Every fan of computer games at least once in his life tried himself as a pilot of a military fighter or captain of a huge passenger airliner. But how can an inexperienced gamer determine which “fly” game to start playing, and which is unworthy even to install on a PC’s hard drive? Let's look at the best flight simulators in the history of the gaming industry and help beginner “pilots” choose the right path to the sky.
Conventionally, all video games dedicated to flying on various equipment can be divided into civilian and combat. Civil aviation flight simulators seem more boring and simple for beginners, although in reality this is far from the case. It is enough to launch the eminent “Microsoft Flight Simulator”, as it becomes extremely clear that even a small civilian aircraft is not always easier to fly than a modern American fighter or a domestic bomber from the Second World War.
Actually, the project mentioned above is the real king in the world of "flying" without shooting. Only the more modest X-Plane 10 is able to compete with the brainchild of the great company of Bill Gates in this field, but he loses much to the game Flight Simulator, which even real professional pilots praised in their time. But X-Plane boasts an unprecedented effect of surprise (for example, an engine or other equipment may fail right in the sky at your plane), which makes this game more unpredictable. Should I mention other "peaceful" flight simulators? Games in this subgenre (other than those already described above) are not very popular, and therefore it makes no sense to dwell on them. It is better to move on to the second part of our article, where we have to determine the best "flying" on military subjects.
For several years, the most popular among combat flight simulators has been the Il-2. Attack aircraft ". It’s better than the creators of this project to implement flights on two hundred planes of the Great Patriotic War and to show how difficult it was for the pilots of that time, no one has succeeded. The achievement of unprecedented realism during the control of aircraft of that time deserves special attention, and thanks to the realistic schedule, you can be transferred to the airfields of the battles of that fierce war for several minutes (or hours).
According to some popular gaming publications, a video game called Ace Combat: Assault Horrizon reached unprecedented popularity last year. Despite the modern technology and beautiful graphics, this game is unlikely to be able to compete with "Il-2" in realism, but you should not ignore it either. The best flight simulators in which it is necessary to take part in hostilities offer gamers much more opportunities than their "civilian" counterparts. For example, “Take on Helicopters” allows you to sit at the helm of the most modern helicopters. “Lock On” and “Flanker 2.5” will allow you to participate in unprecedented international conflicts, and dozens of games that could also be in the category of “best flight simulators” will transfer gamers to the battlefields of the wars of the past and even the century before last. Perhaps today you can sit at the virtual helm of almost all equipment that has ever taken off and left at least some mark in world history.
In fact, it is difficult to say unequivocally which of the modern simulators is more popular - civilian or military. But do not forget that the best flight simulators for each virtual pilot are those that you definitely want to return to again and again. And such a game can be either a serious hardcore simulator or a fun “air” arcade - it all depends on the preferences of the player himself.
Good luck with your flights!