Take On Helicopters
I had bought the DVD version initially, and “right out of the box”, slow FPS rates were the first thing to attend.
Being a virtual pilot for many years on the MSFS series, it was quite natural to give TOH a shot.
Right from the beginning , FPS rates had to be “treated” using the intuitive menu settings (video).
Knowing all too well the finicky nature of FSX, and it’s frequent CTD’s caused by sliders too much to the right, and to the many checked boxes, this was all too familiar for me.
The results of those major reductions in all of the settings, including clouds effects and desabling anisotropic filtering, were a big improvement. That was obviously predictable, at the cost of some eye candy, and limited visibility.
– Real player with 82.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Simulation Flight Games.
I own this game quite a while, occasionally taking free flights in Seattle and i must admit - level of detail in envelopment is far beyond for any flight simulator game even today. There is probably thousand of different models for buildings, not only for landmark, but any major building have it’s own model and detailed texturing. Those also all collision enabled, meaning you can crash or land on. Even trees are crashable 3D models. You can even land and get out of your bird and start playing ARMAII in Seattle. Or in normal ARMAII maps - if you own it in Steam.
– Real player with 49.3 hrs in game
Wings of Prey
Wings of Prey is a lot more accessable than the IL-2 series and allows you to get into the game and action alot more quickly.
WoP features a ton of highly detailed aircraft that include cockpits, plus missions / gameplay spanning many combat theatres to match. There is plenty to do here in single-player, plus standard online multiplayer modes are included as well. I’ve gotten 100+ gameplay hours out of WoP so far.
However compared to its rivals, there are a few things lacking, notably no mission editor so you are limited beyond the missions offered and there have been some issues with multiplayer recently as support has been dropped in favour of its multiplayer-oriented sequal War Thunder .
– Real player with 118.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Simulation Flight Games.
NOTE: This is coming from a joystick/throttle/trackir user who mainly flies in Sim mode, running Windows 10.
I’ve owned this game for a few years but never really spent much time playing it after my first big marathon. Why is that, you may ask? Well, back when I was using a mouse and keyboard setup, the game was playable but ultimately boring. But more about that in the pros vs. cons of this game.
Pros:
-The game is rather pretty for when it was released, the plane models are seemingly pretty detailed and the ground clutter is realistic for the period.
– Real player with 53.0 hrs in game
BOMB: Who let the dogfight?
I’m a little late off the ground with BOMB - it released years ago. But one night I was sitting around wishing I had a good flight simulator for some easy flying about and found this game.
At first, there was some setup frustration. The mouse is pointless. The gamepad didn’t give me good enough controls - I couldn’t fine-tune my shots. Then I remembered my old flightstick pro in the closet - pulled it out, set up up and went to town.
The dogfights are swirling and fun. The missions are interesting and varied - sometimes it’s ground attack, sometime it’s air defence, sometimes it’s just straight dogfighting. And the dogfighting is fun - my only complaint is that I wish for an easier way to lock on someone, and possibly an artificial horizon while I’m looking at someone. But overall, its a blast!
– Real player with 25.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Simulation Flight Games.
This game has been created by a team of only 2 people and is amazing, for me, this game is really a big “YES” ! The graphics are pretty, the comments make me laugh, and the dogfights are fun and not that difficult, but you have to get a bit equipped to take fully advantage of the game, a joystick, even a cheap one, is quite compulsory, and a track ir is nice to have, to follow ennemy paths. this game is not acardy, meaning you don’t shoot 40 ennemy aircraft every minute, rather it is a good small dogfighting game where the physics is decent. If, like me, you are lost in DCS or another realistic combat simulator, because you cannot play every day and is too complex, this game is a good and simple alternative for fun, only costing a couple of euros. Beside the campaign of 17 missions, there is also a skirmish mode, and a few single missions. There is a multiplayer mode as well, but I haven’t tried, and you have to find players to fight with. The misson editor is a bit broken for the time being, but you can copy and edit files in Xml and Lua to create your own missions, with ennemy aircrafts, boats, vehicles, and buildings. Support is very responsive even 5 years after this game has been released, In summary, I really recommend this game for players liking dogfighting, wanting a game which is not acarde ( meaning knowing dogfighting tactics and plane energy really helps ) but much simpler and more forgiving than other realistic combat simulators.
– Real player with 18.9 hrs in game
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946
Written as of 25 August, 2016.
I grew up with this game, so I may be severely biased, just a warning. I remember getting the original IL-2 Sturmovik/Pacific Fighters pack way back in 2005 as a starry-eyed little kid. I was fascinated with aircraft from this era and it’s the main reason I know how much about them I do today. And then, suddenly, this new, vastly superior version appeared! I never begged my parents for something so badly in my life, but I NEEDED this as a child. And so I made the money to buy it. Best idea ever. It doesn’t show it, but the amount I have played this game in so many situations must easily be at least 4,000 hours before getting it on Steam alone. But enough of my life story, let’s get into the review of this.
– Real player with 590.7 hrs in game
IL-2 1946 Is a masterpiece in WW2 aircraft simulation and is a must have if you’re craving action in the pacific. To my knowledge, this is the only game that gets it right and makes you feel like you’re there fighting for small islands and atolls in the 1940’s. Whether you choose Japan or the United States, it does a great job at putting you in the pilot’s seat and give you the true feel of the war from the perspective of one squadron. If you choose the Japanese, you really feel the advantage of the Zero or the Val in the early war battles. The flight models of the aircraft in game make you work for it and learn how the real world planes fly, but once you put in the work you see the reward. But as the Japanese campaign goes on, everything gets harder. By the time you’re flying at Iwo Jima you’re in desperation to just survive you’re next mission. Alternatively, If you choose to fly for the US Navy, you start out from the battle of the Coral Sea and work your way to the mainland islands of Japan. For the US Navy you get to choose the Dauntless or the fighter campaign. The main fighters you get to fly as the war goes on are the Wildcat (and subsequent upgraded variants), Hellcat (f6f-3, f6f-5), and Corsair (with variants). In both campaigns you take off and land on WW2 carriers which by itself is boatloads of fun, but the missions are great as well.
– Real player with 388.2 hrs in game
OMSI 2: Steam Edition
This is still the best bus simulator. It is a good improvement on OMSI 1.
MAPS/VEHICLES: The Spandau map is much extended with a new chronology function where you can see the routes/fares and most importantly the Berlin reunification/fall of the Berlin wall between 1986 and 1994. Two maps are included the fictional test map Grundorf (one route, the 76) and Berlin Spandau (routes 92 (137), 5 (130) and also two night routes. Two new buses come with this game the articulated (bendy) bus MAN NG272 (GN92) and the MAN NL202 (EN92). The two double deckers from OMSI 1 are improved and the MAN SD202 has two new variants; the D90 and the D91. There are new AI cars including ambulances with working sirens. There is also much more trains in OMSI 2.
– Real player with 3171.6 hrs in game
OMSI is a deeply odd and divisive creation, it is at once both an abysmally dire example of horrendous software design, while also one of the profoundest delights available to those with a passion for buses.
Learning the many arcane processes for getting this simulation to work is no small feat. Don’t bother trying to suck-it-and-see - there is no realistic chance of you fully getting to grips with OMSI inside the 2-hour limit for refunds - it requires an enormous commitment of time and energy to achieve a working understanding of OMSI. (In that respect, I suspect it’s not unlike actually learning to drive a real bus).
– Real player with 839.3 hrs in game
The Count of Monster Disco
Bought this game on the recommendation, nay the insistence, of a friend who has become a huge Train Simulator enthusiast. It was half-off during the Halloween sale, and even at full-price it is much less than the original game. It is a great introduction to the unique gameplay. As my friend said, explaining the gameplay makes it sound boring, so suffice to say, it is a fairly relaxed experience, with the simple controls, simple objectives, and observation of the camera angles and maps. It is not exactly easy, with different resources to manage, but it is a slow paced game that gives you time to ponder the nature of transportation by rails.
This is a fun and well done I wish they would do another one for Halloween 2021 and other times of the year would be great. I have also bought Christmas themed add on’s but there haven’t been any new add on’s like these for a long time it’s too bad I would buy more if available
Euro Truck Simulator
As a person who has been a flight simulator addict for going on three decades now… ( I cut my teeth on a green screen IBM bootleg copy of Pilot trainer circa 1988 ) I have often been skeptical of the ‘ground runners.’ Trains, racing cars and boats all have the same singular fundementle flaw on the virtual stage. Primarily that no matter how much you REALLY want it to be true, you are NOT going to get a realistic perspective view of … well … ANYTHING. Land and city scapes will always be a generic reflection of what you just saw and are about to see again. SO; having established my rational for skepticesm, what am I doing here? To put it plainly. I’m cheap and my entertainment budget can be bought. In short for $20 I got the whole euro-truken-paint joben collection. You should too, hopefully here is why….
– Real player with 48.6 hrs in game
I’m torn on this one. There’s no neutral option, so I’ll go with thumbs up.
This is the second game by SCS that I’ve played, the other being 18 Wheels of Steel: American Long Haul. For having released only 8 months later, the improvements between that game and this one are incredible. I would go so far as to say that the graphics, the way the gameplay feels, and the detail of the in-game economy are all objectively better than the previous game. Trucks don’t randomly snap loose like in the previous game. You get fair warning before your character starts dozing in this game. AI traffic uses the right lane now, and it doesn’t turn right from the left lane anymore. The money you earn has more use in this game vs the last one; you buy business licenses to expand your operation into more countries, and you can buy hazmat permits to haul more dangerous (and thus more valuable) cargo. The road system has a more natural feel than the previous game, with smoother turns and smoother elevation changes. There are even subtle new additions like being able to hear ambient noise at certain places like farms and lumber mills.
– Real player with 26.9 hrs in game
Lunar Flight
–— ADDITIONAL EDIT —–
It’s been 2½ years since my original review (see below) which still stands. However, I’ve now been able to play this game in VR (Vive) and felt compelled to update my thoughts.
This game is the best VR experience I’ve had to date! It’s easily a better VR experience that DCS which I also spend a lot of time with. Why the high praise? There are a few reasons:
GOOD FRAME RATES - Perhaps due to the fact that this is a relatively simple game, framerates remain high enough to give a good experience.
– Real player with 155.7 hrs in game
This little gem is the perfect homage to 50 years of human spaceflight, and classic Lunar Lander games (originating way back on 1969 text-only computers).
It takes the idea of the old 2D arcade games with realistic physics, and perfectly transcends them into 3D - plus VR support! The audio deserves special mention: the mesmerizing music, plus voice recordings from real NASA missions, create an intriguing ambience.
Considering the ‘Newtonian’ flight dynamics, this game is of “Easy to learn, difficult to master” flavor. There is a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it feels AMAZING to fly around. The satisfaction of completing Mars missions is just so rewarding!
– Real player with 101.4 hrs in game
X-Plane 10 Global - 64 Bit
Summary
A true sand-box flight-sim, X-Plane 10 offers a huge variety of options for virtual pilots. Be warned that X-Plane 11 now exists, so you may wish to check that first, if you want the latest version. But version 10 is still a solid offering.
Full review
X-Plane 10 is a first rate flight sim. It is not the latest in the series, as X-Pane 11 has now been released. However I’ve really enjoyed using X-Plane 10 and this sim deserves a positive review. X-Plane 10 may also still be preferred for older machines.
– Real player with 2155.6 hrs in game
I love it and am addicted to it.
Recommendation:
Under setting- rendering
Put number of roads to something higher.
(You get more roads where they exist in the real world)
Put number of objects to something higher.
(You will get generic boxes (buildings) at those roads)
Put detail distance to medium.
Unclick compress textures.
Put texture to high.
In the beginning I found the planes cockpits to be fuzzy.
Some really are fuzzy or they are meant to be used with 2d cockpits.
But mostly it was because by default the texture-settings where set low and where compressed
– Real player with 572.9 hrs in game
Evochron Mercenary
Ok i bought this game during the summer sale and so far I like it!
The Good!
Open world.. You can do what you want to do if you have some imagination!
A large mapped out universe with safe systems.. Not so safe systems.. And just down right Angry systems!
Even more systems that arn’t mapped out… Not sure how many so far, I have only found a few of them and their hard to find which is a good thing! Remember Space is a big place so it shouldn’t be to easy to find everything!
You can Generate space stations in locations you chose that arn’t to close to other stations.. Gives you a tactical advantige or a trading benifit, howerver you wish to use it! Thats kinda up to you to figure out!
– Real player with 318.5 hrs in game
Probably the best space sim I will ever play. Evochron Mercenary is an amazing achievement because it excels at its primary purpose: putting you in the cockpit of a wide-open universe. And I do mean wide open. While there are a jump-gates, jump-drives and other, more-exotic means of travel, the universe is a continuous whole. You could drift from one side to the other given enough time. . . though I am not sure if there are sides or just an infinite extension of the void. There are also hundreds of systems – yes, HUNDREDS – in the game many of which have yet to be discovered. Also you can land on planets (or burn up in their atmospheres).
– Real player with 85.6 hrs in game