Today at the Microsoft� PC Games International Games Festival, Microsoft Corp. announced that �Combat Flight Simulator 3,� the latest installment in the �Combat Flight Simulator� franchise, is in development and scheduled for release this fall. �Combat Flight Simulator 3� features an advanced graphics engine designed to showcase realistic terrain, ground objects and detailed aircraft during high-speed, low-altitude combat missions. Coupled with the �Flight Simulator 2002� physics engine, �Combat Flight Simulator 3� continues to build on Microsoft�s reputation for building the world�s best-selling PC-based flight simulators. �Combat Flight Simulator 3� also incorporates new role-playing aspects, giving players pilots� attributes that can be developed during the course of the war. As the war campaign continues, pilots will experience increased tolerance to G-forces, improving or declining vision, and fluctuations to physical health.

�Combat Flight Simulator 3� takes place from 1943 to the end of World War II, putting players in the role of a fighter, ground attack or bomber pilot in an assortment of combat scenarios. Featuring 18 World War II aircraft, including the first jet fighters in history, �Combat Flight Simulator 3� allows players to fly with the U.S. Army Air Force, Britain�s Royal Air Force (RAF) or the German Luftwaffe in a variety of missions focused around air superiority, close air support and tactical bombing. ��Combat Flight Simulator 3� is as real as it gets without actually sitting in the cockpit of a World War II bomber,� said Tucker Hatfield, producer, Microsoft Game Studios. �We�ve taken a leading franchise and incorporated design and gameplay elements we�ve always dreamed of using. New features like low-altitude bombing, role-playing elements and a completely redesigned graphics engine will give players the most exhilarating combat flight simulation experience to date.� One of the most significant additions to �Combat Flight Simulator 3� is enhanced cooperative multiplayer capabilities, enabling up to 16 friends to work together to achieve campaign goals.