In addition to the campaigns, players will be able to take part in dozens of single missions, and of course there will be quick combat for those times when you just want to get into the air and have a quick dogfight. Combat Flight Sim 2 also has a free flight mode that allows players to take any of the seven aircraft up without the worry of being shot down while you're just getting the hang of flying. This is excellent for learning how to lower tail hooks, and open canopies – as well as experimenting with the plane's handling. The carrier landings can be particularly tricky, even when compared to a modern flight simulator, but then again that is probably true in real life as well.

Each aircraft has an adjustable realism setting and while a joystick is probably recommended, controls can be completely reprogrammed. In terms of actual flying, the game is utilizing Flight Simulator 2000's well-proven flight dynamics so with full realism on, CFS2 appears to be as close to the real thing as you can get without climbing into an actual Corsair! Provided that CFS2 stays on course this could be the flight simulation that sets new heights for WWII combat.

By Peter Suciu
Contributing Editor