being colossal simulations of intricate weather systems, not just pretty skyboxes. Sims can be quite drab and lifeless, often trading visual fidelity for realism. But details like these make Microsoft Flight Simulator powerfully atmospheric. And that is, for me, one of the most exciting things about it. It has all the things a hardcore simulator fan demands from a game like this: licensed planes, realistic aerodynamics, physically simulated weather, icing, load factor, fuel consumption, thermic updrafts, and native support for a wide variety of sticks, yokes, and throttles. But the game doesn’t merely want to replicate the cold, mathematical reality of flying, but the drama and romance of it too. It’s flight as an experience, not just a series of calculations.
SOARING THROUGH THE SKIES When you’re cruising over the Seattle skyline as the sun dips below the horizon, casting a golden glow over the city, or you’re soaring above Tokyo at night, an endless sea of lights stretching below you, this feeling is palpable. It reminds you that flying is an incredible, special thing. Granted, this is difficult to appreciate when you’re squeezed into an n economy seat, drinking a tiny can of beer, watching a below bel average Kevin Hart film. But when you’re at the yoke ke of a plane in Microsoft Flight Simulator, free as the wi wind, it’s utterly blissful. Now I understand why people le get hooked on aviation, and why many of the dev team have ha started taking flying lessons. Those remarkable visuals will undoubtedly result in a lot nd of new players drifting towardss M Microsoft Flight Simulator – even if they have no real interest in sim games. Microsoft nt is well aware of this and d is promising an experience that can
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