Hands-On With Combat Flight Simulator 2

Among the most graphically stunning games at Gamestock was Combat Flight Simulator 2. When the game was presented, there wasn't an editor in the room who wasn't impressed by the exquisite detail of the planes.

Combat Flight Simulator 2 will move its theater of operations to the Pacific. You will begin the game as a rookie in 1941 and then battle your way through the next few years of dogfights over the Pacific Ocean. You can fly for Japan or America, but in both cases your enemies will be quick and tough. The game will use comic-book-like pictures and panels to tell the story of your ensign. However, although the out-of-game transitions will be almost cartoon-like, the in-game graphics will be absolutely stunning in their realism and quality.

During the demonstration, we zoomed into one plane and saw the weathering effect, rust, and even the grooves and rivets in the steel of the fuselage. Although superlatives are exchanged much too often in this industry, in this case the praise is indeed genuine.

Combat Flight Sim 2 will have more than 120 missions, where you'll engage in torpedo runs, ground bombings, and even carrier landings. There will be 18 new planes in the game, including the following player-flyable ones: F4U Corsair, P38, Zero, Hellcat, and the Wildcat among others.

The game will also have a full mission editor and support for up to eight players over LAN or the MS Gaming Zone.