Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe

"A game that shows promise but is marred by high system requirements"

Combat Flight Simulator 3 is Microsoft’s latest entry into the flight sim market and it’s second set in the ETO.

Graphics Argh!/10

The box lists a 400Mhz processor and a 16Mb 3D card as the minimum requirements. My system is a 1.6Ghz Pentium 4 with a 64MB Geforce 2 MX 400 and the game runs horribly on the even the lowest of the low graphics settings. The game stutters and audio cuts out, rendering the game utterly unplayable. I couldn’t even see my half of my mission objectives much less get bogies to stop warping around the screen. The screenshots on the box are truly beautiful but unless you have the latest/greatest system, don’t even bother.

One area where there is a big improvement is tracer fire. In CFS 1 and 2, tracer looked awful. While still far from realistic (like European Air War), the tracer fire is greatly improved from previous Combat Flight Sim games.

Weather effects are great. Flying in the rain is awesome.

You have the opportunity to add a custom paint job to your aircraft. I couldn’t wait to paint my Bf-109G like Adolf Galland’s or my P-51D like Robert Welch’s real life counterpart. This is one feature that got me really excited.

Gameplay 10/10

What little I did explore looked very promising. Your pilots gain experience that increases their skills and prestige points that gets them the best aircraft. Campaigns look like a ton of fun but I couldn’t even complete one mission thanks to my graphical issues.

Unlike CFS 2, wingmen aren’t brain dead. In the few missions I did spend time playing, my wingmen where scoring frequently.

Many uncommon and dare I say unique aircraft are included. Not since Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe (which I played on my 286) have I been able to fly a Gotha Go-229 or Dornier Do-335. No other game that I know of features a P-55 Ascender or de Havilland Vampire. I was really looking forward to flying some of these aircraft but I was disappointed at the absence of the Fw-109D.

I was also anticipating flying bombers and manning their gun positions. Blasting away at Bf-109s from a B-17 ball turret is always loads of fun.

Audio 8/10

Again, a big improvement. Weapon sounds are much more realistic than what CFS 1 and 2 had. Firing the Me-262 cannons was truly impressive.

Wingmen talk in their native languages but are far less chatty than in previous CFS games. I feel that wingmen speech adds to the immersion of the game and I was slightly disappointed at my shy wingmen.

Story 2/10

Flight sims don’t really need a story but the campaigns are historical and dynamic.

Challenge and Replayability 10/10

The campaigns look really great and the RPG-like experience adds tons of depth that CFS 1 and 2 where missing. Wingmen aren’t cannon fodder anymore.

Technical Issues
I didn’t know any major bugs or flaws expect the ridiculously low system requirements listed on the box.

Overall 5/10

I find it really hard to give this game a good score since I returned it in less than 24 hours. What I did see made my drool. It has loads of promise but only for those with the most high powered systems.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/02, Updated 10/26/02