So it’s time for a pick of the week and this week I have chosen Microsoft Flight Simulator X.
To be honest with you, I don’t think that I will ever be able to become a pilot for any airline. That being said, technology allows us to fly a plane in any location we want from the comfort of our own home.
First of all, I want to say that you cannot call Flight Simulator X(FSX) a game. A game has some kind of point-scoring system along with a goal you reach at the end of it. FSX is a flight simulator.
However, you get to fly planes such as the F/A 18(yes, that does include after burner), Boeing 737, Cessna 172 and many more. In FSX, you have a few ways to fly an aircraft, keyboard and mouse, an XBox 360 controller, a joystick or a full-on flight desk. I pesonally prefer using a keyboard and mouse because I found that the easiest and cheapest way to fly the different planes.
There are also missions to complete in FSX. If you are a first time flyer, then I would recommend going through the tutorial missions which give you enough skill to get you flying. If you are unsure of anything, then I would recommend playing each tutorial mission at least two or three times(practise makes perfect!).
You also have a free-flight mode in FSX. If you don’t want to fly to complete a task, then this is the thing for you. In free flight, you simply select the aircraft you want to use, the location you want to take off from, the date and time and away you go!!!
While I have played with some flight simulators like X-Plane and Flight-gear(a free and open-source alternative), I personally found that FSX is the easier of the flight simulators to learn.
I would highly recommend this one to anyone who wants to fly a plane from the comfort of their own home.
Microsoft FSX is available on from the XBox Marketplace as a special Golden Edition for £19.99. You get FSX Deluxe and an expansion pack known as Acceleration. You can also get it from Amazon for approximately £24. I know this maybe an older title, but in a recession it is sometimes better to buy older titles get them cheaper. After all, not everyone is going to have £40 or £50 to spend on a simulator.
note 1: FSX is not to be confused with Microsoft Flight, which is the free version of the simulator where you are only flying smaller planes around Hawaii.
note 2: Please visit the official FSX website and read the system requirements.