starters the graphics are generally very nice, especially the planes, weather and clouds. The engine includes dynamic lighting effects too (I suspect this is a prime suspect for the 'stuttering' effect though). Sound is OK.. not exactly mind blowing, but it occasionally surprises with some nice, immersive sounds (prime example is the creaking of you planes airframe as you pull excessive G). Flight modelling also seems generally hard to fault, with things like torque and gyro effects present, and the ability to change fuel mixtures on the ground.

Given that the core of CFS3 is a good flight sim, the developers then seem to have gone out of their way to make it 'seem' like an arcade game. Gunnery seems too easy and dogfights seem to take place at much too long a range, also there are a variety of unrealistic 'radar' type devices and 2002 style jet-plane HUD overlays active by default (although it is possible to turn them off). Locked in a knife-fight with a German BF-109, I was in a Spit taking pot shots at the enemy from about 550 meters range. The only confirmation I had that my bullets were hitting at that distance was a text alert on screen. After taking a few hits he dissapeared from view (I lost him) and I was informed sometime later that he'd 'Bought the Farm' (in the words of Chuck Yeager). This is all very different to similar experiences in IL2, where the only way you can confirm your hits is by seeing the smoke, burning oil and shrapnel fly off the enemy airfraft. Somehow, after Sturmovik, dogfights in CFS3 just don't feel 'visceral' enough..

Talking of planes, I actually think the selection of planes is a redeeming feature of the whole game. Not only the Spit, Mustang, Bf109 and FW190 are modelled, but also the Mosquito, the previously forgotten Typhoon and Lightning are in too. To add some variety, theres also some medium range bombers and three early jet fighters! Furthermore, you can take gunnery poitions in any of the bombers. Its a shame Miscrosoft felt they couldn't add some non-flyable planes too.. the skies feel oddly empty wihth only a few dozen aircraft types around.

Almost as though Miscrosoft realized they couldn't compete with IL2 in terms of the fidelity of the combat simulation, the developers have spent a lot of attention implementing a full blown dynamic campaign, as well as loads of single missions and a (fankly great fun) quick combat mode. This also manages to save the game from the dustbin, as its something thats lacking in IL2.

It came as a shock to find that the manual in the CD case was even smaller than that of 'Age of Mythology'. Fortunately, I soon realized that just about all the information usually available on paper has been included in the game via a database you can accesss at nearly any time whilst in the air, or on the ground. This is a great idea, and a first as far as I'm aware.. want to know about that plane your shooting at? hit F1 and look it up in the database. Think your cruising at too low an altitude? hit F2 and see how it should be done on the relevent checklist. This is much better than having to reach for the manual all the time and certainly accellerates the learning process. I can't help wondering weather the availability of the on-line documentation somehow affects the game performance though.

To summarize, if a certain other WWII Flight simulator didn't exist (think in Russian) CFS3 would be a great purchase, theres loads of fun stuff to do and a varied (if not representative) selection of planes to fly. Theres also enough depth in the simulation and campaign to keep both the hardcore and the casual gamer pretty happy for a good while. Unfortunately (for Microsoft anyway) it has to contend with being a poor second. And as such is only really recommended for those who are NUTS about flight simulators (guilty as charged).

A lot of the problems with CFS2 can be fixed in patches. Wether this happens or not is another question entirely.. and if it does, it would still be the inferior title for the real enthusiast. For the casual gamer with a fast PC whos interested in WW2 airplanes though, its not a bad way into the flight sim genre. Which can only be a good thing.

The faults with this game have already been covered in other reviews. Personally, I found performance (on my high-spec machine) jerky and difficult, and after many hours of tinkering was still not really any further forward. Microsoft have issued a patch which fails to address any of these particular issues. The main problem lies in the terrain engine, which seems to be woefully ineffective, and when so much time is spent at low-level it makes gameplay and graphics very disappointing.

The aircraft models are generally superb, as are the damage effects. The clouds are the best I've ever seen, and the terrain from 10,000 feet and above is convincing enough. But low down it is rubbish, with low resolution fields, etc. and buildings sporadically grouped together as towns. Not good. The ground war is represented by small groups of German and Allied vehicles that are miles apart. There is little or no sense of any kind of ground battle that you are supporting.

The idea behind the campaign is that your mission success or failure affects the frontline of battle. This is on shaky ground from the start as the Americans and British just don't really co-operate, with either nation launching an invasion of Europe all by itself. In my first campaign (flying as British), we invaded Europe after my first mission, and despite me not failing a single objective in any mission, some 10 missions later the Germans had invaded Britain and despite my continued successful missions could not be pushed back! I then gave up.

The mission types involve attacking German convoys in the English Channel or North Sea (not terribly realistic as the Royal Navy ruled the seas here, and when you do attack a convoy it is ALWAYS four cargo ships and two destroyers - you can also completely sink a cargo ship with the cannons on a Typhoon in two strafing runs), attacking production centres (factories, etc.), tanks, infantry formations (tents), etc, etc.

You take off, fly to target, destroy it, fly back again. Sure, you can look for targets of opportunity but these appear to make little difference to your mission performance so if you use the warp key, you can complete a standard mission in a few minutes. Repeat ad infinitum. There is rarely any interference from enemy air forces. Flak is a major problem when on a bombing run, but if you are flying a fighter-bomber, just fly under the flak and strafe the target with your cannons and you will destroy it and escape unscathed. This even works against 'huge' targets like factories and the like.

Your wingmen are staggeringly stupid (they often get caught in bomb blasts, wander off on their own, disappear for minutes on end, take an age to respond to your orders, that kind of thing) which makes your role as wing commander pretty pointless. The 'role playing' element of earning experience points to spend on pilot attributes through the number of kills you score, etc. is fatally flawed. On one ground attack mission to destroy a factory, I scored 24 air kills. On one mission. I did not engage ANY enemy aircraft in this mission. My only assumption is that there were planes inside the factory that somehow have been awarded to me as air kills. Daft.

Tow good things though: firstly, the game is highly configurable so even the greenest flight sim rookie can get right into it, and the top guns of the skies can ramp it up to D-Day difficulty. If they can be bothered, of course. Secondly, dogfighting can be pretty satisfying and is the more convincing realm of combat after the rubbish ground attack simulation.

CFS3 is a poor piece of software: it has graphical and performance problems, the campaign is one of the worst I've ever seen and it is simply one long bout of frustration. What a shame.