Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series

"A Mega Experience!"

Introduction - Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator was released in 1998 and became a major hit for its open-ended ability to allow users to create add-ons to the game without risk of copyright infringements. CFS1 offered an extraordinary online experience and the graphics were well ahead of its time. CFS1 is set against the World War Two European Theater and includes a free roaming map to explore and features the major cities of London, Paris, and Berlin. The keyboard controls were almost impossible to use and it required the player to use a control stick, but the game also featured added benefits of the computer microphone and the Roger Wilco software to allow for in game voice to further the online experience. This is truly a most memorable game.


Gameplay 10 - CFS1 is an outstanding game to play. This game was well ahead of its time in beating the console systems with voice and excellent online play and this game could function just fine on a dial up connection! The single player missions on this game are very good and become moderately difficult in progression. A lot of missions involve dogfighting the enemy and you have to learn how to do combat maneuvers or you will get busted a lot. There are also various bombing and protection objectives added. Landing and maneuvering is very easy to get a hang of if you have a control stick to use and the game offers plenty of free flight opportunity to explore and test out new aircraft. The online experience is simply the greatest I have ever experienced in online gaming. Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator sets THE PRECEDENT for online gaming and gaming communities. It is such an enjoyable experience online that there is still a community devoted to setting up online games with CFS1 today although the original Microsoft Gaming Zone for this game is now defunct. Players could set up combat flight groups and hold try outs and dogfight with other groups in skirmishes and tournaments. All the while you could find new vehicles to download from a 4x4 Jeep to a TIE Fighter. I preferred Snoopy on top of his doghouse myself. Players could set up games in rooms and set what type of preferences they wanted so that no one could come in with an F-22 Raptor and blast every one in a game with all WW1 airplanes and ruin the experience. This is a game that you will grow to miss as console systems try and fail to produce a flight sim or online game for that matter that could reach every mark that CFS1 set. I flew with the HMH (Heavy Metal Heads) and our paint scheme was amazingly awesome. So here's to you HMH_Metal and HMH_two_jabs! This game is probably still years ahead of its time when compared to other generations of games.


Story 7- The story for the single player campaign is not that memorable as it is basically just mission after mission with no characters or cutscene videos to boot. You do get to switch sides however and the missions are various enough to enjoy and want to complete in the story mode. But compared to CFS2 which is set in the Pacific Theater, there is no character story line to this game beyond mission briefings.


Graphics/Sound 9 - The land graphics on CFS1 are not detailed well, but the landscapes offer an awesome reason to want to download an F-15 or X-Wing and go exploring the seemingly never ending landscapes and see if you can attempt to find your way from Paris to London. The graphics were ahead of its time back in the day, however, and although lacking detail, they do not take away from the game. The sound is very realistic however. The constant whirring of the engine combined with the machine guns makes for an awesome experience and the dreadful ripping of the back end of your plane when some bogey gets on your back will make you cringe. You can also switch views from the inside to an outside view and move the camera angle to enjoy your plane against a background of incredible landscape.


Play Time/Replayability 10- It doesn't take too long to go through the single player missions in this game. And once you are done and think you are getting bored with the planes the game gives you, you can go online and look up some mods and add-ons including bonus missions, extra planes, and other vehicles and patches. The online experience for the game's peak time was amazing and it is a testament to how fun this game really was that there still exists a small community that still plays this game online TEN YEARS later despite the original gaming zone being defunct. There would still be considerable reason to go back and enjoy this game again now that it is out of its prime as the add-ons to this game are probably still available.



Final Recommendation 9/10
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator is probably one of the most enjoyable games in flight sims that you can experience. The game has long been out of its prime due to the later sequels of the series, but if you are an avid flight sim fan and have never played this game (which I would highly doubt you haven't) then this game is a must for your collection.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/08/08

Game Release: Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series (US, 09/30/98)