Spectrum Holobyte will soon add a third package to its "Gold" family of flight sims. Joining Falcon Gold and Fleet Defender Gold will be 1942: The Pacific Air War Gold. All three follow a winning recipe. First, take a successful Flight Sim. Stir in all the existing updates, patches, and assorted add-ons. Mix it with several new features, and throw it into a CD-ROM burner to bake. Finally, just sit back and wait for the accolades to arrive.
1942: PAW Gold will be no different then it's predecessors. It will include the original game plus the multimedia and scenario upgrades. The scenario includes three new U.S. and two new Japanese aircraft types plus, new land based missions. The multimedia addition will consist of an interactive battle map section that lets you recreate the decisive engagements of the Pacific campaign running forward or backwards to dissect and analyze the strategies of both the U.S. and Japanese forces. There is also an interactive guide to ships, aircraft and commanders of the Pacific theater. Microprose has added basic and advanced flight instruction that includes actual W.W.II air combat training footage, as well as actual instructor audio introducing onboard instrumentation and controls.
The original 1942: PAW takes place from December 1941 until the war's end. As a Naval Commander, you can control your fleet through a strategic interface that allows you to jump into any aircraft you command for an important attack, or fleet defense, and then jump back into the role of Naval Commander to finish the battle. You may do this as often as you like until your campaign decisions and combat performance have decided the outcome. You may also decide to choose a career as an American, or Japanese Army, or Navy pilot. This scenario will ask you to start flying in one of several divisions, and then through your efforts, work into other aircraft until either the war or your career has ended.
The 1942: PAW Mission Builder allows you to design your own fantasy missions, edit an existing one, or create a historical battle not included with the sim. This Mission Builder was one of the tools that original game designers used to generate the many missions that come with the game.
Modem play has also found its way into 1942: PAW Gold. The head to head connection allows for fierce one-on-one combat, or you can fly on the same side to achieve victory. You can choose from the 200 pre-designed missions that are available, or use the Mission Builder to edit and create your own modem mayhem.
Among 1942: PAW Gold's most impressive features is its virtual cockpit view. This view scrolls according to the players direction instead of jumping between several predetermined viewing angles. From here you can padlock an enemy and never lose track of his position relative to your aircraft. You now have one of the most authentic views in any flight sim available.
Microprose has given you an option to fly in realistic, and non realistic flight modes. The difference between realistic and non realistic flight modes is significant. Microprose decided to combine all the realistic and potentially irritating problems that a pilot faces into this category. The casual gamer can focus on the more "fun" elements, while the "purist" can select this mode to experience a more accurate simulation of air combat. In realistic mode, for example:
* Engine torque will effect flight.
* Planes will shake and break apart if flown too fast.
* Engines will overheat and burn up if kept at max power.
* Torpedoes will fail if dropped at too high a speed or altitude.
* Arrester cables will be limited to the rear 1/3 of carrier.
With the added aircraft, realistic flight improvements, new scenarios, head-to-head modem play, interactive multimedia, and some of the industry's best 3-D, textured, Gouraud-shaded graphics, Microprose has taken a proven winner, and just made it better.
