BùAøTTLEHùAøWKS U.S. GOLD ($49.95) Battle Hawks 1942, attempts to re-enact the Pacific battles which raged between the in  vading Japanese and United States naval forces. At the dawn of 1942 the Japanese navy dominated the Pacific and perpetrated a series of stunning victories, including the sinking of five battleshiups of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. As the Japanese increased their Pacific territory, U.S. forces were forced to retaliate after Pearl Harbour, but the devastating attack on the fleet and a squadron of antiquated Brewster fighter planes, unof  ficially nicknamed 'flying coffins', as well as Vindicators, or 'Vibrator' to the crew, they could do little to thwart the might of the Japanese. Battle Hawks simulates the four epic naval clashes of 1942 which would deter  mine the turning point of the war: the Battle of the Coral Sea; Midway; Eastern Solomons; and finally, Santa Cruz, Admiral Yamamato's Waterloo. þBefore clambering into the cockpit there are decisions to be made, such as, aircraft weaponry configuration and mission selection. The screen shows a Wildcat on the deck of a carrier with a menu where you can arm the training and five active duty missions. Historically, the first Pacific battle was the Coral Sea, 'a duel of the flat-tops' the first time a naval battle was fought entirely with air power. Although the U.S. fleet lost more ships, a Japanese invasion was pre vented. In the battle of the Coral Sea you can choose which side to fight on. For the U.S. you can pilot a dauntless from U.S. Lexington and dive- bomb the Shoho car  rier, scramble into an F4F Wildcat in an at  tack on the Shokaku or defend Lexington or Yorktown against a dive bomb attack. The alternative is to turncoat and fly a Japanese Zero fighter to intercept the U.S. attack or dive-bomb Yorktown or Lexington in a Val bomber. þPatriotism overcame curiosity and I found myself at altitude in the cramped cockpit of a Dauntless in a dive-bomb attack on the already damaged and burning carrier, Shoho. There is no takeoff procedure and you are literally hurled into conflict. The conventional cockpit instrumentation comprises, an altimeter, compass, pitch/bank and climb/dive indicators as well as airspeed and RPM gauges. The mouse simulates the yoke with back and forth movements raising and lower  ing the nose and left adn right for banking the aircraft. Weaponry consists of fore and rear- mounted machine guns and a single warhead. 10,000 feet below, the Shoho burns and smokes like a giant flare on the water and your squadron leader suddenly drops like a hawk to dive-bomb the stricken ship. With the smoke billowing like a guiding beacon, pushing the mouse/yoke forwards sends the plane into a dive. The Shoho explodes into flames, but miraculously a survivor mans the great guns sending a volley of fire thumping into the fuselage. At 7000 feet and in a 70% dive, there's no pulling out, and tapping the 'F' key opens the dive flaps to speed up your descent. The aircraft sustains more hits, and at 2000 feet clicking the right-hand mouse button releases the warhead. Quickly pulling back on the mouse sends the battle-torn Dauntless into a faltering ascent and the spluttering engine warns of imminent stall. Tapping the '2' key reveals a rear view as the single bomb smashes into the Shoho. Suddenly, the Dauntless begins to spiral down ... sky ... sea ... sky ... sea. Quickly pressing the 'J' key, you clear the cockpit and parachute to safety. þThe most famous Pacific conflict was un  doubtedly Midway and for this there are seven scenarios, although I felt compelled to defend Yorktown from the yellow navy. The U.S. flagship has suf  fered a disabling Val attack and a follow-up assault from Kate torpedo bombers will sink her. Piloting a Wildcat, the task is to intercept the attack and pick off the Kates. Yorktown lies smoking below and a pack of Vals darken the horizon. The Wildcat is fast if a little cumber  some, but far less vulnerable to stall. The best tactic is to climb above the enemy, use the speed of descent to attack and retreat and then repeat the manoeuvre. The Japanese squadron is massive, and historically the valiant Wildcats were defeated and Yorktown was sunk- this is your chance to rewrite history. '''Do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give the signal.' Reassuring words from General Eisenhower on the eve of the Battle of Santa Cruz, (Oct 26-27 1942)'' I'm still rather undecided about Battlehawks. It is neither a dedicated flight simulation, inthe mould of Gunship or Falcon, nor is it a straightforward shoot'em-up. The closest thing that I can com  pare Battlehawks with is Night Raider. The game's presentation is exceptional, the numerous options are easily selected and the gameplay both challenging and ex  citing. The sound is adequate, con  sisting, for the most part, of the engine's low hum. The graphics whilst being a little blocky, move nicely and create a good impression. Overall, Battlehawks is most definitely a good game, one with which the player will become more adept the more he plays. Although it takes a while to initialize the program, thanks to ages of un  neccesary disk-swapping, Bat  tlehawks is a playable little game. I think the thing I liked was that, not only could you tackle difficult mis  sions, but you don't have to worry about silly things like running out of ammo, thanks to the game's many op  tions. The graphics are chunky but effective, and the sound is the typical droning noise that accompanies this style of game. If you want a flight sim that doesn't require too much think  ing, I recommend you take a look at this. It won't appeal to fans of Mirrorsoft's state-of-the-art Falcon, but it do nicely for a simpleton like me. Battlehawks is an aircraft simulation of sorts, but the emphasis is very much placed on out'n'out assault and shoot'em-up rather than painstaking simulation. Perhaps this because the aircraft in question were basic and there was literally no time to waggle flaps and check wind speed. But the game doesn't suffer for its lack of flight protocol and can be best described as a fringe simulation with non-stop action - the sort of game that ol' blood 'n' guts', General Patton, would have approved of. I particularly like the chance of experiencing the war from both sides. My only criticism is the lack of variety in game-play. Piloting a Dauntless you take off from Yorktown and head towards the already damaged Japanese carrier Shoho - objective to sink her. At 12000 feet, you see smoke billowing from Shoho like a giant beacon. Pushing forward on the yoke, the Dauntless goes into a rapid dive. 10,000 ... 9,000 ... 8,000 - miraculously, a survivor mans the Shoho's guns and shells thud into the Dauntless fuselage. A click of the right-hand mouse button drops the warhead and pulling back on the yoke takes the aircraft into a climb.