Microsoft Flight Simulator, a technical marvel of a game that I gave my second ever 10/10 score in over 8 years of reviewing games, will soon be having us revvin’ up our engines while we listen to her howlin’ roar. Sometime in Autumn of this year (Fall for the Americans out there), Microsoft Flight Simulator will be placing us in the cockpit of Maverick, giving us a link between the game and the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick.
Now, this is free expansion, so I’m going to admit that I don’t imagine it being all that extensive. We’ll get the planes from the upcoming film, there’s no doubt about that, but will we get the areas the film visits? Microsoft didn’t reveal a lot in the E3 showing, but it was interesting, particularly because I love me a bit of Top Gun! I’d also love it if we could fire a few rockets and bullets Microsoft, so, you know, can we?
That wasn’t the only news about Microsoft Flight Simulator in the quick mention at E3 today, though. We now have a firm release date for the consoles. Microsoft Flight Simulator will be gliding onto the Xbox Series S & X on July the 27th, with what I have to hope was a showing of what the game will be performing like on the consoles, Microsoft bringing in several influencers to fly around the world, perform a few stunts, showing you just what you can do in what is a brilliant game.
As for my thoughts of Microsoft Flight Simulator, you can read the summary of my review – an opinion that still stands:
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a marvelous use of technology to create one of the most wonderful and spectacular looking games I’ve ever played. Never a proponent of realism, it simply works here thanks to thousands of handcrafted buildings, as well as certain exceptionally detailed cities, planes and airports, giving you something that is a sheer joy to explore. This attention to detail expands to the controls of the planes, though Asobo ensured it’s accessible through easy to use Xbox controller functions. Once you’re past the learning curve and the full functions of the planes are at your disposal, there’s little that can be said other than this as close to perfect as could be hoped. There are some very slight issues, such as long loading times – expected due to what is being loaded – but every square inch of the Earth is accessible and it’s always worth the wait, particularly thanks to the number of options at your disposal. There’s no doubt in my mind that this will be a platform that will last long into the future.
