For no logical reason you'd find yourself following the Nile or the Amazon one night, crossing the Caspian Sea or the Bay of Bengal the next. 'Flip open an atlas' the Create A Flight menu seemed to implore, 'Choose a start point and, if you like, a destination, and be on your way'. The mind-boggling scope was an invitation to explore. Landing at Kai Tak put hairs on your chest. Here was a game built around a space even the most avid aviator might only ever see a thousandth of in a lifetime of flying. 129 countries, 3000+ airfields, millions of miles of crinkly coastline and wiggly road. For starters there's the little matter of a seamless level it would take 10 days of solid stick-time to circumnavigate in the sim's Sopwith Camel. Revisiting the sim today, I'm struck by just how much the team from Redmond managed to pack into that dainty 300Mb footprint. Not that an unaugmented install isn't still a wonderful thing. The FS98 I finally retired in 2001 bore little resemblance to the FS98 I'd eagerly installed several years earlier, and it's a cause of deep regret to me that careless Spring-cleaning at some point during the last decade means I must base this retrospective on the official MS version, rather than my own infinitely richer customised one. Within seconds of quitting the cockpit, I'd be pacing their Arrivals halls, eyes peeled for fresh community-crafted rides, scenery, and missions. You did indeed fancy a forage.Ī and were my foraging grounds of choice. Every so often he'd hold up a little sign emblazoned with the words 'Fancy a forage?' The first couple of times you might manage to ignore him, but at least once an evening you'd usually find yourself nodding in affirmation.

He was about so high, wore a beautifully tailored flight suit, and sat atop your monitor or desk while you flew. None of the FS98 reviews I can find on the Web, mention The Pixie.

Microsoft flight simulator 2004 demo