Ok, so surely there is no comparison here? I mean the makers of flightprosim have got absolutely no chance against a behemoth like Microsoft right?

Microsoft have dominated the flight simulator niche for so long that nobody usually gives anything else a second look, but that may be about to change. I want to compare the latest offering from Microsoft; flight simulator x with the new kid flightprosim.

Flight simulator x boasts the ability to render the whole of the earths surface through satellite imagery with the more popular destinations in excellent 3D detail. With flight simulator x, Microsoft have also added real time weather as well as the option of custom weather conditions to add an increased level of realism. In an attempt to appeal to the more main stream gamer, flight simulator x also includes a series of missions for you to have a go at just in case you get bored.

It has to be said that the graphics in flight simulator x are very impressive, however this prettiness comes at a price. The biggest negative of flight simulator x is that it is quite simply a huge drain on your machines resources. You may be thinking "but I've got a top of the range PC, it wont be a problem for me" and you'd be wrong. You can find countless reviews on the internet all saying the same thing. Even on a gaming PC, if you want to play flight simulator x without needing to load it for hours before hand, then the settings will need to be turned so low that it will resemble a game 10 years its senior.

So what of flightprosim? Like flight simulator x it also realistically renders the whole world for you to fly in. Again like flight simulator x, real world weather as well as the ability to customise the weather conditions is available. Flightprosim includes upwards of 100 aircraft to fly as well as 20,000 real world airports; more than flight simulator x has to offer. Unlike flight simulator x, flightprosim is open source meaning that its community are forever creating new content which is available for free. You can also add and create your own content and using google maps, see exactly where other players are flying in real time and go and join them.

The biggest difference from flight simulator x, is that despite it having excellent graphics, it plays without a problem. It doesn't stop start in highly detailed areas and there's no waiting hours for the game to load. If there is a downside to this game then it would be that the graphics whilst excellent, are not as good as flight simulator x.

Overall both flight simulator x and flightprosim are excellent, but for me flightprosim has the edge. It is great value for money and whilst flight simulator x is not as pricey as past editions, the extra content packs should you purchase them, will cost you a fair amount. So unless you've got a few thousand tucked away for a top spec machine, which is the only way you'll really get to enjoy flight simulator x, I'd go with flightprosim. It offers as much if not more than Microsoft's game and because it plays smoothly on any machine, you'll actually get to enjoy it.