Summary

Had played CFS2 for some time and was looking forward to CFS3 after hearing all the hype on it. It has been on of the biggest disappointments in a game ever. I would love to have my money back to put it into something I will play. I will probably be mothballing this game soon, no need to take up good space in computer. I keep trying to find something positive to say about this game but just can't find much of a plus anywhere.

Sound

Even cannot say much good about sound. Engine sounds are ho hum at the best (bombers do sound a little more impressive than fighter planes) and the gun sounds, where do they come from???? Even most of the explosion sounds are far below the quality of CFS2.

Gameplay

Difficult to really determine just what you are to accomplish and when to feel goals are completed except for flag coming up saying about briefing. Aircraft handling is poor, nothing like CFS2, cockpit detail is dull, hard to read gauges etc. Game is very boring to play as you spend most of your time firing at where you think the bogey should be. The views out of the cockpit are terrible.

Summary

When I saw this at London Drugs for a mere $7, when there were still copies on the shelf at $68 (someone was asleep at the price gun!), how could I say no? I have had great fun with CFS1 & 2, and I thought the quality of the series could only improve. What I wound up with was a game, that although superb value for the money, was a mish-mash of trade offs and compromises that, unless you're a die hard fan of filght sims in general (I've played sims from back in the day of Apple ][+ through the much missed and lamented 1942: Pacific Air War), could be hard to forgive at first glance.In the CFS family, however, this is a mediocre release in comparison with it's bretheren.

Sound

Sound is average. It does NOT translat well into a 4-speaker surround sound set up, the outside speakers giving a monotonous, constant drone. Even other planes passing you by a hair's bredth are overlooked by the sound department. from which direction shots come at you are ill defined with this set up and I find that such things were much, MUCH better in CFS2. Wha' hoppen?

Gameplay

Installation is the first stop, of course. It was smooth and trouble free. One thing I have learned with MS products of ANY kind, is that before you even think of playing, check for patches FIRST. This done, into the game I went. The selection process is very smooth and easy to navigate, letting you get airborne quickly, but the differences in keyboard command between CFS 1&2 through 3 take some getting used to. As mentioned in the graphics segment, it can be hard to lead your targets with the clunky cockpit graphics (P-47D anyone?). Speaking of which, it is SO MUCH HARDER to lead and hit targets with deflection shooting in CFS3, it's almost like the object parameters change as you fire (that's the *feeling* anyway). Constantly firing at a bogey on the tail of your bomber and feeling like you're hitting nothing but air is very frustrating. The warp feature is another sore point with me. It doesn't have the cinematic polish of 1 or 2, you just sit thee while the graphics blur by, sometimes putting surface ships and the like in the clouds with you. However, if you've handled *truly* bad sims, like Origin's Strike Commander or Eagle's Saber Ace: Conflict over Korea, this game is very tolerable and you find yourself very forgiving of it's faults. I even overlook the monotonous land detail, because after all, I'm there to fly, not look at the pretty ground ;-) The game does what it's supposed to. That is to say it does everything, but does no one thing well.