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TUAW Review: X-Plane 9 for iPhone / iPod touch
Flight simulator applications are not only great entertainment, but a good way for would-be pilots to hone their skills without burning fuel or booking time in a "real" flight simulator. X-Plane 9 from Laminar Research is currently the most impressive flight simulator for Mac, with hundreds of different types of planes, thousands of airports, and very realistic weather.Laminar Research recently ported X-Plane 9 to the iPhone and iPod touch (click opens iTunes). While it doesn't have the extensive feature set of the Mac version, X-Plane 9 for iPhone and iPod touch is an impressive effort that shows off the sheer power of the iPhone and iPod touch both computationally and graphically. The app is a slender 7 MB and as you'd guess, you're giving up a bit of the Mac version's capabilities with the iPhone port. Instead of the entire world, you now have a 1,600 square mile area centered near Innsbruck, Austria to fly around in. There's only one airport, four aircraft types, less accuracy in terms of the flight models, no cities to fly over, and no navigation aids such as VORs. Is X-Plane 9 still a worthy iPhone app? Read on...
The Sky Crawlers come creeping back
It's been some time since we've seen anything from The Sky Crawlers, but guess what? It's still drop-dead gorgeous, though that's not particularly surprising, considering the source. There may be hope for the film -- and thus the game -- for Western audiences, too, as the film of the same name is being screened at the Venice Film Festival this week, and is sharing the spotlight (and a lot of fanfare) with Hayao Miyazaki's latest. So cross those fingers, and in the meantime, check out the lush new screens. You'll be glad you did.%Gallery-18921%
Born for Wii: Rogue Squadron
Lock S-Foils in Attack Position. Not only is it a line any self-respecting nerd will recognize instantly, it's also the basis for many a successful video game from days gone by. It all started in 1993 with Lucasarts' X-Wing, which brought Star Wars to PC gamers in a big way. For the first time, they were really in the cockpit, fighting the Empire in glorious (by 1993 standards) 3D. However, it was the 1994 follow-up, TIE Fighter, that refined the flight-sim, Rebel-hunting gameplay to a buttery smooth degree of excellence. Well over a decade later, TIE Fighter still finds itself on many "Best of" lists. On the console side of things, however, it's an entirely different series that drew inspiration from the mighty X-Wing.Star Wars: Rogue Squadron on the Nintendo 64 took players outside the cockpit (at least, by default) of the beloved X-Wing, but still placed them in control of the craft, offering an experience that was more shooter and less sim than the successful PC games. However, it was the superior Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II, released in 2001 with the launch of the GameCube, that brought the spirit of the X-Wing to consoles. Developer Factor 5 and Lucasarts also collaborated on a third entry in the series, Rebel Strike, which lacked the "wow" factor Rogue Leader had in 2001, but did little to harm the good name of the trilogy. Now, nearly five years later, Factor 5 has been off doing other things, when they really should've been working on a new entry in a series that may just have been Born for Wii. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-29879% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Dark Sector, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
See what's crawling in Sky Crawlers' skies
One of the most important aspects of a flight-sim game is, of course, what you're piloting. If we're going to take part in virtual flying, we're going to do it in style. That's why we were pleased to see Famitsu post some screens of the airware in Sky Crawlers, a title that we've been keeping our eyes on.The game is just so pretty that this plane looks equally so, whether you like ones with propellers or not. Granted, though, we're not aircraft experts, so we have nothing but the drool coming out of our mouths to judge it by. What about you, flight simulator aficionados? Do these images (more after the break) bring out feelings of woot, or meh? Gallery: Sky Crawlers
Sky Crawlers still beautiful, still Japanese
These latest screens from The Sky Crawlers only serve to cement what we already knew: this game is absolutely gorgeous, and probably still very much out of our hands. The game is set as a tie-in to the film from Production I.G, which is based on the books by noted Japanese author Hiroshi Mori. Since we know of no plans for an English version of Mamoru Oshii's film, the game's localization seems less likely, but that doesn't mean we can't hope! And after seeing the new images, we're hoping something fierce. We'd take the movie, too. Just sayin'.%Gallery-18921%
Screens, scans, and details on Sky Crawlers take flight
Some scans and info from Famitsu reveal more about the ever-so-delicious Sky Crawlers, an upcoming flight-sim game for the Wii. The developers (you know, the Ace Combat team) boast about how pretty this title is, and we can't help but believe them. As for the story, it centers around a pilot in an elite fighting unit, as well as young girl named Orishina Maumi who has recently joined the squad. Playing off of that, the subtitle for the game is Innocent Aces.Details about the controls were also revealed, with the Nunchuk being used as a joystick and the Wiimote being used for throttling (and, we gather, shooting). If you're an ace with the controls, you'll also be able to pull off acrobatic maneuvers. The last important aspect in the scans worth mentioning is that Sky Crawlers will involve squad management, which is a nice feature when it comes to flight sims.Oh, Japan, how we envy you. Let's hope this one gets localized -- Namco Bandai isn't one to normally give us Westerners the shaft. In the meantime, hit up our updated gallery below for a handful of new screens.%Gallery-18921%[Via NeoGAF]
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey coming to 360
Simulation games of any type don't exactly have a large or successful history in the world of the console gamer. But since RTS's have been taking steps into the console world, sims should as well. Given that most sims are slow and a bit, well ... boring, it's good to see that not only is IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey the type of game that doesn't look very boring, but also that it has a name that doesn't suggest it's genre (we're looking at you MS Flight Sim!). While it's unknown whether the Birds of Prey version that will hit the 360 will include any new content, the game is already known as the one of the best WWII flight sims around and new content might not really be absolutely necessary to bring people in.
HAWX takes to the skies
Rumors have hit the web that Tom Clancy's HAWX might be coming to the Wii, after the game was announced for the 360 and PS3 not too long ago. It's a high-speed flight combat simulator, a platform for military heroes to strut their stuff, and hopefully a graphical showcase for some serious dogfighting action. There hasn't been any official announcement or media for the Wii version as yet, but several online retailers along with IGN have updated their listings to specifically include HAWX. Ubisoft is holding out on details for now, but the tentative release date of September 16 shouldn't be too far off the mark. Check out the official website to get all excited and stuff. Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer won't be involved. Phew.[Via GoNintendo]
Birds of Prey hunt the DS
European PC publisher 1C is trying its hand at the current-gen consoles and handhelds, including everything except the Wii in its latest venture, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey. Browsing through 1C's resume, we didn't find anything of note, but the again we're not really in-the-know when it comes to PC gaming. If former endeavors are any indication of future performance, the fact that the company's previous IL-2 Sturmovik games rated well on Metacritic is a bit soothing. We'll be interested to see if 1C can translate its PC success onto the DS, although newbie DS developer DiP Interactive isn't the most confidence-inspiring of choices. As for the game's premise, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is a World War II flight simulator that lets the player engage in five airborne battles: The Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Berlin, Sicily and Korsun.Since 1C is a European publisher, we're going to assume that this game is only for Europe until we hear differently.
Fruit fly flight simulator could smarten up robots
Wondering just how we mere mortals were going to even give a robot enough smarts to completely overtake our societies? Oddly enough, some of that artificial brain power could come from studying the way fruit flies, um, fly. A completely bizarre flight simulator at Caltech actually plays "scenes" that flys react to, and considering that the fly is constantly held, researchers can closely examine how the insect attempts to navigate away from lines, blobs and all manners of incoming obstacles. Those working with the installation suggest that these studies could one day help autonomous robots function better, potentially taking some of the load off of our human workforce. We know, you've got three bold letters and a question mark running through your noggin right now -- just hit the read link to see what it's all about.[Thanks, Dave]
Check out Sky Crawlers in motion
Should you happen to be as excited about Sky Crawlers as we are, you might be interested in this trailer -- even if it's just a total tease. We can't tell much about the game from this video, but it sure does look nice. We like the oldschool planes, too, as opposed to modern jets, but maybe that's just us. Here's hoping that more info on Sky Crawlers gets released soon! %Gallery-18921% [Via Gemaga]
Sky Crawlers gets more screens and a website
If the time is just crawling for you until Sky Crawlers comes out, at least there's now an official website for the game to keep you busy. The site is in Japanese, but it's not too hard to click on buttons and hope for the best. There's not much to see at the moment, though, except for the snazzy screens we've conveniently added to the gallery below. So, those of you who are afraid of the cold, harsh arms of the internet don't even have to leave the safety of Nintendo Wii Fanboy for now. Reminder: Make sure to click on the "Hi Res" button when viewing the photos, or else you're just a fool.%Gallery-18921%[Via NeoGAF]
Sky Crawlers screens soar past our expectations
We have one word to describe Sky Crawlers: Gorgeous. Yes, looks aren't everything, but we're too busy mopping up our own drool to care about such technicalities. Also, since the game is being made by the same people behind Ace Combat, we're going to bet that the gameplay in this will be just fine. At the very least, the controls sound solid. Simply enough, you move your plane around with the Nunchuck, and then point and shoot with the Wiimote. The best shots of the game are in our gallery (below), but some more Famitsu screens are posted after the break. So, click away if you're looking for some nice Wii eye-candy.*Note: The pictures look best when viewed in their full resolution, so make sure to click here to see them in their glory. If you prefer, you can also click on the "Hi Res" button in the gallery.%Gallery-18921%
Ace Combat team making Wii flight sim
Click for larger version. Remove Petit Copter from the equation, and pickings are awfully slim when it comes to Wii flight sims. So what's a budding Biggles to do? Pray for a Wii update to the absolutely flawless* Pilotwings 64? Well, that's one option (and something we do on a daily basis anyway), but Bandai Namco is hoping to provide another in the form of Sky Crawlers, a flight game based on an animated film that's to be released on August 2nd in Japan.The latest edition of Famitsu has the first shots of the title, in which the Wiimote doubles up as your throttle, and the nunchuk is used to steer. Even though the film is based on a fantastical premise -- youngsters fighting a war organized by adults as a form of entertainment -- the game features realistic visuals.In summary, we're keen to see more of this, particularly as it's developed by the same team behind the Ace Combat series. With any luck, we'll be able to banish the craptacular likes of Wing Island from our memories forever.* Seriously, don't argue with me here. Like, seriously. I have maimed for less.
Saitek independent LCD interface boxes for flight sims
At E3 earlier this month, Saitek demoed a peripheral sure to spark the interest of many a flight sim enthusiast. Their product, for now with no name, enables flight simulators to display different, customizable information from the "game" on three separate LCDs. Effectively, the displays emulate a real cockpit, where each bit of information comes from a separate module that is integrated into the dash. The device is scheduled for a fall launch, will cost only $99.99, and will be supported in several flight sims beyond the obvious Flight Simulator X -- we're crossing our fingers for X-Plane support.
HotSeat Chassis' plane and helicopter flight simulators
When we hit up a press event, we're looking for two things (besides free refreshments): unannounced products and unreleased devices that we can get you some hands-on shots of. Well save for the snazzy MX Air that we picked up from Logitech, last night's Digital Life preview in New York was a total bust -- nothing but Foleos and non-working robots as far as the eye could see -- so instead of schmoozing with our colleagues or getting our egos stroked by publicity-happy vendors, we watched uncoordinated journalists attempt to master the controls of HotSeat Chassis' latest immersive simulators. While the company also makes a full line of driving rigs, the demo machines were both of the flying variety: the $6,000 Combat Sim and $7,000+ Heli Sim. The former contraption features two monitors and traditional "dogfight" controls that work with most any software, while the latter offers just a single control stick to help you live out those Airwolf fantasies. If you're interested in checking out gaming equipment that costs more than a used car (and even some new ones), hit the gallery below... %Gallery-4826%
What if ... Flight Simulator on the 360
As part of their Missing in Action series, GameAlmighty is pitching the idea of having Microsoft's Flight Simulator landing on the 360. And, to their credit, the game would pull in a new demographic and could actually work quite well with Xbox Live. Even though we have yet to get our hands on the latest Flight Simulator iteration, GameAlmighty instantly sold us on the game with their ideas for Live features and gameplay. Their ideas include things like creative achievements, co-op gameplay, bookmarking world locations, special flight joystick, and a beefed up leaderboards system. Seriously, Flight Simulator could work AND be entertaining on the 360. So we ask, would you be interested in Microsoft's Flight Simulator if it were to come to the 360?
Today's worldliest game video: Xbox 360 Controller + Virtual Earth
Video: Using Xbox Controller for Live Search Maps We'll be starting to think about abandoning our mice altogether if things get as simple as this video makes them seem. Using the Xbox 360 Controller and optionally the Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows (good grief that's a mouthful), you can whiz in and out of Virtual Earth just like Hiro Protagonist in 'Snow Crash'.It's like using the controller and turning the whole planet into one giant version of Flight Simulator. We knew that game would come back in a big way sooner or later. Next stop, Virtual Solar System.
Today's flight simmiest video: Vulcan - BlackBuck raid test in Falkland/Malvinas flight sim
Anyone else heard anything about this flight sim? It looks PC-based, but it just got us to thinking that we really need to see some flight simulator goodness on the next-gen consoles. I'd even settle for a low-grade graphics version on the Nintendo Wii. Back in our college days, we spent hours and hours flying around in LucasArts' Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe, and Wing Commander III, and we want to keep doing it. Build us a good, quality, realistic (and fun) flight simulator, and the masses will come. Is that too much to ask for? In the meantime, enjoy the footage, and pray for something good to come down the pipeline. Our wallets are ready and willing.
X-Plane 8.5 Beta now available
Laminar Research has released a new Beta for X-Plane 8.5, developer Austin Meyer's comprehensive flight simulator and personal labor of love. Beta 11 is available for Mac, PC, and Linux, and features dozens of modifications such as new environmental effects and joystick button controls. There are also some tweaks to the instrument panels, which may be the most welcome update given the game's challenging learning curve.Read Joystiq's review of X-Plane 8.21.