Firepower


 * For the similarly-named tank game, see Fire Power (video game).

Firepower is a video game of the combat flight simulation genre released in 2004 as an add on to enhance Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe. Firepower adds 18 new aircraft bringing the total of 36 military aircraft (or 56 with variants) to Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe. Firepower also adds 50 new historical type missions, new ordnance and improved graphic effects to Microsoft's combat flight simulation.

The aircraft in Firepower include the B-17 Flying Fortress models F and G, B-29a Superfortress, Arado 234B Blitz, Dewoitine D.520 fighter, Dornier 217m medium bomber, Dornier 217n night fighter, He-162a Salamander, Me334, Me410a Schnellbomber, Me410B-2 R-3 zerstorer, Me410B-2 U-2 R-4 zerstorer, Me410B-2 U-4 zerstorer, P-40n Warhawk, Ta-154 Moskito, Ta-152C1 R31, Ta-152H-1, Ta-183 Huckebein (Raven) Interceptor, Avro Lancaster Mk III heavy bomber, Ho-229 V5 Supersonic Fighter /bomber, Avro Lancaster GS heavy bomber, and a B-24J Liberator.

What's interesting in Shockwave Production's add on to Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe is the vast increase in the amount of available WWII military aircraft in the European Theater of Operations. Also there are 4(or 5 with a free patch) new bombers in which the player can man different aircrew positions.

It can be very interesting to use the bombsight to drop newly added ordnance onto a target like the Little Boy, Fat Man, German radiological dirty bombs or the Tallboy bomb. However some of these aircraft are hypothetical especially the German designs some of which never saw aerial combat during WWII. So is the German ordnance hypothetical as well. The graphics of these ordnance types is fascinating to watch in the simulation. Another thing interesting in this add on is that you can fly bombers in a formation, and the FLAK effects when under enemy anti aircraft fire is interesting to watch like in a war film of aerial combat. Twenty-five missions of the Memphis Belle B-17 Flying Fortress are included in this add on. One thing that's lacking though is a sophisticated simulation of the Norden Bombsight which B-17 Flying Fortress the Mighty 8th has a decent representation of albeit not fully emulating the Norden computer, it's gyrostabilizer and ancillary equipment. Instead the Bombsight in Firepower is fixed but it is functional. Even so this is workable in the simulation add on with a fixed sight but it takes a lot of practice. Firepower is one of the most popular add ons to Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3.