his question was this, "Beo, ole chap, i know you've flown near every flight sim on the market, and tested a few that NEVER made it...so you know your way around those sort of sims... tell me, what's the bum deal with IL2?"
"what bum deal are you speaking of?" i asked. "IL2 is the most advanced WW2 combat flight sim of all time... do you mean not having more U.S. planes in the PTO?"
"no, no---not that, Beo!" he threw back at me. "that "may" be a bum deal but it's not THE bum deal with the game..."
"then what?" i asked again.
"well," he answered after a moment, "it's this. you know that CFS---the original version, CFS1, was wayyyy more primitive than IL2...wayyy as in like dinosaurs compared to spaceships?"
"well, sure," i acknowledged slowly, not wanting to "admit" anything until my bud had finished his speal.
"okay, okay," he went on... "so you know that. and you know that thousands play IL2 because it IS the definitive combat flight sim, right?"
"well, duh? yeah?" I again agreed smuggly and with one of my famous withering sneers and eye-rolls. "that's a given. and it's not just that thousands play IL2---it's most likely TENS of thousands. just check out hyper lobby on any weekend night."
"okay, i'll give you that then," he said with a nod... "tens of thousands play IL2. okay, but here's the real question, if tens of thousands play IL2, the most advanced WW2 combat flight sim of all time---yet to be created---why did MILLIONS play the much inferior, much more primitive MS combat flight sim called CFS1?"
"ah-ha! gotcha!" he spouted proudly. "answer THAT one, will ya, mister flight sim know-it-all smarty-pants? and don't say you don't know it's true. YOU were there, bucko! yep! right there in the middle of the MS ZONE with every knuckle-dragging, low-brow, sloped forehead that strapped into a CFS1 plane and dueled it out in cyberspace! you were right along with the ride almost every night for a VERY long time...you saw the millions playing it."
"---now, if IL2 is so great---why aren't the great unwashed masses flying IT like they did CFS1---an admittedly inferior game? why? just tell me why? IL2 may be grand and many, many may fly it...but "not" millions like CFS1---and i damned well want to know why! And i want YOU to tell me why, buddy boy! YOU!"
(at that point he had clutched me savagely by my coat lapel, he was breathing deeply and there was clear spittal running from the corner of his mouth...did i say his teeth were clenched and his eyes bugged out? no matter... it was time for him to GTF back! like NOW!)
i found out long ago that nothing makes a person let go of your coat lapels like a swift, sharp jab to the solar plexis---so i generously applied my technique to my bud. after his breath came back and he seemed himself again, i patiently gave him the only answer i could concerning his question.
"well, old boy, to my way of thinking, there's one reason and one reason alone that Millions played CFS1 and only tens of thousands play IL2... (and this is serious, guys!) it wasn't just the game...in fact, i don't think the game had anything to do with it at all... it was the (here it is) the ZONE and the GAME. ---the combination of the two."
"yeah, what i said... sure hyper lobby beats the socks off of the sucky UBI gaming hookup... but the MS ZONE---well, it was HUGE, sponsered by the trillions of dollars from Microsoft...it had power...and rooms...and those gaming rooms were neato and encouraged you to hang out there. and the GAME---CFS1 itself had those neat pre-flight hookup rooms...hell, all of us hard core flight sim guys would go to the zone, open up a room there, then start the game and sit around chewing tactics or talking about women or beer for hours...in our own private little world. a private little world right inside the game itself... and at any time, we could hop right into action, zooming and booming in our fave fighter ride! then hop right out...chat some more...hop right back into flight! it was neater than hell! and people loved it!"
"oh yeah... and IL2 just doesn't have anything like that. yeah, its got a briefing room, of sorts...but its clunky and hoky and not very sophistocated at all. and you can't just sit around in there and visit, throw jeers or taunts, or shoot the bull...and then jump right into combat, come out and rest and do it all over again. that's a downer."
"your kidding, right?" my bud asked me...looking sort of disappointed at my answer to his question.
"Not at all," i told him.
"And by the way...never grab my lapels again and drip spit on my shoes!" I warned him. and with that, i gave him another jab in the solar plexis region...just to let him know i meant business about it all.
hey, i doubt if i'll ever see him again.
Beowolff
Mind you that evil Xbox 360 + EA Games is releasing a RTS (Battle for Middle Earth) game for the console.
Not expecting a whole lot but maybe some nice sounds and missions - maybe. Hearing poor preliminary reviews.