The staff of PC Gamer US nominated the game as the best simulation of 1998, although it lost to Falcon 4.0. The staff wrote, "Of all the WWII sims, this one offered the best balance of campaigns, flight modeling, graphics, and gameplay." It similarly won Computer Gaming World 's "Best Simulation" award, and the staff raved that it "captured the feeling of being in a living, unpredictable combat environment better than any other sim released this past year." It also won "Best Simulation of the Year" at IGN 's Best of 1998 Awards, "Simulation of the Year" at GameSpot 's Best & Worst of 1998 Awards, and the Best Combat Flight Sim award at the 1998 CNET Gamecenter Awards. Pilot 20 authentic fighter aircraft from America, Britain.
The game won Computer Games Strategy Plus ' 1998 "Simulation Game of the Year" award. Take to the skies over Europe during the most dangerous days of World War II. The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. This web site and its contents are maintained by Mike 'Sandbagger' Norris. AI pilots within the player's squadron can be controlled by the user in Quick Start and Single Mission options, and gradually become available as the player receives promotions within their squadron in a Pilot Career. Legal - The contents of this web site are non-political and have been created by third parties, who are not endorsed by, or affiliated to, the current owners of the flight simulation 'European Air War' (formerly by Microprose). The AI in European Air War is flexible, with several difficulty settings that can be altered by the user to ensure the game remains challenging for a long period of time. As a squadron commander a player can select the rosters and weapons loadouts for use in missions, selecting between disposable fuel tanks, rockets, or bombs to assist in completing assigned missions.
Players may also rise up the ranks, starting as a non-commissioned officer to full officer commanding a fighter squadron (or staffel) and assuming responsibility for the men and machines under the player's command. During a Pilot Career player actions will directly affect the progress of the war, including delaying or bringing forward the invasion of Europe. The Pilot Career mode, allows the user to take the role of a pilot in the RAF, Luftwaffe or USAAF and play in any of three time eras, the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Allied Air offensives in 1943, and the Air offensives before and after D-Day until the end of the war in 1944–45. European Air War has three modes: a Quick Start option, which allows immediate undefined play a Single Mission option, which allows selection of aircraft and mission type, and a campaign mode called Pilot Career.