X-Plane V8 (PC/Mac)

People shouldn't call it a game - because then you're going to expect flashy effects and machine guns, etc. It is a simulator. And I don't think there is any other sim out there that has 18,000 airports that you can practise with, along with real scenery of the entire planet.

I think it's great, and very much worth the price. If you think about what you're getting, what with great features like real-time real-world weather updates, and FAA certification for training towards airline transport certificate.

MS Flight Simulator 2004 this is not! Infact, the games are about as different as any two games can be in one genre. FS2004 has nicer menus, better graphics, and is generally considerably more accesible than X-Plane to people of all ages.

X-Plane though, does have its share of plus points. The main selling point of X-Plane is its realism, which frankly is staggering. Unlike FS2004 which looks at a file to see how an aircraft should handle, X-Plane has a built in physics engine, which actually works it out. The result is much better flight models, which are in some cases considerably more challening than FS2004.

Added to this X-Plane will let you fly on Mars (with the physics engine altered appropriatly). While not as good as FS2004, graphics are certainly not bad, but do not include virtual cockpits.

X-Plane is not for the casual flight-simmer though. It is very challenging, and unlike FS2004 it's difficulty level cannot be changed. In short if you want a flight simulator with the best graphics, and one that is easy to get into for novices, choose FS2004. If you want a flight simulator that is a great simulator, choose X-Plane.

Granted the scenery isn't very exciting, the new virtual cockpits leave a lot to be desired, you need an engineering degree to work on the aircraft design tool, the ATC system is poor and you shouldn't expect the sky to be packed with aircraft busily going about their business - however this software allows the 'player' to engage in some interesting activities.

Glider pilots get thermals, tows and winch launches
Aircraft carriers and frigates moving around the sea, rather than being stuck motionless - cat launches and arrestor wires
The sea has direction and waves, making seaplane landings really quite challenging
Air-to-air tanking and night-vision goggles for the budding military pilot
Actual weapons payloads, that drop, go bang and your aircraft gets lighter - however don't expect aiming or fancy radar
VTOL aircraft actually get vectored thrust and the default Osprey is a very interesting fly
Lots of diverse aircraft, rather than just a collection of light prop aircraft and some heavy jets, the X-Plane user gets some fast jets, VTOL, space craft and a couple of helicopters - plus some very realistic light props and heavy jets...

Yes the game uses a fancy physics engine rather than lookups, however the vast majority of people are not going to know the difference - except for that smug sense of self-satisfaction that flight-simmers enjoy from getting closer to reality.

All in all X-Plane is well worth a look, you can download a working demo from the web-site and Amazon are selling it for a very reasonable price - if you like FS addons, then you get a lot of additional features for 'free' in X-Plane than although you may not use this as your #1 simulator, you will keep comming back to it when you feel like doing something a little different.