In fact, if you've been looking for an excuse to relive the air war over Europe during World War II, you might be tempted to shell out not only for the MCFS3 base but also this add-on. It's that good.

Twelve new warplanes are brought to life, right down to the rivets. There are 50 new missions, including a recreation of the combat history of the Memphis Belle, the first U.S. bomber to complete enough flights over Germany to get the entire crew shipped home in one piece. If you've ever watched Gregory Peck in the movie "12 O'Clock High" you know it was tough to keep getting in those planes each day.

This game will bring it all to life for the player because the attention to detail is so impressive. According to public relations literature, over 30 pilots, crewmen, and other experts lent their expertise to the new birds, which include not only German planes such as the Focke-Wulf, Messerschmidt Me334, Me410, and Heinkel He162A-2, but also Boeing bombers such as the B-17F, B17G, B-29A, and the U.K Lancaster. The Curtiss P-Warhawk fighter also makes an appearance, and there are others. If you're the kind of WWII aficionado that likes flight simulators that stress historical accuracy, this is your expansion pack.

For other fliers, the game offers incredible effects in combat. The explosion modeling is superb, and you will come to enjoy watching pieces of metal flying off your target as you tangle in the sky. Likewise, blasting anything that moves in a strafing run will kick up some satisfying explosions that will put pressure on your system. The minimum requirement is a 16MB video card, but you'll want triple-digit video memory on hardware with a heatsink or a fan.

All discussion of beauty aside, there are some brains behind this title. Gameplay is important. Flying the B-17, you can become a gunner from each turret, or man the bombing sights and release the ordnance. These touches give the game a good replay rating.

One of the German jets reminded me of the old game "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe", and made for a kind of interesting "what if" scenario. What if Hitler had 1,000 of those snazzy little jets? I guess it wouldn't have made much difference because he didn't have enough experienced pilots to fly them.

Even if there was a better Luftwaffe, Firepower has the answer - drop an atomic bomb from a B-29 over Berlin. Historical accuracy is one part of a good game, but give me a title that encourages the player to have a little fun.

Many of the air scenes seem straight off the History Channel - in fact, some of the night jumping over Normandy from "Band of Brothers" had the same feel as this game. Anti-aircraft fire, tracers streaking through the night, explosions ripping planes apart - it's very engaging.

As mentioned earlier, the 25 missions of the Memphis Belle provide even more realism. Even the weather and combat situations are recreated. Talk about historical accuracy - that's hard to top.

If there are criticisms, it might be that coming to the title late and needing to buy the base and the add-on is a little more of a drain on the pocketbook than should be necessary. But it is always nice to see a title that has been crafted with attention to detail and meticulous authenticity. This is one of those games.