Everyone knows that in order for a simulation game to be good it has to be realistic. The old days of a chomping head devouring symbols are gone; players are looking for an experience as close to reality as possible and technology is coming very close to giving them just that.

World War 2 games offer a special challenge to game designers. Not only must the planes, vehicles, and ships be close replicas to those used in actual combat seventy years ago, but terrain must be lifelike depictions and scenarios need to be historically based. A pretty good knowledge of World War II is a must for anyone trying to design an online combat simulation game.

World War II was a series of battles and troop movements that have become etched in our collective memories as Americans. One such battle was the Battle of the Bulge fought in the Ardennes Region from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945. Following the success at Normandy the Allied forces advanced on Germany much more quickly than thought possible. Little resistance was experienced as the Allied troops, let by Generals Montgomery and Patton, effectively moved so fast that they stretched their supply lines too thin.

The Germans, no longer concerned with defending all of Western Europe, concentrated a majority of their troops in the Ardennes Region and were convinced that a major assault could break the center of the Allied lines. What ensued was an incredibly costly series of attacks and counter-attacks that left approximately 80,000 Americans wounded or killed and about the same number of Germans. The German command could not afford those kinds of losses considering how depleted their numbers were, and after the Battle of the Bulge the war in Western Europe was effectively lost for the German cause.   Winston Churchill considered it the greatest American victory in the war and considering the effect of that victory he was probably correct in his assessment.

Combat games like Aces High bring World War 2 to life for players, allowing them to experience warfare from the safety of their computer station. The planes, ships, and vehicles are authentic in their depiction, the scenery incredible, and the feeling of flying your combat planes leaves a player with an adrenalin rush that makes you want to come back for more. If you are looking for a chomping head then keep looking; if you are looking for realism and action, then look no further than Aces High.

Warfare games, also known as military simulations, are an important part of military training and as such have played a crucial part in the history of warfare. The basic premise behind warfare or combat games is to test and refine theories of warfare without having to partake in actual hostilities.

At the most basic level it could be reasonably argued that chess is a military simulation, and certainly the Prussian game of Kriegspiel, first played around 1811, was used in training Prussian soldiers for combat and strategy. Moving forward in time to today’s modern military, war games are used extensively in training of military personnel. It is hoped that by simulating actual combat situations soldiers will learn how to react and in tandem military leaders will know what to expect and be able to adjust accordingly when games become reality in a real conflict.

Warfare games are used for other purposes too. For example, how long does it take a Corps of Engineers to construct an airfield or a bridge? How long can one reasonably expect it to take two battalions to move twenty kilometers through jungle conditions? Variables are constantly added, scenarios are constantly changed, and results recorded in order to obtain as much useful information as possible.

Critics, and there are always critics of any theoretical situation, will argue that since you are dealing with the unpredictable nature of human beings, it is impossible to predict future responses to stimuli based on past responses. In other words, simply because a soldier reacted one way to one simulation does not mean he/she will respond identically if faced with a similar situation in actual combat. Human emotions must always be considered a wild-card. Also, because actual warfare by its very nature is filled with ever-changing aspects such as weather, terrain, and opposing armies, it really is impossible to simulate that which cannot be simulated.

Warfare games are not only conducted using actual personnel; the militaries of today conduct many combat scenarios using computers, constantly changing scenarios and variables as field leaders respond to an ever-shifting battle arena.

Setting aside the pros and cons of warfare games for a second, it cannot be argued that online warfare games such as Aces High have become wildly popular. From the safety and comfort of home players from around the world can log on and test their battle and tactical skills against hundreds of other players at any time of the day or night. Just as in real combat simulations, online games offer changing variables, new scenarios, and call for split-second decision-making on the part of the gamers.

Next time you are in the mood for a challenge, leave the actual warfare to the professionals and log on to an online warfare simulation and test your mettle against the best gamers out there.

What is it about World War 2 that captivates us so? Sixty-six years after it ended we still can’t get enough information about the greatest global war of all-time. Maybe it’s because so many of us had relatives who fought in that war. Maybe it’s because WWII seemed to clearly define in our minds good vs. evil. Whatever the reason, online games like Aces High which are based in part on World War II are as popular as ever. Let’s take a look at a brief outline of the war and then discuss the online simulations a bit more.

As any school kid knows, WWII officially began September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. The war officially ended on August 15, 1945 when Japan surrendered. In-between those dates over 100 million military personnel took part in the war which spanned the world and accounted for approximately 70 million fatalities. No other war in the history of mankind even comes close to the destruction that occurred during the Second World War and hopefully we will never again witness anything like it.

The United States entered the war on December 7, 1941, the Day of Infamy, when Japan attacked the U.S. Naval Fleet in Pearl Harbor. Our participation in the Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal, the Invasion of Sicily and Normandy, and countless other battles has etched a permanent place in our minds and hearts. Stories of heroism in aerial dogfights and ground and naval attacks have been told to most of us by our grandparents, and a sense of duty and honor flows through our veins as Americans.

Online WWII games do not in any way glorify war but they do give a player some sense of what it must be like during combat. The instantaneous decisions that must be made, the strategy involved in any battle plan, the movement of support troops in an offensive, they are all available and quite realistic in any quality combat simulation. In the wildly popular online simulation game Aces High players coordinate land assault vehicles, ships, and planes in competition against gamers from around the world. The scenarios keep changing, the variables keep changing, and decisions must be made literally and figuratively on the fly during the competitions.

So what is it about World War 2 that captivates us so? Whatever it is, online combat simulations seem to reflect that captivation and fascination as players experience in their own way what combat must be like.

So what does one look for in a flight simulator? That is indeed the question someone must ask and answer when shopping around for an online flight simulation game. Without an accurate representation of what actual flying is like, all you are left with is a video game of very low standards. You can have the greatest graphics known to mankind but if the player doesn’t feel the thrill of actual flying then what’s the point?

In 1937 the RAF (Royal Air Force) standardized the panel in cockpits that would be used for at least the next twenty years. They chose six essential instruments necessary for any navigation of aircraft. Those six were:

• Airspeed indicator
• Artificial horizon
• Vertical speed indicator (rate of climb)
• Altimeter
• Directional gyro (compass)
• Turn and bank indicator (aircraft altitude)

Several of these and their functions are obvious. Some need an explanation. The artificial horizon indicator shows the aircrafts position with relation to the horizon, thus helping the pilot tell whether the wings are level and the nose of the airplane is pointed up or down. The magnetic compass, or directional gyro, was a little bit misleading at times since it always pointed towards the magnetic north, a point of reference that is constantly changing due to the shifting of the Earth’s magnetic field. To correct this problem, a heading indicator was oftentimes used to indicate true north, the Earth’s axis point.

Checking these instruments was crucial, especially during combat as quick turns made it nearly impossible to discern direction. The pilot simply had enough to worry about trying to remain alive during an aerial combat. Thus the position of these instruments was extremely important to give the pilot an easy read. Generally the instruments were positioned in the classic T arrangement and were standardized in most aircraft so that pilots could acclimate themselves quickly no matter which type of plane they were flying.

In online WWII combat games like Aces High the players strap themselves into a realistic 3-D cockpit, become familiar with the standard instrument panel, and actually feel the thrill of flying a WWII combat plane during dogfights. Remember when choosing an online game, if it doesn’t feel life-like there is no reason wasting your time and money on it. There are too many games out there like Aces High that do deliver an accurate depiction of flying so why settle for second-best?