At its best, Heroes of the Pacific makes players feel like they are in the middle of a Star Wars film, better than any game based on that galaxy far, far away. Setting up a torpedo attack on a mammoth battleship comes with the same sense of tension as a trench run on the Death Star, and seeing upwards of 150 planes swarming around a friendly aircraft carrier is an exhilarating reminder of the Battle of Endor.
As great as these moments are, and they truly are spectacular, they are weighted down by the recon flights and bomber missions that make up the remainder of the game. To understand why, do a Google search for a PBY Catalina. Yeah, it handles in game about as well as imagined. I get that there needs to be breaks between fighter sorties to keep players from burning out on them, but that is no excuse for the rest of the gameplay to fall as flat as it does.
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