World War 2: Fighters

World War 2: Fighters Review

This sim kicks much bum. Use the stock flight models on Veteran (3) for maximum realism attainable on this title. Only use Wicked (4) setting if your brain can't suspend disbelief without roll-spins. Don't listen to what people say about EAW or IL2's flight models. The real aircraft are for the most part inherently stable in flight and usually will not stall or spin out to the point of killing you unless they've been damaged or you do something really stupid. They will give you high AoA buffeting and that bounce effect from attempting to turn harder than the airframe wants to, but it all comes naturally out of the flight experience. Stall-type effects do not spontaneously and severely occur at once, as so many other sims do it. As such, it's much easier to regain control, just as in real life. You hear nonpilots constantly going on and on about how it's not real enough, and then you have those who've been up in the real birds complaining that none of these aircraft are that insanely unstable. This one gets it very close. If you need convincing, fly X-Plane's P-51's and then compare it to WWIIF. There are vets who sware by this product, at least to the effect that it's the best of its kind out there.

32bit color looks fab, but slows things down a bit. I have z-buffering on performance. It also seems to like 16X/4X in the graphics settings for my ATI card. I love watching the battle unfold around me on the ground. Sometimes it's a little sparse, but when you find a hot spot it's intense. I think maybe only Longbow 2 (which hardly ever works right for me) and this one are the only flight sims I've come across with downright scary land battles taking place around me. Tanks taking on tanks as they meet after coming over a hill. Amazing stuff. And what I do really seems to make a difference as to whether those units survive, or not. Tanks that have already been damaged are subsequently easier to kill, for me or another allied unit. The campaign's not dynamic, but I suspect the mission scripting is largely responsible for how well thought out the battles are. Dynamic, extended campaigns tend to feel less realistic to me. The branching system that Janes used in a lot of their titles, or even the strict linear ones, seem more convincing. There's something kind of unstructured and pointless about Total Air War's otherwise spectacular campaign system. I can't say I miss it here.

As for the problems with limited wingman commands, that was fixed with the final official patch. There's a second CD with a bunch of interviews and historical content on it. The manual doesn't need to go into much detail as far as commands and aircraft systems, but does serve as an excellent overview of flying and fighting with the planes. I should also mention that there's a sizable community of modders, including an at-cost CD you can purchase online with most of the good ones. Highly recommended. OS: Win98SE

World War 2: Fighters Overview

This software is BRAND NEW. Packaging may differ slightly from the stock photo above. Please click on our logo above to see over 15,000 titles in stock.

World War 2: Fighters Specifications

WWII Fighters lets players strap themselves in a variety of American, British, and German aircraft and fight their way through a reenactment of the Battle of the Bulge. Gameplay ranges from single missions to a series of campaigns, and though the game isn't entirely realistic (you switch to new types of planes often during the campaigns), it still is a blast.

WWII Fighters is beautiful to behold. Planes are modeled in great detail--when viewing your plane through the external views you can watch the flight surfaces respond to your commands and see the pilot in the cockpit crane his neck to track targets. Inside the cockpit everything is modeled in 3-D, and you can even adjust your virtual seat to get a better view over the instrument panel. We marveled at the real-time lighting effects, watching the orange rays of the setting sun glint off our wings as we twisted through the sky. It's a treat to watch tracers fly and bombs flash on the ground during a pitched nighttime battle.

The flight model in this simulation is very forgiving, and it is nearly impossible to stall, but that doesn't detract too much from the excitement of a dogfight. The damage model is particularly impressive, making it possible to whittle an enemy plane to pieces with near-surgical precision. A shot in the right place will do anything from severing a rudder control wire to causing an entire engine to explode. Just remember that it works both ways.

There are more realistic WWII flight simulators available, but few are as fun or as graphically appealing as this one. Novices and virtual pilots of intermediate skill will enjoy the fact that they spend more time fighting enemy aircraft than fighting their own controls, and WWII aficionados will love the CD-ROMs' historical content, which includes such goodies as interviews with aces like Francis Gabreski and Günther Rall. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Outstanding graphics--damage and explosions are rendered especially well
• Booming sound effects
• Ability to fly a variety of planes

Cons:

• Forgiving arcadelike flight model with no real stalls

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 07, 2010 12:58:04