#Combat flight simulator 3 series#

Like franchise or season mode in sports games, the campaign here is more geared towards those with lots of interest and a helluva lot of patience. You do eventually progress to the late model jets but, as I said already, this transition really kills the mood of the game - especially when you're called on for ground attack missions. The American campaign fares a bit better in this category sticking you with the P-47 for a while before you can get the really choice planes. When you start flying Spits and 190s by the second mission, you don't feel like you have much to look forward to. (No more carefully waiting until attrition sees you promoted due to pronounced manpower shortages.) You'll also get the cream of the prop almost right away, German and British campaigns give you the greatest fighters right up front, leaving little for you to look forward to. It begins in '43 and lets the player jump right in as squadron leader.

#Combat flight simulator 3 series#

The Campaign The dynamic campaign is the biggest change for the series and the one feature that I'm most divided on in terms of value. While I can deal with cycling through the stations individually (rather than accessing them specifically through unique hot keys) some of the gunnery stations have odd sighting problems the actual projectile from some of the guns seems to lag behind the crosshair, much more so than might be accounted for given the speed and direction of the plane. While not in the pilot or bomber's seat, the AI takes over control of the plane letting you shoot down enemy interceptors. You'll need to switch between the pilot, bomber and gunners' positions throughout the flight. And after the complete absence of bombers and torpedo planes in CFS2, it's good to see some new effort in that direction. Taking the fight to the enemy from the cockpit of Marauders, Mitchells and Ju 88s is a real thrill and one that's not been replicated in many other games. What's a European war without the B-17? But you do get to fly level-bombers for the first time in the series and that's a definite plus. Better to spend the effort it took to fully model the Do 335 on planes that don't seem so out of place. Likewise, prop-driver planes like the Ascender had no operational impact on the war, so there inclusion here is somewhat suspect, especially given the absence of other significant, non-flyable craft. Things like the Shooting Star and Vampire are cool in their own right, but they belong to a new era of jet aircraft that have no real place in Combat Flight Simulator 3. Instead of these standards, we have a new batch of jets and experimental models.

As a result, you won't find yourself facing Heinkel 111s or Hurricanes or even B-17s. If it's not one of those 18 basic types, it's not anywhere in the game. But as is often the case with most magic genies and monkey paws, the team has found a loophole in our wish - only the flyable planes are present in the game. The Microsoft team has given us exactly what we've always wanted - the chance to fly all the planes in the simulation. While the developers have finally consented to let us fly more planes, this new freedom comes at a great price.

Germany trumps the two Allied nations producing not one, but two jets, the Gotha 229 and Me 262. The German bomber arm relies on the Ju 88. German aces can pick from the FW 190 or the Bf 109 or the experimental Do 335 Pfeil. The USAAF fliers can rely on the holy trinity of Lightning, Mustang and Thunderbolt while also getting bombing support from the Marauder, taking to the skies in the experimental P 55 Ascender or the jet known as the Shooting Star. The RAF also get the Vampire, Britain's second jet fighter. For the RAF you can fly the Mosquito, Spitfire, Tempest, and Typhoon and American Mitchell. The range of planes you can fly is also quite impressive, especially for this series. These performance differences are quantified in the game, making it easy to see the degree of difference between one plane and another. Performance differences for the various planes are easily felt (provided the flight modeling is turned up) and you'll really have to adjust your tactics based on whether you're fighting the Hun from the cramped office of your Spit or from the robust interior of your Thunderbolt.

The Planes As we've come to expect from the series, this one rates very high in terms of plane modeling, both in terms of visuals and performance. And like previous years, these shifts can be both good and bad. This time around is no different, with some predictable upgrades and some shifts in some new directions. Since then the series has made a few expected changes and even thrown in a few surprises as well. This time around the Combat Flight Sim franchise wings its way west to return to the European skies which it first flew back in 1998. I've followed this series from the start and have been as anxious for this release as I can be in this busy season.