Sorry, no disrespect towards Matrix, but won't pay $50 for it! I got the Complete Carriers at War for under $30, designed by Roger Keating and Ian Trout. Runs on anything form Win98 to XP. And these are the original series, CAW 1 covers the first half of the war in the PTO, CAW 2 covers more of the second half. Also has new scenarios for the ETO and MTO, along with the Construction Kit to design your own stuff. Still has the original graphics and sounds, but who cares, thats what I had so much fun with when they were released on floppies,LOL
The great AI programming is still there, and I have gone through the same type of thing when using the Coral Sea mission, got suckered in, and lost my carriers the first few times too!
Just do a Google search for Complete Carriers at War, you find all the info you need! Plus it comes with a 200 page manual, personalized with your name on it!
Can't see paying an extra $20 for a few better looking renditions of ships and ac!
But, each to his own!