Graphics
Although Warbirds has a long history, the graphics engine has been faithfully upgraded to the extent that it remains visually satisfying. Plane models look good, explode nicely, and can have a wing or some other part blown off in combat. As is often the case in flight simulators, there's not much for ground detail. Lighting, water, particle, and damage effects certainly aren't on the bleeding-edge of pixel-shaded wonderment, but when the tracers from the fighter behind you are whipping past your head, that will likely be the last thing on your mind. In fact, if the game implemented all the latest eye candy, chances are you'd be turning it down for better performance anyway. Clearly the priority here was smooth online play, and it seems to have worked. On my DSL connection Warbirds 2004 has had minimal lag considering there have been 100 or more players in the game at times.
My biggest complaint about the graphics is that the interface, while functional, looks dated and is somewhat awkward to use. There are a wealth of options and adjustments you can make to facilitate your gameplay, but you won't always find them in the most intuitive places, and you sometimes have to resort to typing obscure dot commands into the chat line.
Learning to Fly
Ever since Battlefield 1942 became a hit, developers have gone to great lengths to integrate some sort of vehicular warfare into their first-person shooters. While there is something to be said for these games, it certainly doesn't feel like a bomb run when you can't fly in a straight line for more than two minutes without getting an "out of bounds" warning. Anyone accustomed to the flight, tank, and submarine simulators of old will notice that the vehicles in recent shooters are, at best, weak approximations of the real thing. They are easy to operate, but they have done away with all the intricasies and subtleties of the complex simulation games that made landing a plane a difficult task, and induced many of us to buy our first joystick.
Warbirds 2004, on the other hand, continues to take its flight model seriously. You have complete control over everything from landing gear to ailerons. The gauges in the cockpit (if the plane had any) are fully functional, and you must work within the structural limitations of of the aircraft you're flying. G-forces are likewise taken into account, causing you to blackout if you make a sharp turn at too high a speed.
There are several barriers to getting involved in a game like this. Although you can play with a mouse, a joystick is pretty much essential, and if you can afford a deluxe model with pedals, so much the better. The flight simulation in Warbirds is unapologetically realistic, and the learning curve is unapologetically steep. Those of you with a lot of flight simulator experience you will find Warbirds easy to adapt to. However, if you're new to flying WWII aircraft, expect to spend considerable time reading the manual and working on the basics. Warbirds also has a single-player component, which gives you a chance to get used to the wide variety of aircraft available before going online, where the competition is, naturally, merciless.
The developers and players alike are keenly aware of the game's sharp learning curve, and they should be commended for going to incredible lengths to help newbies become worthy pilots. Not only are there a full compliment of training missions you can fly offline, there are online training arenas where you can get flight lessons from a real person.
Another barrier is the monthly fee for online play. When it first arrived on the scene, Warbirds was among the most expensive online games available, but the price has gradually come down and you can now play for about the same monthly fee that most MMORPGs charge. Better still, the client is available as a free download and includes two weeks of free game time.
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