Good flight simulators games?

[Reven]

Can anyone recommend me some good flight simulator games? I enjoy both regular and space flight simulators so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

I was planning on picking up a new joystick and a copy of Ms flight sim x but with GFWL shutting down im worried it might not work so i want to see what other options i might have

*tried looking online but all that comes up is a multitude of ftp games that run on flash for some reason :/

 

[Exhuminator]

If you're looking for a realistic sim, look no further than A-10C Warthog:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/06/17/dcs-a-10c-warthog-review
You can buy it off Amazon for reasonable price.

If you're more into fighter jets, Falcon 4.0 is still the gold standard realistic one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_4.0:_Allied_Force

If you're more into arcade jet flight sims, the best I've played has been Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_Combat_5:_The_Unsung_War
It's just an amazing game on every level, very fun. There's plenty other Ace Combat games, but that one is my favorite.

As far as space sims go, many consider Freespace 2 to be the holy grail:
http://www.gog.com/game/freespace_2

But I still think the Colony Wars games are the funnest space sims I've played:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Wars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Wars:_Vengeance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Wars:_Red_Sun

 

[Reven]

If you're looking for a realistic sim, look no further than A-10C Warthog:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/06/17/dcs-a-10c-warthog-review
You can buy it off Amazon for reasonable price.

If you're more into fighter jets, Falcon 4.0 is still the gold standard realistic one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_4.0:_Allied_Force

If you're more into arcade jet flight sims, the best I've played has been Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_Combat_5:_The_Unsung_War
It's just an amazing game on every level, very fun. There's plenty other Ace Combat games, but that one is my favorite.

As far as space sims go, many consider Freespace 2 to be the holy grail:
http://www.gog.com/game/freespace_2

But I still think the Colony Wars games are the funnest space sims I've played:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Wars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Wars:_Vengeance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Wars:_Red_Sun

Thank you so much for such a quick reply!
I'm looking through the list right now and freespace looks really interesting, the realistic stuff looks fun too but incredibly intimidating XD I'll still think about it though

 

[J Tyran]

Just a bit of advice dont buy DCS A-10, its a good game but you only get to fly the one aircraft in it. Get DCS World [http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/world/] instead, that way you get the whole game and can add aircraft as DLC. From WWII fighters to modern gunships, you can also get a combined arms pack that allows you to command ground forces.

War Thunder [http://warthunder.com/] is worth checking out too, PvE and PvP multiplayer arcade style air combat.

 

[ChupathingyX]

If you're looking for some more arcade style semi-realistic flight simulators then I highly recommend Ace Combat 4, Ace Combat 5 and Ace Combat Zero for PS2.

All three of them are amazing games with great missions filled with intense action, fist-pumping music and a nice variety of planes.

 

[Racecarlock]

Orbiter is a great space flight simulator. You have to get sound as a mod, though.

And by simulator, I mean simulator. No lasers, no big explosions, just "How the hell am I going to land on the moon at this speed with this trajectory and this level of fuel in my tanks". It even has an apollo mod where the instructions they provide are instructions to operate the real moon lander.

Or if you like firefly, it has a firefly mod. Also star trek, star wars, galactica, you know, the usual things.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I always enjoyed the Ace Combat series. Closest thing to X-Wing I could ever find on consoles. Until I found Rogue Squadron series. And of course, there's X-wing and TIE Fighter themselves, but those two are really old, so it's a matter of taste.

 

[J Tyran]

Just a bit of advice dont buy DCS A-10, its a good game but you only get to fly the one aircraft in it. Get DCS World [http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/world/] instead, that way you get the whole game and can add aircraft as DLC. From WWII fighters to modern gunships, you can also get a combined arms pack that allows you to command ground forces.

War Thunder [http://warthunder.com/] is worth checking out too, PvE and PvP multiplayer arcade style air combat.

if you do get dcs a-10 on steam it gets added to dcs world so you dont have to repurchase the dlc

Damn, wish they did that when I got them. Back then if you bought either DCS Black Shark or DCS A-10 they where a standalone game and DCS world was completely seperate, still even as a standalone they are well worth it and one of the best military flight sims around now.

 

[Clowndoe]

Huh, I would have thought someone would have mentioned 1946 by now.

If you're looking for the hardcore WWII flight sim, you can get Il-2 1946. Over 10 years old and it still looks great, is still supported, still has people online (hyperlobby is a must for multiplayer), and boasts a mind-boggling number of planes. Any WWII plane you can think of, for any theater of the war, there's probably a fully-rendered flight model of it. 10$ on GOG too, which is a steal.

If you want something more modern there's Il-2: Cliffs of Dover, which has far better graphics and more detail, at the cost of planes. The theaters are limited to the Battle of Britain here. The real problem with it is that for the longest time the game suffered performance issues, but I'm assured they're fixed by now by players I know (although I haven't played it myself).

Finally, there's Rise of Flight. This is the primo WWI game. It's also free, working on a modular "pay for the planes you want" model. You start off with the Fokker D.VII and the SPAD XIII I believe, all I can say for sure is that they were good planes. It's fairly recent, and runs buttery-smooth, so there's no reason not to try it.

 

[Muspelheim]

Just a bit of advice dont buy DCS A-10, its a good game but you only get to fly the one aircraft in it. Get DCS World [http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/world/] instead, that way you get the whole game and can add aircraft as DLC. From WWII fighters to modern gunships, you can also get a combined arms pack that allows you to command ground forces.

War Thunder [http://warthunder.com/] is worth checking out too, PvE and PvP multiplayer arcade style air combat.

War Thunder is really neat, the arcade bits are fun and there is a simulation mode in it as well. It's free to play, but you still get the planes and equipment you need without coughing up.

The people behind the IL-2 Sturmovik series were involved in making it, and it shows. It feels like a spiritual successor.

 

[cerebus23]

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?board=175.0

diaspora runs on freelancer engine but it stand alone, is free, and is pure awesome, for a fan made project, the beyond the red line team split over creative differences and some of them made this game.