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1C/Maddox Games gave flight simulation players a meaty World War II game a couple years back, and in an era where you don't expect to see a lot of flight simulation releases, it's been a boon. After spending the game's release and several expansion packs on the Eastern Front fighting with the Russians, Germans, and a smattering of obscure players like the Finnish, the IL-2 Sturmovik series turns its sights on the popular Pacific Theater.
 The Pacific has been good for simulations on the PC. One of the first flight simulations from this arena was the Dynamix classic Aces of the Pacific. It would be followed by Microprose's 1942 Pacific Air War, both titles remembered fondly by sim nuts. Microsoft revived the subject with Combat Flight Simulator 2 a few years back. Pacific Fighters thus joins a storied crew, and it is arguably the best of the bunch. True, it has the most modern technology behind it, but it's hard to deny the outstanding graphics and authenticity of the IL-2 Sturmovik series. It's also hard to deny the value Pacific Fighters offers. There are several dynamic campaigns to play, including stints with the United States, Japanese, British, and Australian forces. There is the usual nice selection of aircraft to fly, although there are some like the TBF Avenger that aren't flyable but may appear in future patches. Along with the mission builder utility and multiplayer support, there's a lot to do in this game.  Yet, Pacific Fighters still suffers from some of the flaws present in its ancestors. The artificial intelligence is schizophrenic and alternates between being a great dogfighter and poor navigator. The sim's personality is a bit subdued after the electrifying WWII action adventures you can see in Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, and there are several other small bugs that can annoy you. But the developers have always been very good about supporting IL-2 Sturmovik with patches that include fixes and new content, and it seems likely that will continue to be the case. Although there are improvements to be made still in this solid title, it represents the best WWII flight simulation available, and hopefully 1C\Maddox Games can keep the product rolling. 
The Sturmoviks have always been high on realism, so they make great educational sandboxes for minds interested in history. It would be even better if there were more of the canned historical single missions to play, complete with the historical notes that earlier series titles had. If you already have a previous IL-2 Sturmovik game, though, and you've found it too deep or complicated to be approachable to your children, then Pacific Fighters won't change that unless the Pacific Theater captures their imagination. My kids loved watching me play, but when I handed them the controls they could not keep planes in the air long because they didn't understand the mechanics of flying. It was rather rewarding for me as a parent, however, to be able to see my son (age 5) take my instruction and progressively get better at flying. Keep in mind too that the game isn't bashful about warfare and gunplay, though as with most vehicle simulations, it's abstracted enough that you don't see gore. This is likely a title that's better in the long haul for gamerdads, and it is perhaps the best title from this past holiday season for the simulation fan.
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