X-Plane 8.0 (DVD-ROM) - PC

I bought version 8.21 and I got the 8.40 directly from the website for free. The popups still coming sometimes, but didn't got time to deal with that. The graphics aren't state of the art but they run very well on my P4 3.0 Dual Core with X1800 card and 4 GB ram. In previous versions I don't know, but on this one we can get real time weather to apply if you have internet connection. The BIG NO in this pack, was to see a lot of airports mainly outside USA, where we only see water ???? surrounding the airport tracks and not even the flight control tower ??? disapointing at least, but anyway I give 4 starts for beeing simple to the user and very complete. I recommend it for any flight sim fan.

I am no novice to the world of aviation and after thoroughly scrutinizing every feature of X-plane 8, I regretted being a fan of MS Flight Sims. For years I had been fairly impressed with MS Flight Sim's "gaming experience", taking for granted that it's the closest thing to real-life flying that you can get on PC for under $50. After using x-plane I realized just how wrong I was. For the first time, I felt like I was actually sitting in a REAL cockpit looking out the window feeling like "WOW this is amazing!!". The feel of each flight model is uniquely different in each aircraft, unlike in MSFS where you fly one and feel like you've flown them ALL whether it's single/prop/multi-jet/big/small etc. In the beginning the scenery details can be a bit boring during some segments of flight(especially during take offs and landings), but you can enhance that on x-plane yourself, easily downloaded from the net...thus pushing the scenery realism much further beyond MSFS 2004's expectation. MSFS frame rates are always poor and sloppy even on my brand new super customized dell, and I'm not particularly amused by their continued lack of cockpit realism over the years, now that I've embarked upon the x-plane and can compare MSFS to it's more superior competitor. X-plane is much smoother in frame transition. The cockpits are so MUCH more individually detailed. The only tiny problem is that the entire cockpit doesn't fit within the immediate view, you have to shift it a bit every now and then to have access to additional controls, but that's understandable considering it's broad spectrum of instrumentation.The concept of building your own aircraft and actually being able to test it on your own PC-interfaced wind tunnel is extraordinary!!! The intense physics applied to these software models is brilliant. I've read that the FAA approved of x-plane for initial pilot training. Also, a couple companies that design aircraft incorporated x-plane into their testing. Doesn't surprise me at all.Like with any other software(including MSFS!), it's not flawless, there's always room for improvement, patches and updates need to be added to bring this sim closer to perfection. With x-plane, there's a broad range of goodies you can download free on the net to enhance it.I would not recommend x-plane to those who are just gamers looking for novice-friendly spoonfeeding. This is for serious aviation enthusiasts, student pilot practice, or for those interested in the most true-to-life aviation challenges that you'll find in a single software package.N.B.: Please excuse the ignorant morons who rate x-plane with only 1 star.

I haven't read enough of the manual to be able to review the flying aspects of this sim, other than that this and every other flight sim on the market can't seem to get helicopter flying characteristics even close to reality. I've flown R22's, R44's, Hughes 300's and 500's, and Sikorsky Sea Kings, and none of them fly like the sim helicopters, so don't feel bad if you keep rolling over in a hover or keep moving backwards. What's that about? The other major problem I'm having is with the graphics of this sim. I have a 1680X1050 monitor and when I set the sim settings to this screen size, the instrument panel stays the same size and scenery becomes visible around it. The instrument panel looks like it's floating in space and isn't connected to the helicopter. Also, sometimes the background doesn't load right and looks pretty surreal. I have a 3.0G P4, 2g RAM, and GeForce 6800 256meg card. Finally, this sim supposedly supports trackIR, but I can't get it to work with mine, even after switching on the setting. Unfortunately, having encountered these problems, I have lost the motivation to trouble shoot this sim, but I will make another attempt, eventually.

WorstThe contents which buy it by high sum, and are BOX are the one of the manual.There are also no 1 It won't be bought any more.

If you are like me, the reviews on X-Plane probabally will make you more confused than ever. To help you make an informed choice I have addressed the questions that most complicated to process for me.Is is the latest version?This is the same verion you buy in the store (8.0). You will need to download the free update from the x-plane website to bring it up to date to version 8.50.Is the scenery up to date?USA scenery only, if you would like the entire world on 7 DVD's you can upgrade latter for a reduced price or buy the 7 DVD version from the x-plane site. The scenery detail is no better in the world-wide version, just more extensive. HINT: It is cheaper to buy this version on Amazon and upgrade to the global version.Do I need a super computer to run X-Plane?No. Frame rates are typically much better than Flight Simulator X and display options are great.In summery this simulator was well worth the money and is full of many advanced options... Not a game but a great tool for a very serious flight simmer or real world pilot. No graphical interface for the menus, but after some tinkering it's easy to get where you need to go (i.e., picking your plane and location). Although I would not suggest this to somone new to simulators or flying, if you own Flight Simulator and want to have another great experience with thousands of different airplanes, give X-Plane a try.