I can't really afford $80 for War in the Pacific, so I... erm... "demoed" it. I tried the small Coral Sea Scenario. I loved the gameplay for the smaller scenario, as I'm now starting to read stuff about the Pacific Theatre in WWII - however, I definitely cannot see myself playing a larger scenario. I'm not sure that you control any other countries except the USA, but commanding 2 carrier task forces (one carrier each), half a dozen submarines, and a couple airbases in a very limited region took a longish amount of time already. I cannot even begin to imagine doing that Pacific-wide, having to deal with research, production, long-term effects, attrition, etc...
I must be absolutely epic (that's exactly the right word), if you have the time and the patience. Unfortunately, I find that I don't, and I'm very sad about that. It's definitely true about the interface... it's not fighting you, but doesn't help you one bit. Setting up patrols should be as easy as clicking one button, then drawing an arc. Instead, you half to open 2 to 3 different screens, click on half a dozen dials, repeat it over and over... lots of this stuff could be automated/"subcontracted to AI" and perhaps then finetuned by you.
I'm definitely in love with the whole carrier thing. Will probably be getting Midway: Naval Campaigns for $30 - which is super cheap compared to the regular prices on these things. If anyone has any more suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.
If you're into WWII flight sims, the new IL2 Sturmovik came out recently, Cliffs of Dover. Even though it's plagued by performance issues for some people, it's a whole new ball-game. It's really hard to go back to IL2 '46 after using complex engine management in CoD...
I'm keeping my eye on this thread