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1942: The Pacific Air War
Developer MicroProse Software, Inc
1942: The Pacific Air War is combat flight simulation developed and published by MicroProse for MS-DOS in 1994. It is based on the U.S. and Japanese Pacific War conflict from 1942 to 1945. An expansion pack, 1942: The Pacific Air War – Scenario, was released in 1995. A sequel, European Air War, was released in 1998. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
143 reactions from 3 sources (Bluesky, Steam reviews, Lemmy) · newest Nov 2, 2026 · last updated Nov 2, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
58
Mixed
19 positive · 14 negative
95% range 41–73%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 8 | 1 | 94 |
| Steam reviews | 19 | 14 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
20 of 35 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
58% recommend · 19 yes, 14 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 33 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (29 of 51 positive).
Many players praise the game as a classic flight sim with deep strategy and realistic combat. [1][2][3] Several reviewers note that the DOSBox port has serious sound issues and requires tinkering. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
I bought this because I was under the impression the publishers would have sorted out the sound issues in dosbox. If you haven't attempted to get this game running yourself, trying to enable digital audio results in a mess of audio that while humorous isn't exactly pleasant after more than a minute. This release defaults to the sounds being set to an ancient Roland card that sounds very basic and you aren't going to …
- [10]
I played this game a lot in the mid-90s. Seeing this on sale I had to grab it. Sadly the SVGA graphics that I remember have been replaced by some terrible EGA quality graphics that make this game unplayable. I love to revisit old classics and primitive graphics have their charms but this one has been very poorly re-implemented. Refund requested.
- [1]
Here's what you get! * PAW: 1942, plus its Army Air expansion, running in DOSBox, and patched to its latest version. * You do not get the Gold version, which was just the DOS version packaged with a bollox Win 3.1 multimedia launcher. * For those who know their old sims and DOSBox, the digital sound works fine. Getting PAW sound to work in DOSBox could be a real bear. So, for the game itself: This is a an old …
- [2]
1942: Pacific Air War was released over 20-years ago, so it runs in DOSBox. It definitely would be a game for Nostalgic gamers who want to relive their youth playing DOS-based games they grew up with. Visually, it obviously doesn't hold up to the standards of todays games, but you don't expect a 20-year old game to and if you do, you have unrealistic expectations. What I like about 1942: The Pacific Air War is that …
- [3]
This game is considered a classic. It was made when games came with 2-inch thick manuals that were as fun to read as the game was to play. Obviously it's an old DOS-based game, so don't expect great graphics (especially since it was released during what I call the "muddy phase" of sims, where clear graphics were sacrificed for the cutting edge effect of 3-D immersion), but this is about as comprehensive a Pacific …
Summarised from 34 of the 129 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked 1942: The Pacific Air War talk about detailed and realistic flight simulation for its time; those who didn't talk about sound issues in DOSBox port, especially digital audio. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Computer Gaming World's reviewer, an Air National Guard F-16 flight instructor, in August 1994 rated the game four stars out of five. Praising the graphics, frame rate, and virtual cockpit, he stated that the flight modeling forced him to use the same tactics as real pilots during the war, with better game balance than Aces of the Pacific. The reviewer concluded that MicroProse succeeded in creating a "serious flight sim" with "staying power to spare". PC Gamer US presented 1942 with its 1994 "Best Simulation" award. The editors called it an essential component of flight-sim fan's library. 1942 was named the 71st best computer game ever by PC Gamer UK in 1997.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 143 · most liked firsti can't believe it! for the 22nd consecutive year, Battlefield 1942 has been named Game of the Year at the Video Game Awards
neutral · AI labelView post →I think Battlefield 1942 should be the newest online game anyone is allowed to play.
positive · AI labelView post →Ted Williams posed between the DiMaggio brothers Joe and Dom before a game against the Yankees on April 17, 1942.
neutral · AI labelView post →it’s 1942, which college football game should we go to on the subway?
neutral · AI labelView post →Today SABR launched an incredible new book and companion website on Baseball at Manzanar: How We Played the Game, 1942-1945. It’s the story of 120,000 Japanese Americans who were removed from their homes after Pearl Harbor and forced to live at remote incarceration camps: sabr.org/baseball-at-...
neutral · AI labelView post →Here's what you get! * PAW: 1942, plus its Army Air expansion, running in DOSBox, and patched to its latest version. * You do not get the Gold version, which was just the DOS version packaged with a bollox Win 3.1 multimedia launcher. * For those who know their old sims and DOSBox, the digital sound works fine. Getting PAW sound to work in DOSBox could be a real bear. So, for the game itself: This is a an old classic for Microprose game collectors, old flight-sim grogs (like myself), and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Three homers in game pitched, MLB history including playoffs: 2025 NLCS G4 Shohei Ohtani 5/13/1942 Jim Tobin 8/15/1886 Guy Hecker
neutral · AI labelView post →Battlefield 6 is actually the eighteenth game. Battlefield 1 comes *after* Battlefield 4, and the actual Battlefield 1 is Battlefield 1942. Battlefield 2042 somehow comes AFTER Battlefield 2142. Oh, and there are two Battlefield 2s. what the fuck is wrong with this series
neutral · AI labelView post →Capcom's initial ascent occurred rather quickly: it pivoted to making games at the start of 1984, and by the end of that year had its first hit, a shooter that persisted on arcade charts for years afterward and became a million-seller NES game, too. 1942 was the signal that Capcom was here.
neutral · AI labelView post →Allowed leadoff home run and threw complete game, postseason history: 2025 NLCS G2 Yoshinobu Yamamoto 1954 WS G2 Johnny Antonelli 1942 WS G5 Johnny Beazley 1909 WS G5 Babe Adams Only Yamamoto and Antonelli also allowed no other runs h/t @EliasSports
neutral · AI labelView post →30000 days ago (September 28, 1942), 41-year-old White Sox pitcher Ted Lyons throws a three-hit shutout in an exhibition game for the Cubs, then enlists as a private in the Marine Corps. You'd probably expect that to be the end of his MLB career, but Lyons returns for five starts in 1946.
neutral · AI labelView post →I enjoy the "Hitler was a strong leader" thing because in HOI4, a game for Wehraboos, the AI Nazi Germany loses by like 1942 every time because Hitler guaranteed foreign occupation of Berlin as soon as Nazi troops entered Poland in 1939, and no tipping of the scales in a videogame can change that
neutral · AI labelView post →Got off work and immediately decided the game I should fire up on my Ayn Thor to start relaxing was Simple DS: THE Battlefield 1942 because I am now a fundamentally broken human being and I am apparently gonna plumb the depths of Tamsoft's WWII series as far as it'll go because I have to know. 😔
neutral · AI labelView post →Game Boy Color prototype of Gun.Smoke. This was to be released alongside 1942 and Ghosts and Goblins but it never left greenlight.
neutral · AI labelView post →June 9, 1942. In game 2 of a DH, Ted Williams hit what was said to be a 502-foot home run off Fred Hutchison of the Tigers to right field at Fenway Park. The Globe reported it hit the straw hat of Joseph Boucher, a fan from Albany. The Sox painted a seat red in 1984, saying that was the spot.
neutral · AI labelView post →The game just behind Rebecca's shoulder is "Commando", by the way. I arranged all the Capcom games in order of their release (I think I got it right). The first game Capcom ever released on the NES was "1942".
neutral · AI labelView post →Ohtani is the first player to reach base 7 times in a postseason game. The regular-season record, if you're wondering, is 9x. It's been done 3 times, most recently by Stan Hack of the Cubs in 1942. Four players have done it 8x, most recently: Melky Cabrera with the Blue Jays in 2014.
neutral · AI labelView post →Drawing Wario everyday until there's a new Wario Land game day 1942. 1942 was the year my favorite director was born. ALL HAIL ITALIAN AMERICAN ICON MARTIN SCORSESE
neutral · AI labelView post →New "What to play?" post with some cool multiplayer shooters available on MyAbandonware.com First - two legendary classics that are still alive thanks to unofficial servers: Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield: Vietnam www.myabandonware.com/game/battlef... www.myabandonware.com/game/battlef...
neutral · AI labelView post →This Tiger Mom has been flirting with me for the better half of the game, I’m leaving this stadium with some Kings Merch!!! Mark my damn words!! She’s been ordering Don Julio 1942 shots for me ALL night!!! I got this!!!! *cackles maniacally*
neutral · AI labelView post →fantastic game, that shines in historical battle mode........ yet it's another bad port. the sound has always been an issue for this game in dosbox. contrary to some posts i have read here, the DIGITAL sound does NOT work in this port. (eg: machinegun sounds) to get the sound working 100% do the following: 1) go to this address and download the opensource JEMM memory manager: https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.2/repos/pkg-html/jemm.html unpack…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →More WW2 naval madness. The last IJN destroyers and light cruisers masted up. I will start painting these up over the next few days ready for a 1942 game of Snorkers(Good Oh!) #wargames #wargaming #shedowar #snorkersGoodoh
neutral · AI labelView post →Max Muncy will be the first Dodgers player to start the All-Star Game at third base since Ron Cey in 1997 He’ll be the 4th Dodgers player start an ASG at 3B, joining Cey (3x), Arky Vaughan (1942), Cookie Lavagetto (1940)
neutral · AI labelView post →Legendary pitchers Satchel Paige & Dizzy Dean chat before an exhibition game at Wrigley Field! (1942) #MLB #Chicago #Baseball #History
neutral · AI labelView post →Gatekeeping is a big problem with anything - especially as it becomes easier. Film photographers balked at people going digital and about color grading and retouching with lightroom and photoshop. Car people talked shit about how using an automatic transmission wasn't really driving. PC gamers got pissy at console gamers in the 90s and 2000s for just wanting a game to fucking work without having to chase down a conflict caused by a random printer driver that made their game crash in any…
neutral · AI labelView post →I started using GameMaker with version 6 when I was 12 years old. My 1st game was the 1942 clone tutorial, 1945. Two decades later, I finally shipped my 1st commercial game with GM this year. It has truly changed my life. Happy birthday, GameMaker! Here's to the next generation of devs.
positive · AI labelView post →Stanley Cup game 7s, what can you say? Monday night. With value-added that no team has come back to win the Cup after going down 3-0 in games since 1942. Edmonton trying to do that.
neutral · AI labelView post →This can be conciderd a hidden gem(?) For the age of this simulator i am going to have to say it is actually quite realistic. You can change the difficulty from limmited ammo to your pilot getting blinded by the sun. Also the A.I are suburb. enemy pilots are quite a challenge and difficult to shoot. ships also try to avoid you when you are getting close to them! (enemy ships of course) For the flight sim fans this is a must have, get it now it is on sale! 1 thing i noticed is that the steam…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bit game of 1942, still nails
positive · AI labelView post →Reflecting on this moment in the January 1942 issue of Asahi Camera, he remarked: "When you're holding a camera, shooting a football game and shooting Chongqing don't feel all that different" He seemed to have little internal conflict about his role in photographing for the sake of war propaganda
neutral · AI labelView post →A Canadian inspiration for my Canadian adventure game! Anne of Green Gables 1st Canadian edition, 1942! The reel’s on Instagram! 📷 www.instagram.com/reel/C8Pu9dQ... Wishlist the game on Steam! 🔎 store.steampowered.com/app/1098770/... #cozymystery #vintagebooks #canadianliterature #indiegame
neutral · AI labelView post →Shohei is the second pitcher ever to hit three homers in a game he pitched. The other was Boston Braves starter Jim Tobin in 1942. Tobin allowed 5 runs (3 earned) in a complete game.
neutral · AI labelView post →Okay...so. I bought this one for .94 cents. Which means, I can't complain. When this game came out I was in my mid 20's. And, I loved it. For that time, it was cutting edge WWII fun. I don't know why more sims aren't covering this genre and theater of war. The Yorktown, Enterprise and Hornet...against Akagi, Kaga, Hiyru and Soryu. Sorry if I tore those spellings up Japan. But I loved this game. So, when I downloaded I thought that I would get the same buzz I did off it in 94-95.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today In 1942: Satchel Paige & Dizzy Dean discuss their pitching techniques before an exhibition game of Dean's All-Stars vs. the Kansas City Monarchs at Wrigley Field, Chicago! #MLB #Baseball #History
neutral · AI labelView post →Pacific Air War - A homage to the classic arcade game 1942 for the #Commodore #VIC20 +24k www.indieretronews.com/2024/12/paci...
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm a media historian, but I'm also a fan of baseball history, and this article I wrote for SABR combines the two. While MLB fans heard the games on radio as early as 1921, Negro Leagues fans had to wait till 1942. sabr.org/gamesproj/ga...
neutral · AI labelView post →I just found the ultimate @sickoscommittee.bsky.social bowl game. The 1942 Sugar Bowl. Fordham beat Missouri, 2 to 0!
neutral · AI labelView post →3/3 I got a very detailed rundown of the upcoming game set in 1942 in the Mediterranean directly from the designer @javier-romero.bsky.social Lots of interesting things to look forward to. Thanks Javier! Coming soon from @vucasimulations.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →Just realized I've never uploaded this here. My Cappadocian in 1942 DR #VtM #V20 pbp game runs a hospital and I've been using The Sims4 with shader as a ref for maps and scenes. Her Haven / Hospital basement
neutral · AI labelView post →The Enemy plane for my side project. Inspired by the old arcade game 1942. #gamesdesign #gamedev #pixelart #art #indiedev #indiegame
neutral · AI labelView post →DAK THE DESERT 2 from Game Journal. North Africa, Mar 1941 to Dec 1942. All the expected stuff - trucks move supplies, you never have enough. Turns take 10-15 minutes with chit pull. You decide how to organize your divisions and how much of your reinforcements to devote to supply.
neutral · AI labelView post →The game covers South Pacific activity from January 1942 to December 1943. In that time, Japanese forces arrived at Rabaul, reached zenith above Port Moresby and on Guadalcanal, and got forced back to their main base islands of New Britain and Bougainville. So the map had to include all that. ...
neutral · AI labelView post →I always liked the Vietnam mod for 1942 better than the actual Vietnam game
positive · AI labelView post →It’s been one week since SABR’s new book and companion website were published on “Baseball at Manzanar: How We Played the Game, 1942–1945.” An extraordinary look at life behind barbed wire for Japanese Americans in the incarceration camps set up during World War II: sabr.org/baseball-at-...
neutral · AI labelView post →In January 1942 the Rose Bowl was not played in Pasadena. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were concerns about an attack on LA, so the game was moved to Durham, North Carolina. The game was also played elsewhere in 2021, when it moved to Arlington, TX during the pandemic.
neutral · AI labelView post →1942: Pacific Air War was released over 20-years ago, so it runs in DOSBox. It definitely would be a game for Nostalgic gamers who want to relive their youth playing DOS-based games they grew up with. Visually, it obviously doesn't hold up to the standards of todays games, but you don't expect a 20-year old game to and if you do, you have unrealistic expectations. What I like about 1942: The Pacific Air War is that there are two main parts to the game, the top down overall command and control,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today In 1942: View of the on-field ceremony before the New York Giants vs. Brooklyn #Dodgers game at Ebbets Field to benefit the WWII Navy Relief Fund! #MLB #Baseball #NYC #History
neutral · AI labelView post →Pros: ✅ Detailed and realistic flight simulation for its time. ✅ Tons of options to modify the game's difficulty. ✅ Great controls with both keyboard and flight stick. ✅ Large variety of aircraft. ✅ Interesting Pacific Theater setting. ✅ Lots of missions and strategic options. ✅ Great game for aviation enthusiasts. Cons: ❌ The graphics have aged badly.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Capcom's final arcade game of 1984 — the first year it released video games — ended up being its first hit, one that dominated the charts for a couple of years afterward. 1942 was made with "western" audiences in mind, and served as the first of many key hits designed by Yoshiki Okamoto at Capcom.
neutral · AI labelView post →The first October hockey game ever played in Pittsburgh was a 5-3 Hornets’ win over the Washington Lions in their AHL home opener on Oct. 28, 1942 at Duquesne Garden. Former NHLer Normie Mann, a native of England, set up the game-tying goal in the third and then got the GWG with 2:17 left.
neutral · AI labelView post →I bought this because I was under the impression the publishers would have sorted out the sound issues in dosbox. If you haven't attempted to get this game running yourself, trying to enable digital audio results in a mess of audio that while humorous isn't exactly pleasant after more than a minute. This release defaults to the sounds being set to an ancient Roland card that sounds very basic and you aren't going to hear the voice clips during battles. Like most DOSbox releases on steam, don't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →29. worst music in a game 1942 for the NES don't click www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVUX...
negative · AI labelView post →Post the first video game you ever played 1942, in an arcade in Bellingen, Australia, summer of 1989. I was 10, and i SUCKED at it.
neutral · AI labelView post →Indie Retro News: Pacific Air War - A homage to the classic arcade game 1942 for the Vic +24k www.indieretronews.com/2024/12/paci... #retrogaming #gaming
neutral · AI labelView post →Three dead as Istanbul sees heaviest rainfall in 80 years. > Istanbul (AFP) – Istanbul was battling on Thursday to recover from flooding caused by what officials described as the heaviest rainfall in at least 80 years, as the toll rose to three dead and five missing. > The rain began lashing Turkey's largest city in earnest on Wednesday morning and intensified throughout the day, causing chaos and flash flooding, with footage showing cars being dragged away by the fast-flowing waters. > >"We…
neutral · AI labelView post →1942 (1986) An okay port of Capcom's very popular arcade game. It's a vertically scrolling SHMUP where the player controls a Lockheed P-38 Lightning and has to get past waves after waves of Japanese planes in order to reach Tokyo and destroy the air fleet. 1/3
neutral · AI labelView post →THIS DATE IN #HABS HISTORY Oct. 31, 1942: Maurice Richard played in his first game for the Canadiens, picking up an assist on one of two goals by Tony Demers in 3-2 win over Boston Bruins at the Forum. Ray Getliffe also scored for Canadiens.
neutral · AI labelView post →The excellent folks at SABR have just released a new publication, free in e-book, entitled How We Played the Game: Baseball at Manzanar, 1942-1945 (also the subject of my podcast's season 2!). It's edited by Ross Speiller & James Forr, & y'all should definitely check it out! 🗃️ +
neutral · AI labelView post →T Virus People (Resident Evil 2) Ref: Cat People (1942) The original was called 'Cat People' what was I supposed to call it haha #art #game
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is old, so the graphics are a little shoddy (even at max settings). If you want to enjoy the game: look the game instrution manual up online (so many complex functions you have to control), dont expect a AAA game (amazing graphics, surround sound, etc.) and dont expect to be a one man army. All in all, pretty good game... considering its age.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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