When I was a kid I was an airplane nut. It was hard not to be
considering my dad was in the Air Force and he was a civilian flight instructor
and small aircraft mechanic on the side. I can’t even begin to count the hours I
spent at small local airports and at air bases in various states. Needless to
say my dad’s fascination with aircraft tied in perfectly with his love of
technology. We literally bought a Commodore 64 for the original Flight
Simulator. Over the years I tried out the various iterations that Microsoft
released and have enjoy the series immensely, but it’s been a while since I’ve
dusted off my joystick. Thankfully, I’ve had the chance to take to the skies
again recently in Microsoft Flight Simulator X and I’m here to let you take a
peek at my logbook.
The basic premise of Flight Simulator hasn’t changed that much.
You choose a civilian aircraft, plot out a flight plan, and fly from point A to
point B to point C, then do it all over again. Along the way you’ll justify your
new graphics card by pointing out to anyone in earshot how much better the
latest versions graphics are compared to the last one. Flight Simulator X
follows in the footsteps of its predecessors when it comes to core gameplay but
it also adds a slew of new options that make it the most complete Flight
Simulator to date.
Flight Simulator X’s hangar is one of the largest yet. You’ll
take the stick or yoke of more than 20 aircraft ranging from the classic Cessna
C172 and Piper J-3 Cub to passenger aircraft ranging from a Learjet 45 to a
Boeing 747-400. There are also aerobatic planes, sailplanes, ultralights, and
helicopters to test fly as well. Each of these has a few variants that are
usually just cosmetic color changes, but a few of the variants sport the Garmin
G1000 glass cockpit. When you choose one of these variants, the typical array of
flight instrumentation is replaced by a set of multifunction digital displays
that perform all the same basic functions as the old round dials and a whole lot
more. It’s great to see Flight Simulator keeping up with the changes in the
aviation scene, and if I ever actually get around to getting my Private Pilots
license I want to log my training time in an aircraft equipped with this new
technology.
Once you settle on an aircraft, you’ll be able to plot a flight
plan. Out of nostalgia, I tend to start with runs that my dad used to take me
on. The planning tool in Flight Simulator X is a breeze to use. For example, I
attempted to search for my local metro airport by its airport code. I was
surprised when it didn’t come up. Finding it was simple though, because I then
tried a search by city and state. The airport came up and I found that its code
had changed since my last time playing Flight Simulator. I then was able to
quickly plot the rest of my course and hit the tarmac for take off.
A few hours later I started my engine and headed down the runway.
I’m exaggerating of course, but it does take a good while to actually load the
simulator. This will all depend on your PC of course, but the rig I reviewed it
on only misses the Microsoft “Best” requirements by a little bit of RAM. So
there’s a good bet, it will load slow on most average PCs. Once you do get to
finally fly, the graphics are jaw dropping at the highest settings. The
landscapes you’ll be admiring from above look closer to the real thing than any
previous attempt, but unlike the older versions, Flight Simulator X’s landscapes
are not devoid of activity. The airports have baggage cars and fuel trucks going
about their business. You will see traffic on major interstates and other roads.
There are even wild creatures and farm animals roaming around. Unfortunately,
all this puts a serious hit on the framerate unless you’re running the latest
and greatest graphics card. Luckily, there are oodles of sliders and checkboxes
in the graphics setup that will let you tweak the display to your heart’s
content. A little work and you’ll be able to achieve a good balance between the
“optimal FPS factor” and the “holy cow, that’s gorgeous factor.”
Now the team at Microsoft could have just rested on their laurels
and given us yet another annual update without any new features and version X
would still be the best version of Flight Simulator so far. Instead they’ve
added some extra components that bring it closer to being a game instead of just
a sim.
The best new feature is the 50+ missions. While I like being able
to do whatever I want in free flight, it’s nice to have some structure. There
are a wide variety of missions that range from absurdly easy to white-knuckle
hard. You can start with a decent amount of tutorial missions that teach you the
basics of flying then move on to ferrying passengers or hauling medical supplies
into remote locations. There are also oddball events like drag racing a jet
powered truck and racing Red Bull sponsored events. In a nod to the Xbox 360,
each of these will net you some sort of “achievement”-like medal or trophies
that are added to your log-book records.
Also for the first time you’ll be able to fly the airways with
friends online. It’s a little weird just tooling around various parts of the
world with other people. I guess I’m so used to the other planes being opponents
to be shot down that I have a hard time relating to the laid-back nature of
Flight Simulator X’s multiplayer play. It’s not all lazy soaring through the air
though. For those so inclined you can take a seat at the air traffic control
desk and bark out routing commands to the various planes in your online
airspace. Again, I just don’t find simulating the most stressful job in the
world entertaining. While it’s not really my cup of tea, I’m sure that aviation
aficionados will be ecstatic about the prospect of getting in some flight time
online.
|
Review Scoring Details for Flight Simulator X |
Gameplay: 8.5
This
is, bar none, the best consumer available flight simulation to date. Notice the
word “simulation.” Flight Simulator has game-like elements, missions, online
play, etc., but at the end of the day it’s a hardcore simulator that the average
“gamer” probably won’t enjoy.
Graphics: 9.0
You can
drop a grand on hardware upgrades to have silky smooth performance and graphics
that match the screenshots or you can spend some time tweaking the slew of
settings to avoid the wallet hit. Either way it’s a gorgeous game.
Sound: 7.5
The air
traffic control sounds like the real thing and so do the aircraft. It’s about
what you would expect from a flight simulator title.
Difficulty: Medium
to Why not just fly for real?
Just
like flying for real, Microsoft Flight Simulator has an intense learning curve.
Unlike flying for real, there are various settings that can be adjusted to make
the title more accessible to armchair aviators or very realistic for pilots in
training.
Concept: 8.5
For more than 25 years
Flight Simulator has been the best way to learn about aviation without actually
going to flight school and taking lessons. It’s simulated flying on a PC at its
best.
Multiplayer: 7.0
This is one of those “Why
didn’t they do this sooner?” kind of things. Multiplayer should delight fans,
but if it’s the only reason you’re interested, you might want to try it before
you buy.
Overall: 8.4
It’s
hard to score a title like Flight Simulator for a gaming site because it’s not
really a game. Luckily Microsoft made things a little easier for me by adding
great new features like missions and multiplayer that give the simulator a more
game like feel. If you’re part of Flight Simulator’s target audience (private
pilots, aviation enthusiasts, etc.) than this a no-brainer just like every other
version was. For everyone else, try out the demo. If you get bored about 10
minutes after take off then it’s not for you.
