1942: The Pacific Air War

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Description

1942: The Pacific Air War is a flight simulation set in World War II, more specific the Pacific War between Japan and the United States.

The focus is on the realistic simulation of the ten aircraft, this means for instance that there is no indicator for ammo. The game features several missions which can be either played independently from each other or in two campaigns for the United States or Japan. The goals are mostly to liberate an area, to defend an area or to destroy a specific target.

The special feature of this game is that it also can be played as strategy game. On an overhead map the player gets presented with the position of all aircraft and he can order his troops around. The player can take control over every aircraft he wishes to and switch between both modes instantly. He can also record his performance and cut small movies with different camera angles out of them.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "PAW" -- Common abbreviation
• "1942太平洋空戰" -- Chinese spelling (traditional)

Part of the Following Groups

• 1942: The Pacific Air War series
• Aircraft: A6M Zero
• Aircraft: F4F Wildcat
• Aircraft: F4U Corsair
• Aircraft: F6F Hellcat
• Aircraft: SBD Dauntless
• Aircraft: TBF Avenger
• Gameplay feature: Recordable replays
• Historical conflict: World War II
• Setting: Australian / Oceanian

User Reviews

For the more serious simulator fan, an enjoyable tour of duty in the skies over the Pacific Theatre	DOS	Ray Soderlund (3609)
A sense of authenticity that's rare to this day	DOS	Mike Kew (7)

Critic Reviews

PC Gamer	DOS	May, 1994	95 out of 100	95
PC Gamer UK	DOS	Jun, 1994	93 out of 100	93
Génération 4	DOS	Jun, 1994	88 out of 100	88
Play Time	DOS	Apr, 1994	85 out of 100	85
PC Player (Germany)	DOS	Mar, 1995	81 out of 100	81
Power Play	DOS	Apr, 1994	81 out of 100	81
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	DOS	Aug, 1994		80
PC Joker	DOS	Apr, 1994	79 out of 100	79
Gameplay (Benelux)	DOS	Aug 12, 1994	72 out of 100	72
MikroBitti	DOS	Sep, 1994	70 out of 100	70

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Trivia

AI

The AI in the game actually gives "stick and rudder" commands to each of the planes it controls. You can see the ailerons, elevators, and rudders move realistically.

Extras

1942: The Pacific Space War comes with a Pilot Handbook which, in turn, contains a magnificent historical overview of World War II.

Gameplay

Technically, it is NOT necessary for you to fly the planes personally. The game has a full strategic engine that can simulate all conflicts. You could just click on the carrier(s) and issue orders like arm for strike and things like that.


Information also contributed by Kasey Chang