Aviation enthusiast? Wannabe pilot? Or if you just fancy a spin in the latest militery jet this product has it all. After many years of jumping around from one flight simulator to the next Microsoft have hit the nail on the head! The simulator is complex enough that a real pilot could no doubt gain much enjoyment from ore-flight preparations and aircraft handling but it is also simple enough that you could let an eager 5 year old loose with it without shouts of 'it's not working'. I personally would very much recommend the additional purchase of a joystick with it as it really does enhance takeoff and landings. I would advise Microsoft to maybe do a joint package with both a joystick and the game itself included in the price, this may sell well amongst beginners to the world of flight simulation! The addition of a greater selection of airbus aircraft would be good, such as an A340, although a great add-on is available through Just Flight for this aircraft.

My biggest issue with Microsoft Flight simulator is the fact that it contains errors that often cause the program to crash to desktop, these errors seem randomly occurring at take place often at different points during the flight. In my opinion a powerful PC is an advantage although no a necessity. Many people seem to believe that it is crucial to have a high quality graphics card, I do not believe this to be true, many standard PC graphics cards are more than able to cope, in reality frame rates are not issue at all for me.

For those more experienced in virtual aviation flight the virtual cockpit has been improved considerably and it now has more interactive features than in previous versions. With regard to the cockpit I was also delighted to see the improvements that have been made to the overhead panel along with the lighting systems on the aircraft, landing lights are strong but mot dazzling and the aircraft lights have now been edited for many of the light aircraft. This is far more realistic and make for a more authentic experience on many of the smaller and less well lit airfields of the world.

The light aircraft enthusiasts will no doubt be delighted to see the Beechcraft King and Baron models with various styles of cockpits including glass ones which are great for low flight. Cessna are also present on the simulator with both the 172 and the C208B Grand Caravan which is modelled poorly in my opinion due to the fact it is not as manouverable as it is in real life.

One of my previous major issues has been the lack of a quality helicopter range on a simulator, however I am extatic to report that the addition of the Augusta Westland EH101 in the extension pack has more than made up for this. The Augusta can be used on missions involving North Sea oil rigs and also in free flight mode to perhaps island hop.

All in all it is a very worthwhile product for anyone with even just a passing interest in aviation. Well done to Microsoft.