Once CFS3 players have selected a career path (fighter or bomber) and a nationality (American, English, or German), the campaign gives them the ability to choose their own missions in the front line sectors. The most dramatic of the changes is the game's addition of a brand-new campaign engine. This effort required a considerable split from the past trend of incremental updates to the core Flight Simulator engine, however, and swapping blocks of the foundation around appears to have left it shaky. The latest installment in the CFS series is clearly attempting to address the shortcomings of its predecessors. Only the developers know for certain, but CFS3 looks like a case of well-intentioned ambition that couldn't be harnessed by the ship date. Microsoft certainly makes some changes that move the franchise in the right direction, but the results at this point are disappointing, and CFS3 actually falls below standards set by previous series titles. With the improvements seen in Flight Simulator 2002 and the knowledge that CFS3 would feature a new campaign system, simulation followers were hoping that Microsoft would give the genre a nice boost. The creators behind the title knew the series lagged the competition in areas of dynamic campaigns, multiplayer versatility, artificial intelligence, and cutting-edge graphics. Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator 3 (CFS3) is a mix of good intentions and surprising missteps. Multiplayer games are supported over the Internet or a local network, allowing both head-to-head dogfights and cooperative missions. A customizable graphics engine is designed to produce smooth graphics in great detail. Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3 offers 18 flyable craft, including bombers and early jet fighter models. Great success - or unexpected failure - can change the course of events, leading to an alternate history determined by the player's decisions and actions. The game features a flexible storyline that develops according to players' progress. The game's mission structure is designed on the tactical campaigns that vied for superiority in the sky through later stages of World War II. No matter the force for which they fly, pilots will face enemy planes in the sky and anti-aircraft fire from below. Army Air Force, the Imperial Japanese Navy, or Germany's Luftwaffe, in demanding missions above the battlefields of a war-weary 1943 Europe. Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3 allows virtual pilots to fly for the Royal Air Force, the U.S.

As with past editions over the years, Microsoft follows the latest version of its genre-dominating Flight Simulator with the release of a more action-oriented combat flight sim.

Old combat flight simulator 2 squadrons