GAME: "HEROES OF THE PACIFIC"

Console: PlayStation 2 (also available for Xbox, PC)

Developer/publisher: IR Gurus/Ubisoft

Genre: Flight simulation

Number of players: One to two; eight online

ESRB: Teen

Premise: In 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy had taken large amounts of territory throughout Asia. Its next target was the Pacific Ocean. Adm. Yamamoto, the country's finest strategist, launched a massive attack on Pearl Harbor in hopes of crippling the U.S. Navy's presence and allowing Japan to take over Australia, Southeast Asia and island chains in the southern Pacific.

You are Lt. William Crowe, a pilot fresh out of flight school, thrown into the thick of battle between two World War II powers. It's your duty to prevent massive destruction on Pacific shores.

Game play: Right from the get-go, every bit of text and graphics is straight from the 1940s, complete with black lines on screen to simulate scratches on film reels. This gives the game a nostalgic feel and is a step up from other wartime games that over-modernize their menus.

The game is pretty standard stuff. Aviation purists will not like the arcade feel of the controls, but for the regular gamer it should be easy to pick up, especially if you've played other flight-sim titles.

There are lots of modes to choose from. In Campaign mode, you follow Crowe's story and will go through numerous battles similar to those in the actual war. There's also Instant Action, which is you against an enemy plane until one of you is shot down. Historical battles can be unlocked and are even closer to the real-life situations that took place in our ocean. To learn the ropes before jumping into battle, a training mode is available, including a screaming military authority figure.

The good/bad: The air-to-ground combat is very well done, as is campaign mode, which is a satisfying length if you enjoy this game. Loads of unlockable planes are available for you to win. An interesting feature is in campaign mode, where if you go back to play previous missions, you can play as Japanese pilots and fight Americans.

However, there's nothing extraordinary about this game, nothing to make you say "Wow!" instead of "Well, I've seen this in (insert previous flight game title)."

Tips: Press L1, R2, L2, R3, R1, L3 to unlock the cheat menu, but keep in mind that activating cheats will disable autosave and prevent you from saving your progress.

My take: "Heroes of the Pacific" is a solid, fun title that History Channel fanatics will enjoy playing. However, without a "wow" factor and with many better flight games on the shelves, I don't see this becoming a big hit. Purchase only if you really like it; if not, a rental will suffice.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College and editor of the college's newspaper, Ka 'Ohana.

Have a CD or video game you want to review? Reach TGIF editor Debra Yuen at dyuen@honoluluadvertiser.com.