This game can be pretty realistic!
User Rating: 8.8 | Heroes of the Pacific XBOX
I'm not an avid combat sim gamer, but I definitely enjoy a good WW2 combat sim every now and again. I've played Heroes of the Pacific and Secret Weapons over Normandy and Heroes is definitely a much funner, enjoyable gaming experience. You have the option of Arcade or professional controls, and I immediately chose the professional controls. With the professional controls you have a lot more options as far as maneuvering, and with the added difficulty, the professional controls add an element of realism because it takes some practice and developed skill to be any good at lining up targets. But if you're willing to take an hour or so to get comfortable with the controls, it's totally worth it because I feel like I'm getting a more authentic experience. On the other hand, the game controls can be extremely simple and easy to use if realism is not what you're after. It's worth mentioning that enemy planes can take a fair amount of punishment depending on what type of plane it is. What I'm getting at is that this is not the type of flight sim where it takes three shots to shoot down an enemy plane. In my opinion, the number of hits it required to shoot down most enemy planes is faily realistic. On the downside, this game still has some of the ridiculous aspects of Secret Weapons over Normandy that I totally despise. World War 2 prop planes did NOT carry rockets or missiles or anything like that. The graphics are actually pretty good. The plane models are sleek and shiny, the water is blue and pretty. What more do you want. The sound is pretty good. I don't have surround so this is one area I don't pay much attention to. This game is a great value, especially for how cheap you can find it these days ($15 or so). I haven't explored xbox live yet, and I doubt anyone is still there, but I'd bet that it's fun. Split screen is also an option which I have yet to test. But if you want a good historical combat sim for xbox, Heroes of the Pacific is, in my opinion, your best option.
