Chocks away!
Warbirds' main attraction when it was originally released was its online mode, where you could battle other wannabe pilots, but it's likely to be tricky to find many opponents these days. You're therefore stuck with the offline mode which is still quite enjoyable but more restricted, and which means this becomes a very specialist experience. In essence, it's a World War II flight simulator but one which does away with the campaign settings of games like The Pacific Air War Scenario and which instead focuses mostly on dogfighting. You can start out by taking on some training missions to get used to the flight model and the way your planes handle, and which will see you taking on a variety of ground and air targets, all of which are modeled on things from the real historical period. Perhaps the game's biggest draw is the fifty planes on offer, ranging from fighters to bombers and covering the whole gamut of real world craft. They're all lovingly recreated, with accurate physics, and even if you're an expert pilot, this one is going to take some time to master, and it is very complex. As far as pure dogfighting simulators go, this one is a pretty fine bet. Even in the offline mode, there's a lot of fun to be had from taking down computer controlled enemies, and the sheer amount of planes to try out is enough to keep you going for a long time. The game is certainly challenging, so complete noobs might want to look at Afterburner if they just want intense air-based combat but without too much complexity, but if you're a real plane buff, then this is worth a look.
