Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe

"Historical Combat in Your Home"

Combat Flight Simulator 3 is now out for all of us to enjoy, but will we really actually enjoy it?

A little back ground on why I picked this game up:

By accident, I grabbed Grand Theft Auto III for the computer. Why? Because it was Electronic Boutique's fault. The box said ''Vice City'' with a sticker ''New Release!'' WRONG. So, I returned it a day later, with a piece of my mind (though I was not rude about it) and grabbed this game because I love dog fighting games.

I'm also running this game on a 2.26GHrz, 256MB GeForce 4, 512MB ram, 80GB hard drive.

Graphics
Absolutely beautiful and detailed. While the terrain might not be very impressive, the tanks, the planes, and the other items in the game are highly realistic looking. Bullet holes even stay in the planes you have hit. Don't expect to have the graphics listed on the box if you don't have a great computer, though.

Sound
The planes sound like they should with the deep bass rumbling through your speakers. I don't have any complaints here.

Control
ARGH! Is this supposed to control like an Atari game or something? The control with the keyboard is f*cking HORRIBLE! Unless you're using a joystick, don't even pick this game up. In all honesty, this game is UNPLAYABLE without one.
Now, what happens when you DO have a joystick? Don't expect to have any greater control. For some reason Microsoft decided it would be great that if you start to bank left and then bring your joystick to center...you keep turning rather than begin to straighten out. I've been in an F/A-18 Hornet Combat Simulator on the Air Force Base and I can tell you that it doesn't happen this way. But in this game you have to push your joystick all the way to the other side just to begin to straighten out and then back to the other side, and so on just to get level. ARRRRRRRRGH! This is what makes it IMPOSSIBLE to play with the keyboard!!!!!
More times than not you'll find yourself spinning out of control, blacking out and slamming into the ground before you can jump out of the plane...and if you're over a combat zone you'll be riddled with bullets before you reach the ground. However, that is kind of funny.

Features
There's plenty of features to keep you interested. You can dress up your plane with different colors and stickers. This allows you to mimic your favorite WWII pilot's scheme down to the last brush stroke.
There's a bit of RPG element involved as well! Completing missions with high marks gets you experience points you can use to customize your pilot. Everything from distance perception to health, which you'll need if you're shot while in the plane, can be filled with the experience points you aquire.
If you are able to pull off certain amount of kills you get medals that decorate yourself with as well. It's always nice to have some kind of award system for blasting down 12 dirty stinking Nazi's in a single mission.
Your wing men are not just there to be shot down every five seconds, either. Your battle buddies actual shoot down enemies rather well and they, too, gain experience the better the missions go, making them all around better. It's just keeping them alive through some of the missions that's a bitch!

Overall
Unless you're an avid combat buff, stay away from this game. The high system requirements will bog down a 1.6GHrz to unplayable levels even on the lowest system setting. Annoying controls will have you throwing your joystick, if not your keyboard, within minutes. I may be returning this game today, if EBQ lets me, as I returned GTAIII for this game and I've only owned it for 24 hours. I hate losing money.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/15/02, Updated 11/15/02