Microsoft's latest entry into military combat flight sims is brimming with nice touches.

"The Wildcat is no match for our Zero. We can turn more tightly and climb with greater agility. Combined with an indomitable spirit, these traits make the Wildcat easy prey." So said one of my fellow Japanese pilots after a victorious dogfight over the Pacific against a squadron of Pappy Boyington wannabes.

Horrible scriptwriting aside (does anybody really talk like that?) Microsoft's latest entry into military combat flight sims is brimming with nice touches like that scuttlebutt scene. Combining stellar graphics, convincing sound, and fun game play, Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater, enables the home-based joystick pilot to easily imagine being there in the thick of it.

A few months ago I wrote a Sneak Peek of Combat Flight Simulator 2. At that time I thought Combat Flight Simulator 2 had a chance to take the lead among WWII flight sims. After playing the full game, I think Combat Flight Simulator 2 has at best pulled even with older titles like Janes' WWII Fighters and Microprose's European Air War. While it falls short of those titles in a couple of categories, it is also superior in some ways. More importantly, it's a dramatic improvement over the substandard CFS1. And it's the best simulation ever made of the air war in the Pacific Theater.

With all the titles now available on the air war in Europe (not to mention the just released B17 Flying Fortress II and the upcoming Battle of Britain) even if the game were only mediocre it would be worth getting because it represents a return to the Pacific. And the game is much better than mediocre.

But hold on, you say. What's to like about Combat Flight Simulator 2? And what's not to like about it?

For starters, the graphics are much improved over CFS1. Both the cockpit and exterior views come close to the graphics king of all flight sims, WWII Fighters. As I noted in my preview, if you zoom close you can see rivets in your fighter plane. The frame inside the cockpit (at least in the Corsair) even looks authentically worn. Thumbing the hat switch on my flight stick enabled me to look out of the cockpit over either wing, to the left rear, right rear, above my head and directly behind. If the cockpit view is too limiting, or if you want to slightly speed up your frame rate, you can make the cockpit go away by hitting a hotkey. When you do that you also provide yourself with a panoramic if less realistic view of the magnificently rendered Pacific Ocean and whatever islands you're flying over.

The exterior view of the front of your fighter does not take your breath away like it does in WWII Fighters. Missing is that older game's stunning representation of muzzle flash from your fighter's 30 mm machine guns -- wing, fuselage or engine mounted. You also don't see hundreds of empty shells spitting out of your plane and falling earthward like metal rain as you fire your guns. Planes do suffer area damage and pieces break off. Hit an enemy fighter's engine and smoke billows and trails. Again the visuals don't approach WWII Fighters' stunning fireballs. But I like the less spectacular plane explosions and smoke in Combat Flight Simulator 2. They seem more realistic, and they are significantly better than what I remember from European Air War.

The sound in Combat Flight Simulator 2 is one of its strengths. There is a ton of radio chatter (and the amount is adjustable), especially from your wingmen as they take on the enemy. If you play as the Japanese your wingmen speak Japanese. Subtitles on the top center of the screen provide English translation of all chatter.

The engine sounds in Combat Flight Simulator 2 are very good but overall less impressive than in WWII Fighters. I wasn't around in 1940s, and can't say for sure, but I imagine that the fighter planes in the Pacific Theater would sound different than their European Theater counterparts, because they were different planes. While the P38 Lightening appeared in both Theaters, the USA primarily deployed P 51 Mustangs and P 47s in Europe, while the US Navy and USMC ruled the Pacific with F4U Corsairs and F4 and F6 Wildcats.

On the Japanese side you can fly two different models of A6 Zeros and a Shiden-Kai, nicknamed the "George" by Americans. In addition to going against the other side's fighters, bombers also provide opposition. You can't fly a bomber but you can shoot at them. There are dive-bombers, torpedo bombers and heavy bombers to make short work of, if you can. Going after a squadron of bombers is a thrilling but dangerous experience. Bombers are bigger and less maneuverable than fighters but they shoot back, sometimes from rear-mounted turrets, and you will expend a lot of ammunition sending one (especially a heavy bomber) to Davey Jones' Locker.

Game play in Combat Flight Simulator 2 doesn't provide anything original, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. You can fly around without worrying about who might be on your six in Free Flight, or jump into action by selecting Quick Combat, Single Mission, Campaign, Training Missions or Multiplayer. The single missions and campaign allow you to relive (refight?) historical battles like Wake Island (two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor), the Battle of Midway (1942) and the Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-1943).

If history doesn't turn you on try Multiplayer. Almost any night there are well over a hundred Joe Foss or Hiroshi Nishizawa wannabes on Zone.com. I've participated in some outstanding air battles against complete strangers over the Internet. Be forewarned: most Internet aces prefer their air combat at the highest difficulty levels. That means you'd better learn how to fly Combat Flight Simulator 2's most realistic flight model if you want to be competitive online. Newbies and gamers who prefer relaxed flight models with no blackout or other g-force penalties get slaughtered by guys who do Immelman turns like the electrifying American ace, Richard Bong (Bong rang up more victories than any other American flyer in WWII before dying at the age of 25).

Of course, you can always host your own room on the Zone and set it up for Newbies only. Trust me. No hardcore flyer will remain in a "casual" room any longer than it takes to discover that the flight model is not set on the highest level. But they will express their disgust before they exit.

One major issue that I have with this game is the weak AI, especially your own wingmen. Man, they're lousy flyers. Too many of them crash into the ground and for no good reason. When you give them orders some reply that they can't comply but there is no logical reason why they can't. They're not out of ammunition, because the mission just started. They're not out of range, because they're still in formation. They just sort of cruise around in back of you waiting for one of the enemy pilots to shoot them down and then say: "I'm going down!". So inept are your wingbuddies that after flying a dozen missions don't be surprised if they have only one or two kills among them while you have twenty or more all by yourself.

The flight model in Combat Flight Simulator 2 can be adjusted to suit your skill level. Regardless of your preferred difficulty level stalls occur more frequently, seem easier to create, and are tougher to pull out of than in WWII Fighters. However, it does not approach the difficulty level of the Korean War flight sim, Mig Alley Ace.

Force feedback is another option. My force enabled flight stick rattled and shook whenever I fired my machine guns. However, my stick did not seem to react when I crashed, which was one of the most exciting force-effect features of WWII Fighters.

Combat Flight Simulator 2 does have some nice touches that the older titles lack. As I noted in my preview you can set up a mission in almost any kind of weather. I say almost any kind because it doesn't snow in the Pacific. At least it didn't in the war's combat theater of operations. You can decide to fly your missions in thunderstorms, complete with extraordinarily dark daytime skies, rain and lightening.

Microsoft got really innovative with the bailout feature. Hit the bailout key and not only will you see your pilot pull back his plane's canopy and jump out, but you have to make a separate move to open his parachute. I was stunned to discover the parachute doesn't open automatically. My virtual pilot started screaming -- a blood-chilling death scream. That was a clue that I had to open the parachute, too. But when I hit the key I got a message telling me that it was too late. So my pilot screamed one more time before the ground broke his fall. This was gruesome but original.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Combat Flight Simulator 2 and previous WWII combat flight sims is the Pacific Theater itself. This was a naval war, so most fighters were Navy fighters, and that meant aircraft carriers. If you thought landing a modern jet on a modern aircraft carrier was hard, try landing one of these relatively rickety propeller-driven fighters on the tiny deck of a rocking, dipping WWII aircraft carrier. Personally, I've found it to be much more difficult. A landing signal officer (LSO) will appear on the screen to help you when you get close to the carrier. He'll signal you by waving a pair of paddles, letting you know if you're coming in too high or too low, or too fast or too slow. If you're really struggling he may wave you off, which means you have to gun the engine and try to not touch down. Then you have to come around and try again. Of course, if you're not into struggling, you can simply let the computer take over.

The richest part of Combat Flight Simulator 2, in my opinion, is the opportunity to take a pilot through a career by flying a campaign. I flew the Japanese Campaign, and did my best for Japan and the Emperor. From time to time I was rewarded with medals and other recognition for my bravery and skill in defeating my country's enemy. This is where the immersion factor becomes complete and raises Combat Flight Simulator 2 above the more graphically impressive but fun WWII Fighters.

Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater is a brand new game when compared to the original CFS and the true descendent of Dynamix' excellent old DOS game, Aces of The Pacific.

Reviewed by Walter Hurdle, PC Gameworld.