Flight Simulator X Deluxe, EN

In a nutshell:
Microsoft???s original civilian flight sim is still clocking up the air miles with the most significant sequel for years and a genuine attempt to make it more accessible for non-propellerheads.

The lowdown:
While almost all other flight simulators have fallen from grace on the PC, Microsoft have never given up on the genre with a game that???s as ruthlessly realistic as it is completely free of any kind of violence. Every major, and minor, airport in the world is simulated and every major city has its share of recognisable landmarks, allowing you to fly anywhere in the world. There???s a huge range of different aircraft to fly too: from jumbo jets and seaplanes to helicopters and everything in between. The only problem is that the game needs a seriously powerful PC to run at full whack, but even on lower detail levels this is still a stunning achievement.

Most exciting moment:
Despite the realism, the game isn???t all dry simulation. There are a lot of fun missions to try out, including acting as a Hollywood stuntman, going on search and rescue flights, fighting fires and even flying over the infamous Area 51.

Since you ask:
The deluxe version of the game includes more cities, airports and aircraft as a well as an extra series of twenty-odd missions. There are also some additional multiplayer options, including the chance to share aircraft and have a go in the control tower.

The bottom line:
The most realistic commercial flight sim ever. Again.-HARRISON DENT

I've had this since it came out and I've since upgraded PC specs etc. (Quad Core 6600 @2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 2 x 8800GTX SLI), and with the details set high enough to make it pretty, I get about 8-10 frames per second. If I lower the details to make it run at 20+fps, it looks a bit mid-90's.

On the one hand, what they've achieved is very impressive. On the other hand it doesn't make for a smooth flying experience. It could really use a whole lot more planes too.

Its an amazing game overall with accurate flaps (causing drag and lift) and everything just feels right!

Many reviews quote that the specs for the pc are required to be really high. But i have a 320MB graphics card, 1GB RAM and 2Ghz dual core processor. IMPORTANT: Flight sim works best on dual core processors. For single core processors the specs required are generally much higher. My pc can run the game on medium high settings and it works perfect. For ultra high settings i would need another 2GB RAM and probably a better graphics card. It works great on XP, but i havent tried it on vista.

JUST REMEMBER: IT WORKS MUCH BETTER ON A LOWER SPEC DUAL CORE THAN ON A HIGHER SINGLE CORE. for some reason the game plays brilliantly on dual core! For quad core, i dont know beacause i havent tried them.

For a joystick i highly reccomend Saitek Aviator. Its truly amazing and really good value.

Thanks for reading, Trust me, this games gr8!

I have used three versions of Flight Simulator in the past (Fs98, fs2002, fs2004) but FSX is the best so far, even though I have all of the graphic settings at 'low' as my current computer has got a poor graphics card. The multi-player feature on FSX is very good, even though the Gamespy system appears to be unreliable but when it works properly (very occasionally) it is excellent. The problems with Gamespy and FSX include an unreliable network connection with the Gamespy server, and very slow game load compared to previous versions of flight sim. However, if you are prepared to overlook these issues I am sure that you will enjoy this game as it is great fun to play.
Free flight mode is also very good becuase flight sim deluxe comes with a wide variety of aircraft, and the virtual cockpit has been greatly improved. Even though the virtual cockpit has improved I still prefer to fly with the standard flight sim cockpit as I am used to this setup. I have also downloaded over 100 aircraft from simviation.com and have bought several aircraft from sites such as first class simulations.
Overall I still prefer FS2002, but FSX is a very good flight simulator and it is highly recommended.

The deluxe edition is essentially FSX, but with added scenery and a few axtra missions. If your computer is the type that will struggle with FSX, it is possible that you won't be able to appreciate the added content.

Having said this, I would recommend buying the deluxe edition of this game simply because it will pay off in the future, becuase it really is worth seeing the game in all its glory. I personally had many teething problems soon after installation, even on my brand new computer with an 8800GTX and a quad core processor. My inability to hit the ground running with this game is testament to the amount of fine tuning that is required in order to squeeze the very best in terms of performance to quality ratio.

If you own add-on software such as PMDG or alike, you may want to be slightly more apprehensive about buying this game. Having said this, the new release of the PMDG 747-400X will make the game worth while to play on, but like I say it's a matter of fine tuning the display settings to be able to enjoy FSX!

When I purchased it, I was looking for something even better than my current version (2004). Instead it took ages to load and longer to start. Getting started was tedious and I found my self getting bored with all the pop ups whilst waiting to play the simulator. In the end I gave up and even after deleting the game, the photos stayed on file and reminded me by taking over my screensaver. Talk about big brother. I really think with this one they have gone over the top.