User Reviews (61 - 71 of 130)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Very slightly disapointing (very slightly)

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is a game for a air combat simulator nut. It has everything. It does however show some signs of having been put out before the final fine-tuning was complete. The feeling of historical atmosphere is not as good as in Combat Flight Simulator 1 (the war in Europe). So many good photographs of action in the Pacific are available, some in color, that the choice of comic book pictures to fill in the background and move the story of the campaigns forward is unnecesary and disapointing. Information such as take off, landing and stall speeds is missing (or hard to find). The airplane graphics are absolutely excellent. Scenery is a little boring--unending blue tropical sky and blue tropical water. Carrier landings are great fun and damnably difficult--very tough for a beginner. It is not true that you need a super fast super computer, though if you don't have one you do need a top of the line graphics accelorator card with built in RAM. My setup when used to run Combat Flight Simulator 1 (war in Europe) shows scenery that is very photographic, presumeable derived from digitaly edited photos. This games' scenery seems to be entirely painted--though very well painted. I do get some very minor hesitation and miss the totaly glass-smooth action I got with the war in europe version. Without my very good graphics accelerator it would be unplayable. Weather and cloud effects are totaly awesome--dogfighting at dawn in a thunderstorm is a blast. Basicaly--a good game for simulator enthusiasts. But, as is typical in the movie business, much that made part one unique was omitted from part two. That which replaced it is very cool, but lacks class. If you have never flown a simulator before--get Combat Flight Simulator One. If you never believed yourself capable of getting interested in computer game (thought it was for teen-agers)--get Combat Flight Simulator One. If your are inerested in history--get Part One. This game is very good--but it is a game Combat Flight Simulator One is an experience (and doesn't take up so darn much room on the hard disk)

Not worth the big bucks

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: November 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I really don't think this game is worth $40. $9.99 would be more fair for what you get, in my opinion. For instance, you find yourself repeatedly doing the following with every campaign mission: start engine, wait for it to sputter and start, wagtail all over the runway or carrier, raise gear, warp to battle area, shoot down enemies, warp home. Over and over. There really is no story line except for the war, which, to me, isn't enough because you know how the war turns out(!), and you don't feel involved in the war because there's nothing interesting about your participation except flying and shooting down enemy aircraft. The briefings are too vague and the map is almost worthless. There are no human voices except radio chatter that's repeated and just gets annoying. The Quick Start and individual missions are more interesting, so the game does have something to it. Microsoft could benefit from studying LucasArts' Star Wars game Xwing Alliance - briefings given by actors, compelling music, interesting storylines, a variety of characters. The missions have a plot to them, much variety, drama and they're individually designed. I'm disappointed in CFS2 because it could have been great, and it isn't. I keep waiting for the campaign to get interesting, but it just doesn't grab me. I'd buy CFS1 except that I'm sick of spending $40 and being let down!

Jerky graphics make it unplayable

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 07, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I have a 750Mhz computer with a Diamond Viper V550 AGP video card (top of the line just a couple years ago). CFS Europe Edition runs beautifully even with the graphics cranked all the way up. CFS2 Pacific Edition plays very jerky, it can't be effectly played without losing the graphics. Stick with Europe unless you have a brand new $400 video card.

Will NOT run under Windows NT

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Warning: This product will NOT run under Windows NT 4.0 - in fact, it will not even install. The Amazon.com web pages list WinNT as an acceptable platform for this game, but Amazon is mistaken. I called Microsoft (Games Tech Support) and was told that it was NOT made to run under WinNT and will not even install (as I found out the hard way).

Microsoft told me, however, that "Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator" (the original WW-II Europe version) DOES work on WinNT.

So do NOT rely on what the Amazon web pages tell you regarding acceptable platforms. Instead, go to www.Microsoft.com/Games/ and look up the information yourself - at least Microsoft has the CORRECT information.

great! but could use more variety

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

i was excited when it first came out but after playing it and not having the option to fly dive bombers or torpedo planes i was a little dissapointed and it can also do without the cartoons but besides that it's excellent.

Good, but could have been great

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Microsoft did a decent job with CFS2, but it could've been so much more. First, it only covers a small portion of the Pacific war. No bombers, strike or torpedo planes are available for the player to fly. Although, all these types are available by downloading third party add-ons, I am amazed that MS left them out.

The AI is just horrible, they are absolutely no help at all. MS says that they start out bad and improve with experience, but that is not the case, they start out bad and stay that way.

Multi-player, though fun in it's limited capacity, only allows fighter on fighter stuff. No interceptions, no cooperative play, no ground strikes at all, even strafing attacks. There are no provisions at all for any AI in the muli-player set ups!

No AI planes are ever landing or taking off with you, you begin all alone in the world and return that way.

There was better game play in much older titles, Aces of the Pacific offered more flyable plane types, and included bomb and torpedo missions. Falcon 3 gave the multi-players the ability to fly cooperativel against the AI and even included ground targets., Ditto for Fighters Anthology. Why, oh why, couldn't the great nad mighty Microsoft have included features like this?

On the plus side, the graphics are superb, flight models convincing, up until damage occurs. Damage modelling can be a bit ridiculous. A single 7.7mm bullet hole in one wing renders the aircraft almost uncontrollable, ditto the amazingly accurate flak, a single piece of shrapnel through the nose, administered by a bursting 125mm round 100 meters away will render you hors de combat.

Having said all of that, I like it, and continue to play it. I hope that CFS3 will finally bring us back....if not, there's always IL-2.

Great,but some minor technicalities

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Its a great game. The flight models are extremely realistic.Being 13 years old,Im not much of a critic,but I can name some cons.For instance,the collision aspect.No matter how gently you hit,even if you barely scrape wingtips,your aircraft explodes and your pilot with it.At least in Janes WW2 Fighters you get however much damage however much you collide.Also,your wingman are basically sitting ducks,just waiting for either you or them to get shot down.The manual claims that how well you do in a campaign determines your next mission.This is basically true,but there is still easy-to-recognize repetition.Also,you cant sink a carrier by kamikazeing like other ships.On ivincibility,Ive crashed into carriers zillions of times and not made a dent.On landing with a bunch of bombers right behind me,I have to get out of the way really fast or get plowed over,not very gratifying after a hard mission.Enemy planes are extremely easy to shoot down in campaigns.The only place theyre challenging is Ace mode in Quick Combat.Also,the ships arent very detailed.Now for the mission builder.I love it!You can put practically unlimited fighters and bombers in the sky with you(it took me three hours to shoot em all down).However,if you attempt to put European buildings there,theyll dissapear until youre three feet close to them
All in all,the game has realistic damage,good graphics,and historically accurate places.

CFS2 Absolutely Rocks!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is a blast. The graphics are incredible. I am always happy to see Microsoft release a product that doesn't need a patch before it's functional. This is one of the few products. The level of detail has increased beyond that of CFS1. You can actually see the flash of sparks when you hit enemy planes at a distance. Other damage is more detailed, too. Further, it seems to run a little more smoothly than the first release. Plus, you can't beat the online component of these microsoft sims (CFS's, and Moto-X Madness's). They really run well. CFS2 is an incredible experience. See you in the Zone!

Superfantastic Flight-Sim

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Hi, I'm the same Flight-Sim freak that wrote the CFS1 Review...This is even beter than CFS1. The graphics are suberb, the flight model is fantastic, the campaign structure is fabulous, the sounds are good, what more need I say?

Set in the Pacific Theater(as in "Pacific Ocean", get it? Haha) in WWII, you can fly for the Americans or Japanese. Again, like in CFS1, you can adjust the realism from mere low-down rotten-from-hell arcade style flight to superduper-faboulous-sky-ruling-totally-cool full experience flight sim.

However, it's good if you have a new system for this(when I say this I mean P4, Geforce 2+, 512 mb cache, etc.)Also its got multiple controller support, unlike CFS1.

It also has a Free Flight mode, where you can just fly, a Quick Combat mode where you can fight, Single missions(nothinmg to say here), campaigns, and Training Missions.

In plain english: very cool!!!

Dont get caught with your flaps down!!(Cant believe this was written by a twelve year old, huh?)

Very pretty but

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It's very pretty. When it runs, that is. Which isn't often. I had so much trouble getting past the CD's security system that Microsoft eventually recommended I install the NO-CD Crack out on the web.

Running the game with sound on usually brings a computer-stopping crash one in every two missions. Turn the sound off and it's as dull as ditchwater.

The missions are quicklly dull and repetitive, despite flying from some very exotic locations. Landing on aircraft carriers is harder than it should be, because the aeroplane begins to waddle and sag around the sky like a soggy 747 at anything approaching landing speeds. That's just not realistic.

Many small ground targets are just completley invisible.

Despite being very pretty to look at in terms of cosmetics, it's too far short of having a reliable, interesting gameplay. I'm fed up with computer programs, particularly games, that simply don't work. I couldn't recommend you buying a car that only completed one journey in every two, so I couldn't recommend this program, either.

Review Page: Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next 

Actions