Avoid it unless...
Pros:
Great concept - really wets your appetite
Cons:
Had problems, but I am taking a second look
The Bottom Line:
I changed my initial review and I am thinking this might be a fun games now that some fixes were installed
|
|
Overall Rating:
|
 |
|
Author's Review
UPDATE:
I wrote this review and started getting curious as to whether a fix had been released that would solve my problems. To my surprise there was a fix - not from Microsoft but from AMD. It seems the main problem I was having, image stuttering, was being caused by the dual core processor in my system not the video card!! I downloaded and installed the dual core optimizer program from AMD and PRESTO problem solved!!! I am now in the process of taking a second look at the software. So far it has been fun.
Features
* Combat Flight Simulator 3 is the most detailed and immersive World War II PC combat flight simulation ever, letting you experience what it is really like to be a WWII combat pilot over Europe.
* Set in Europe from 1943 to the end of the war, players can enlist and fly for the US Army Air Force, the RAF, or the Luftwaffe. With an emphasis on tactical air power, many of your missions will focus on Air Superiority, Close Air Support, and Tactical Bombing.
* Feel the heart pounding rush of strafing enemy positions at 350 mph, 600 feet above the European countryside, guns blazing and bombs blasting, its As Real As it Gets!
* Highly detailed ground attack targets and European scenery, clearly visible at 200-foot flying levels; fast, responsive low-altitude action; enhanced weather graphics and effects.
OK enough of the Microsoft hype…
My Experience with Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3 - CFS3
As a long time user of the Microsoft Flight Simulator (I go back to the pre Microsoft days when I used it on an Commodore 64), I was so excited when I purchased this game. But that quickly changed. The first problem was with the graphics card that I was using which CFS3 just did not like. I put it aside until I was able to buy and install a better graphics card which worked but... the graphics were slow and choppy!! And so the software sat until last year when I bought a new computer – a real gaming machine. I was really, really excited about installing CFS3 especially since my new machine was generations ahead of the machine that were around when CFS3 was released. Once again, I was in for a huge disappointment. The simulator refused to play nice with my NVIDEA graphics card and it appears there is no solution to the problem.
I am just totally baffled as to how a company could produce such a wonderful flight simulator such as Flight Simulator 2004 and not be able to get something like this right.
Years after its release, Microsoft -, knowing all the problems has done nothing to turn this into the first rate software it should have been. And a large share of the poor consumers who bought it have been left high, dry, and very, very disappointed.
