Pacific Strike follows the pattern of the Wing Commander series, although it resembles more its cousin Strike Commander, in the sense that it is set in a more or less real-world setting and allows the player to fly actual planes.
The game, just like the above-mentioned titles, mixes fighter combat simulation with a cinematic plot structured through a series of cutscenes that play between missions or as prologues/epilogues.
Unlike the Wing Commander series or the game Strike Commander, Pacific Strike immerses the player into a real historical context. The player takes on the role of a Second World War American pilot during the months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This includes operating vintage airplanes from an aircraft carrier and performing missions involving reconnaissance, intercepting enemy planes or attacking enemy vessels.
If the player does well it is possible to defeat Japan without recourse to the atomic bomb. Extremely poor performance will result in the defeat of the US Navy and the ceding of Hawaii to the Japanese Empire.
Source: Wikipedia, "Pacific Strike", available under the CC-BY-SA License.