Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe DVD
by Microsoft
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Product Summary
Brand: MicrosoftAudio: English (Original Language)
Release Date: 2006-10-17
Platform: Windows XP
Publisher: Microsoft
Product features:
- realistic graphics
- take to the skie to fly almost anywhere
- fly everything from an ultralight to a jumbo jet
- Microsoft Flight Simulator as a Training Aid: A Guide for Pilots, Instructors, and Virtual Aviators
- Microsoft Flight Simulator X For Pilots Real World Training
- CH Products Throttle Quadrant USB (300-133)
- PC Gamer [with CD] (1-year)
Video Game Reviews of Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe DVD
Customer Review: Most fun I've had on my PC in as long as I can remember
Summary: 5 Stars
I got my copy of this edition a week ago. The last copy of FS I owned was the 2000 version so I was about ready for an upgrade! I dropped the first DVD in and installed it; it took a good half an hour to get through all three DVD's. Then I fired it up. I was immediately prompted for what kind of user was I - novice, experienced FS user or an actual Pilot. I picked novice as I'd not played a game like this one in at least four years and needed all the help I could get. It then talked me though some basics and let me control a plane already in the air at one point and that was cool - very easy intro; I was looking at the plane from behind so no confusing instruments or what-have-you. Felt like an accomplishment!
After this it suggested I go through the tutorials, and told me where to find them, and even though I was itching to just take off from a small airport very close to my home in a Cessna or something and just get flying, maybe try to find my house - I resisted the urge and dutifully found the first mission.
It was in a microlite, which is nice and easy to see out of, which was already flying in the air when the mission started. I just had to navigate it though some huge green squares hanging improbably in mid-air, which I just about managed after the second go. I then wandered about, and found it very cool to see a small boat whizzing along a coast I seemed to be over; I worked out how to get down close to it and was racing along just above it! Well, briefly - I got too low and fell in the drink :-p
I only have a keyboard and mouse and found it devilishly difficult to control the thing with the keyboard; it was a little easier with the mouse. I then undertook several other missions, where I learnt to take off, and land, and navigate around the ground in an airport. The computer talked me through the whole thing; it was fairly straightforward and tremendous fun.
I found after a couple of hours of periodically losing control of my various aircraft that I really needed a joystick. I rushed out to my local electrical retailer and bought the Saitek X52 flight System, which costs a third less here on Amazon btw, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I didn't even need to restart the game; I just plugged it in and the whole thing worked immediately. It is so much easier to control the aircraft with this set-up; made a massive difference.
The most fun I've had so far was the mission that introduces you to Jet's. I found myself in the seat of a medium-sized passenger jet, on a slip-road by a runway. In front of me, through the windshield, I could see another passenger jet, ahead of me in the line for the runway. The computer started explaining to me some of the gauges in front of me, about how it was a glass cockpit and so on. I looked around using the "Virtual Cockpit" view, which is ever so lifelike. I found myself pushing the buttons on the display (prompted by the computer) and it was just so cool. All this while "we" (the computer, playing the co-pilot, and the plane in front) waited for a 747 to come in to land, which it duly did. Then the plane in front moved in to position to take off. The tower came over the speakers, and the computer answered it for me, and told me that we should move forward. I can't describe how real it felt to move the thrust forward a little, wheel the plan around and get in position behind the plane in front; I was as nervous in that simulation as I was on my first ever driving lesson. I was worried I was holding people up in the line behind me! That the tower might get impatient! Anyway the first plane took off, and after more instruction I got myself on to the runway as the computer, still playing my copilot, jabbered away about heights, angles, vectors and some similar stuff I was too nervous to take in. Then we had clearance from the tower to take off and I was time to crank the engines and get off the ground! I managed it just fine, mostly by luck rather than taking in the computers' tuition, and followed the computers directions and managed to navigate to a nearby airport and *nearly* landed (I clipped the trees at the front of the airport <sigh>). I did it the second time perfectly; the feeling of achievement was just exhilarating!
There are several helicopter missions - I couldn't do those. I will go back and try them later but I found that guy, even with my whizzy new joystick setup, *HARD* so for now I'll stick to planes!
Later I tried the online thing; I found a game hosted by somebody who was prepared for newbies like myself and joined it. I neglected to ask for permission to take off but made it without incident (or rebuke from the tower), and then pottered about the airport flying very low and making a complete nuisance of myself. Finally the guy in the Tower asked that I get above 2,000 feet, which I duly did; when I didn't answer he must have realized that I didn't know how the radio worked and he attempted to explain it to me. This was all via verbal communication, btw. He had a Scottish accent and he was very good about it. I shall go back when I have more of a clue.
I finally tried taking off from an airport near my house and following the roads - it worked! I picked the microlite as I had got the hang of that one and it's nice and slow so it's good for low-flying and checking out the view. There is a large road bridge near my house and I found that easily enough; of course the houses and other buildings around the roads are made up but I still felt like it was familiar and that was cool.
In summary, I can't remember the last time I was so immersed in a computer game - I found the learning process just utterly exhilarating. I recommend everybody give it a try :-)
As for performance, I initially had my graphics settings cranked to Ultimate and got about one or two frames a second so wound them back to somewhere in the middle and it's fine. No doubt my next computer will make it look better which is something to look forward to :-) BTW I am running Vista which maybe helped I don't know. The specs of my notebook, for the curious who care are below.
- Toshiba Tecra M4 with 2Gb of RAM and a NVIDEA GeForce Go 6600 TE 128Mb
- I ran the game off of an external Maxtore 7200 RPM drive / 16 Mb Cache
Description of Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe DVD
Take to the skies with Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe Edition! Featuring 55 missions that range from 15 minutes to over an hour, you can wrap your hands around the controls of 20 aircraft including the Airbus 321, the Boeing 747-400, the Bell 206B helicopter , a variety of Cessna and Beechcraft models, and the Douglas DC-3. A tutorial is available for beginners, while professional pilots and expert gamers can dive right in to more dangerous and time-consuming flights. Utilizing satellites and pictures from space, the game includes 24 million roads, 10,000 accurately placed stars, and 24,000 airports. Improvements made to the graphics allow 6,000 objects per square kilometer, and vegetation and other items for 23 regions. Online play includes the ability to fly in a populated world, or be ATC for fellow pilots. It alos includes the Garmin G1000 in three cockpits, tower control capability,and an SDK pack for development. Requires: Windows XP with SP2 add on with 256 MB, or Windows Vista with 512 MB. 1 GH processor, 15 GB of hard drive space. Rated "E".Flight Games
- Video Games > Categories > PC > Simulation > Flight
Computer and Video Games
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