X-Plane

 PC
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Adrenaline Vault
    70
    One of the most accurate flight sims ever created... Where X-Plane falls short is with its substandard graphics.
  2. Computer Games Magazine
    50
    The learning curve is extremely steep, so if you decide to take the pilot's seat, be prepared for a bit of a bumpy ride. It's exactly the sort of title you would expect from a small, grassroots developer—made with obvious enthusiasm but lacking a lot of the polish of its market-dominating competitor.
  3. All Game Guide
    50
    Deserves two ratings: one for players who are plane-enthusiasts and one for the casual gamer. The first rating is high due to the incredible level of accuracy and detail; the claim on the box of being the most realistic commercially available flight simulator would be difficult to argue. Conversely, the second rating would be low since the appeal for gamers who crave a bit of action or a solid story line is so small.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 2 out of 6
  1. DennisH.
    Jun 27, 2005
    10
    It is long past time that someone creates something that is close to the game category, where kids can at least learn a little of something It is long past time that someone creates something that is close to the game category, where kids can at least learn a little of something useful, instead of wasting so much time with something that is not real and has absolutely no benefit. I just bought X-Planes 8, and it seems they are starting to add a few game like features, but at the same time have realistic features, which can actually be used to learn how to fly a real plane. It is probably harder to use, but to me, wasting time trying to learn what room has the prize can take just as long, and you end up with no real useful knowledge. Now that X-Planes has the sim accuracy down pat, and 100s of avid fans adding 1000s of new planes to the already long list of real and not so real planes that you can fly, with real topography of the whole plant in the works, they seem to be branching out to give the gamers something they like too. It is a short step from here to having the cities, buildings, etc. from the satellites, such as were used on earthviewer.com and now on google.maps.com, so that you can fly past your home, land on the closest airport, or use a chopper or Harrier to land in your back yard. This may sound far fetched, but just give it a few years :) I have flown many games sims, and you loose interest after a few flights, because the goal is to reach a high skill level that is unrealistic, and one that very few gamers ever reach, unless they spend more hours than is required to learn everything about a real plane. With X-Plane, unless you are brain lazy, you will never reach that boredom state, because just learning all about only one of the 1000s of possible planes can be a career by itself, and when you are done you have learned something real and useful. But game makers hate sims like this, because if you are spending so much time learning anything, they loose the sales of the next wave of games :) It is better to keep spending hours and money to feed you appetite, or spend only the hours, and have something useful?… Full Review »
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