It’s incredibly hard to imagine that Microsoft's first flight simulator title hit store shelves 37 years ago. Flight Simulator 1.0 was released that same year the Space Shuttle Columbia made its first operational flight and released the same month a Boeing 757 set a nonstop distance record of 4,913 miles. Ten titles and 24 years later, avid aviation enthusiasts got their flying fix with Microsoft Flight Simulator X. It was by far the best flight sim game released by Microsoft. While rivals did emerge, FSX managed to retain a steady and loyal following.

The announcement and subsequent release of Microsoft Flight Simulator as met with a lot of anticipation, and it’s clear that Microsoft is billing the title as a fly-for-all game. The publisher tried in the past to create a gamer-friendly flight sim with Microsoft Flight and Flight Sim World, but those titles apparently only served as prototypes for what was to come. Whether Microsoft knew it at the time or not, those two games would go on to lay the foundations for this year’s MFS release.

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Visually the titles are strikingly similar, but Microsoft Flight and Dovetail Games’ Flight Sim World had an arcade gameplay element that most amateur aviators weren’t too fond of. Seeking the middle ground between noticeably refined graphics and a configurable gameplay style, Microsoft Flight Simulator was created. But tasking development studio Asobo with merely turning up the dial on the physics, graphical capabilities and internal mechanics wasn’t going to be enough. Third-party add-ons and extra modules essentially kept the aging FSX from fading into obscurity, but if you didn’t know where to look online, you were stuck with the default scenery and objects.

As part of the complete overhaul to the game’s mechanics, some elements have been taken into an entirely different direction. The game now features a Marketplace where players can download additional airports, aircraft, or landmarks – all for a price, of course.

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Perhaps the most significant fundamental change to the game’s scenery comes from Microsoft’s own Bing Maps. Rather than having to develop and populate residential areas with random buildings and sprites, the game pulls in geographical data from Bing Maps to fill out the surroundings. This works surprisingly well, but you will encounter a noticeable difference in quality if you are on a slower or capped Internet connection. You can set a bandwidth limit or opt to play offline, but then the scenery won’t generate as accurately (or at all). The use of Bing Maps isn’t a sure-firing way of recreating the real world around you, but it comes very close. Intersections, major buildings and shopping centers, and even suburb boundaries will be recognizable from 10,000 feet in the sky.

Where FSX has been flying relatively low under the radar for decades, Microsoft has actively pushed to attract gamers who might not initially be interested in a flight sim. Launching on Xbox One is a smart move as well, as flying with a game controller is better than keyboard and mouse – although nothing beats a proper flight stick.

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The game has several issues, sure. Graphical glitches and occasional erratic controls hamper the experience, but with some sustained love and care from the community, those can be ironed out with updates. Asobo has rolled out several major patches since release, with the latest version adding in some stunning high-quality scenery for Japan – as well as fixing some previous problems.

Aside from the graphical and physics upgrades, the game's code runs a lot smoother than previous iterations. The game also supports a wealth of third-party add-ons, truly enhancing the flying experience from just cruising around to simulating a cargo or passenger-carrying flight. But the trick for Phil Spencer and the Microsoft team will be to keep the current install base online and playing well beyond the next six months if fliers are to see any further developments and updates for the title.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is thankfully superior to its predecessor in virtually all ways, but whether it can get enough traction with new players will determine whether it suffers the same obscure fate as FSX. For now, Asobo and Microsoft have done a fantastic job in kick-starting the franchise, and if you are even moderately interested in a flight sim, this one is well worth your cash.

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