User Reviews (21 - 31 of 171)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Need a super computer to solve performance issue!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: December 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Unfortunately, on my brand new top of the line gaming machine with a gig of ram that runs most games flawlessly including the old MS Flight Simulator, it has no power to get this one going. I am very disappointed, everything is moving in frames and the load time makes my hard drive work like a dog for what seems to be an eternity. I cannot believe Microsoft would release a game that works like this with the flimsy system requirements they list on the box. I feel cheated because I have to eat the cost of a lousy product as a result of the stores policy of not taking back an open box. It proves to me once again that they are out for a buck more than providing quality products. Don't get burned like myself and the rest of the reviewers on this page.

Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: November 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I expected much more from Microsoft on this flight Sim and they let me down. Oh well. I got started years ago with the Red Baron and really enjoyed it. I even bought the "New" Red Baron II later, but it was far too "buggy" and so I quite playing it.

This effort at a flight Sim is a failed effort by the Microsoft programmers. BTW, I've had a private pilot's licence since 1971 and have flown tail draggers and am presently rated up to a dual engine 310. Still, I'd like to find a realistic WWII flight Sim that works. The FAA doesn't allow you to really blow people out of the sky.

The Best Flying Game Ever!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: March 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe is a great game. Its only fun when you have the joystick. You can pick from German, British and American planes. Its more realistic than Combat Flight Simulator 2. You can even fly bombers and be a gunner. The missions are alot harder than the ones in Combat Flight Simulator 2. Most of the time you get shot down by flack. Now you can crashland. It was anoying when you crash landed and just stayed there forever in Combat Flight Simulator 2. You can get medals. Its easy to get them. Its hard to live through bombing misions because the flack and the blast from the bombs make you crash. If you liked Combat Flight Simulator 2 you will probably like Combat Flight Simulator 3. Its impossible to shoot down planes with the amount of amo they give you but you can go to settings and put unlimited amo on. The fuel is very annoying. You allways get hit in the fuel tank. You allways lose all you fuel. Theres 3 bombers and alot of fighter planes. You can get topedos now. Theres almost no ships so there useless. Theres even multiplayer and campain mode. Theres also alot of locations to fly in. Combat Flight Simulator 3 is the best.

System Requirements are Gravely Underestimated by MS

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I bought this sim without reading reviews first. Bad move. I have a coputer with a 750MHz processor and it had 128MB Ram. I installed the sim and it was unbearably choppy. You couldn't get close to getting sights on a plane before it would freeze and you'd lose the target. I upgraded the video card to a GeForce 2 Titanium 64 MB which yielded no improvement in performance (the sim claims that it only requires a 16 MB card). I then installed an additional 256 MB of RAM to give me 384 MB (the sim recommends 64 to 128 - 64 for my system which runs Windows 98). My total cost for upgrades was [amount of money]in addition to the cost of the simulator. The sim now runs pretty well. There is still some chop in the opening as the scenery pans around the pilot and plane on the ground, chop lasted for the first 30 seconds or so in a dogfight mission, I then flew for 31 minutes with no chop and enjoyed shooting down 19 Bf 109's. However, I do agree with another reviewer that the sights are off. In straight and level, unaccelerated flight, the bullets do not go where the sites would indicate. I am reasonably satisfied now, but if you have less than 384 MB of Ram and a 64MB video card don't buy this sim unless you are planning to upgrade your system. Instead, buy a previous version or the IL-2.

MS Combat Flight Sim. 3

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This sim stinks. I am a huge fan of FS 1 and 2, but this one really falls flat on it's face. I just bought (Sept 2002) a new Dell 8200 with all the bells and whistles. The fastest, the biggest, the best Dell had to offer at this time with upgrades in storage, graphic card, sound, etc. This game studders on this machine, and obviously was written for a gamer who likes to play with the keyboard, verses a person who wants to fly. Frustrating doesn't begin to describe how this game is. In one instance I was finally able to get one of the bomber trimmed out enough to go the bombardier's seat, only to have the pilot die and the plane go into an uncontrolable spin. When switching gunner position it was not uncommon for the gun to be shoting.
The fighters are hard to see out of and maneuver, which is totally uncalled for coming from FS 1&2, plus all the commands are changed. What's up with that. I realize that this sim is suppost to be more realistic, but with more the 90 keyboard commands, some requiring both hands to reach three different keys, get real.

They Could Have Done Better

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: April 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am running a P4 2Ghz with 1024MB of SDRAM. I have a ATI Radeon
9500 AGP and I am fairly savvy with graphics and systems. I purchased CFS3 a couple of months ago and have downloaded all of the latest drivers etc. All this in anticipation of a memorable gaming experience.

At the end of the day, after considerable tweaking and learning the very arcane skill of 'clean booting'(shutting down unnecessary services) I had my CFS3 running quickly and smoothly at optimal graphics. Alas, the great 'as good as it gets' experience has eluded me.

This is not to say that the program not sophisticated. That would be incorrect. Let me say rather that the graphics are disappointing. Terrains are lame and the aircraft models are primitive and uninspired at best.

The reason I gave it 2 stars is that there may be some addon aircraft, panels and sound packages that will run in CFS3. If there are, the only thing left to improve on is the terrain. Hopefully, the FS Scenery enhancer will be of some benefit. It remains to be seen.

Microsoft is capable of much more in the way of simulator artistry. I suspect that the investment in quality aircraft and scenery might have place the CFS3 in a price bracket which would have made it unmarketable in today's economy. Who knows. They could have done better.

Great, but a little cranky and particular....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

1. You need a good computer P4 with at least 512 mb ram is best
2. get a very good joystick...Freedom 2.4 cordless works well.
3. As stated on instructions... it is best to have higher resolution for combat. I would also recommend at least a 17" monitor.
4. download help/instruction file and print... also consider buying a seperate guide by MS or Sybex.
5.Don't load on a Hard drive that is nearly full (you need 2gb of empty space AND you should still have 15% free... or more)
6. Manuals suggest defragging etc BEFORE loading and using.

If you follow these and other basic "good practices". it is a VERY good and fun game.

This is an earlier game version

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 13
Date: June 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you are a World War II buff and love flight simulators, Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator - WWII Europe Series is for you.

Using the same attention to detail as in its Flight Simulator series - indeed, you can import "worlds" from the civilian game to this war one - Combat Flight Simulator allows you to fly in two Campaigns, The Battle of Britain and The Battle for Europe, as a pilot in the RAF, Luftwaffe, or USAAF (U.S. Army Air Forces).

Combat Flight Simulator - Europe lets you fly many of the famous fighters in service in those three air forces. If you fly as a British pilot, you can expect to be at the controls of a Hawker Hurricane Mk. (Mark) I, a Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I, or a later variant, the Mk. IX. As a German pilot, you'll fly either the Messerchmitt Bf 109E or the Focke-Wulf Fw. 190A fighters. Finally, as a Yank in the USAAF, you'll man either the sturdy P-47D Thunderbolt or the sleek P-51 Mustang. All of these planes have their strengths and weaknesses, so try to read the manual (or the Help files) and do a bit of research before you hook up the joystick and take flight. Particularly challenging are the ammunition load limits to each plane; each plane has its own ammo load capacity, and players more familiar with fighter jet simulations (such as Microprose's famous F-15 Strike Eagle series) may find themselves shooting away all their ammo at one plane (if they choose realistic presets) and then being unable to shoot at anyone else because they have no bullets. I would advise rookie pilots to use Unlimited Ammo settings until they have had enough practice to shoot down enemy bombers and fighters without wasting precious rounds.

The simulation not only has the two Campaigns I mentioned earlier, but it has Free Flight, Quick Combat, Single Mission, and Training modes. Quick Combat, particularly, is good for players who like both flight simulations and arcade games. This option lets you choose what and how many enemy planes you can face off against, where the fight takes place, what weather conditions are like, time of day, and tactical situation. The enemy comes at you in waves, like in an arcade game, and as soon as you dispatch one wave, another appears. The challenge here is to shoot down as many planes as you can before you either run out of gas or are shot down. (Unlimited Ammo should be your choice in this sort of game no mater how good you are, unless you can shoot down one plane with one bullet. Here, skills learned in a jet fighter simulation will not help you!)

For players weaned on jet fighter games, it would be advisable to use the non-1940s HUD (Heads Up Display) view option. I (since I am new to this game myself) still use it in the Campaign mode since the "Cockpit" view option, while more realistic, is still a bit overwhelming to me. Purists and/or experienced pilots can set realism to 100% to their heart's content, but casual players or rookies should start out easy then gradually increase the realism settings.

The graphics are excellent, even for a 1998-era game. Being a Microsoft game it runs on most Windows platforms except 3.1, and I am sure no one reading this review still has that operating system. I particularly like the "worlds" depicted: you actually get a sense of flying over 1940s Europe. The sound is also good, and you can even hear your fellow pilots' radio calls. (Like the more advanced flight simulations, the Single Mission and Campaign games are very realistic in that you fly with a squadron, something I never experienced in F-15 Strike Eagles I-III. I did once own Microprose's F-14 Fleet Defender, a game that had AI wingmen, but I could never get it to run on any of my machines!)

Microsoft also offers a Pacific series counterpart, which I am hoping to get soon. Check to see if they have expansion kits. Many simulations ranging from flight to Star Wars starfighter games have them, and I believe Combat Flight Simulator is no exception.

Oh, yes. Good luck, happy landings, and good hunting!

What a realistic game!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: April 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

After reading the other reviews I felt compeld to write this. I have owned this game since the day it came out. Now, I can tell you, you don't need a hugely expensive graphics card or a multi-billion dollar computer to play. All you need it to have patience, and to know what your doing. As mentioned in another review, you should not go and buy this game unless you are a pilot or hope to be a pilot and are into flying.
In CFS 3, you take on the role of a WWII aviator during the British, German, and American air campaign. With the extensive number of planes to fly in free-flight, never ending campaign missions, and fun mulitplayer, this game will only become obsolete when CFS 4 comes out within the next two years. Starting your campaign on March 3, 1943, you fly almost everyday with advancing missions, new planes that can be bought, medals and promotions awarded, and new wingmen if you are unfortunate enough to lose one in battle. When flying, you can fly anywhere in the world and the game is large enough to house the entire glode. There are so many options with this game as well as the ability to throw in addons that you will be mindboggled.
When buying this game, I'd suggest getting a Saitek x45 joystick and a wrap around headset to strengthen your flight experience. HAPPY HUNTING!

Iceman...out!

Low Grade Flight Sim

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I went out and spent 45 dollars on a flight sim I expected to be out of this world considering all the hoopla I saw on the net about it. Instead I got this...The same game Janes's came out with 4 years ago, with a different title, same graphics engine and everything. (Jane's WWII Fighters). Anyways, choppy gameplay..for some reason my 900mhz w/ 64mb video card isnt enough to go above graphics Lvl. 1, and i still have choppy gameplay. Why? Why does the creator of Flight Sim 2002 do this to their fair name? I went to great lengths to find a site I could say something about this horrible product on, but..obviously about 5 people already beat me to it.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions