Yesterday, Microsoft took the wraps off Combat Flight Simulator 3, which, like the original game, takes place in the European theater of World War II. The game boasts a number of improvements on the previous two Combat Flight Sims, not the least of which includes a brand-new graphics engine, which is surprising, considering that the visuals of Combat Flight Simulator 2, now nearly a year and a half old, are still some of the best to be seen in a flight sim. The 3D engine of CFS3 is now capable of maintaining the terrain's detail, even up close. This has allowed the designers at Microsoft to craft missions that involve high-speed low-altitude bombing runs by B-25 Liberators and other fighter aircraft.
Speaking of which, you can expect Combat Flight Simulator 3 to boast around 18 aircraft from the RAF, the US Army Air Force, and the Luftwaffe. And since the game takes place from 1943 until the German surrender in 1945, jet fighters will also play a role in CFS3.
In an interesting twist on the flight simulator genre, Combat Flight Simulator 3 will actually include some role-playing elements. Specifically, your pilot's physical health--like vision and tolerance to G forces--will fluctuate throughout the course of the game, depending on your actions. Additionally, an enhanced multiplayer component will let players fight together--even man different positions of the same plane--in one of several persistent servers that will simulate the air campaign of the European war, much like Kesmai's Air Warrior series did in the mid-1990s.
Combat Flight Simulator 3 is scheduled for release this fall.
News source: GameSpot
