Most other sims are like that too but this one just seems lifeless. There's no dynamic lighting. In fact, there doesn t seem to be any lighting at all, dynamic or otherwise. Smoke effects and fog are nice and stand out as a result. Weapons fire looks good but the impact of bullets on planes is pretty unrealistic.
Damage is represented visually, but usually only after several hits.
In terms of explosions, I didn't ever see any. The terrain makes you feel as if you're flying over a board game, and the houses and trees only reinforce this impression. I will say that having trees on the ground is great for giving you a sense of altitude. Those of you out there with good deductive reasoning skills will be able to predict that I'm unhappy with the overall impression made by this game. It half-asses the whole arcade approach to the game.