There’s gauges to check, landing gear to manipulate, and a mild fear of running out of fuel to manage as well. You’re making constant incremental changes, whether being buffeted by the wind, or ensuring you’re staying on course for your chosen destination. You still have to do a multitude of things to get your plane in the air, and once it’s there, it won’t just stay there. It’s peaceful, picturesque and unendingly appealing. It’s not demanding a million things from you, there’s no glowing chevrons to follow, and there’s no overarching danger of a missile lock-on – you’re just flying. Flying above the rolling countryside of the British Isles, or skimming the African savannah, there’s often little to do other than take it all in.
#Microsoft flight simulator x xbox controller software
It’s easy to throw around words like zen, and meditative, when talking about MFS, and at various points that is the kind of effect this piece of software can have on you. Once you’ve got used to it, it’s an experience unlike much else. It’s something we’re not too attuned to in the console space and it takes some brain realignment to get used to.
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Aircraft do not simply turn and go where you want them if it’s too demanding a movement, and nor do they stop and start on a sixpence. I learned ever so often in my first hour with it that this is not Ace Combat. Once you’re in, you realise this isn’t a gung-ho experience, despite the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick tie-in. That’s how it’s going to hook you in, and once it has its ailerons in you, they’re not letting go. Part of that might be the modern trappings gorgeous satellite-influenced imagery, iconic landmarks and reliable Microsoft presentation make it feel closer to Forza Motorsport for plane enthusiasts than a precise simulator experience.