X-Plane v 9.0

by ValuSoft

Product Features

• X-Plane 9 provides Ultra Realistic Flight Simulation
• Subsonic and supersonic flight dynamics, sporting aircraft from the Bell 206 Jet-Ranger helicopter and Cessna 172 light plane to the supersonic Concorde and Mach-3 XB-70 Valkyrie
• Design the plane you want to fly-from instrument panel to fuselage to weapons
• Try your hand at flying the Space Shuttle - orbit mars or simply fly through outer space
• Land at any of over 18,000 airports, as well as on aircraft carriers, helipads on building tops, frigates that pitch and roll in the waves, and oil rigs

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000LQ4CXY
• Item Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: April 1, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,172 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #5 in Video Games > PC Games > Simulation > Flight
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Subsonic and supersonic flight dynamics, sporting aircraft from the Bell 206 Jet-Ranger helicopter and Cessna 172 light plane to the supersonic Concorde and Mach-3 XB-70 Valkyrie. Design the plane you want to fly-from instrument panel to fuselage to weapons. Try your hand at flying the Space Shuttle - orbit mars or simply fly through outer space! Land at any of over 18,000 airports, as well as on aircraft carriers, helipads on building tops, frigates that pitch and roll in the waves, and oil rigs. 40 aircraft spanning the aviation industry (and history), and several hundred more are freely downloadable from the internet. NEW cutting-edge graphic effects for v9 include water reflections, real shadows, and smooth fog. 7.9 out of 10! “X-Plane is a fantastic sandbox that makes a terrific counterpart to the much more rigid Flight Simulator series.” Gamespot.com. “X-Plane is the single most impressive flight sim I’ve ever seen.” MacGamer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Staunch MS Flight Simulator Flyer converts to X Plane 9.0, October 15, 2008

By 

John W. Allen (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: X-Plane v 9.0 (DVD-ROM)

I have purchased every Microsoft Flight Simulator since FS '98, and have found each one to have it's own unique quality. So when Flight Simulator X came out, I was eager to see it's contribution to my ever increasing world of flight simulation. While I enjoyed it, it was not as promised. The DX10 feature was the biggest let down, as even on max settings it looked nothing like what we were promised. Oh, it looked okay as flight sims go, but it lacked the real punch I expected from a Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The flight physics are still adequate, set to maximum realism it can be fun, even. However, I still felt something was lacking. So, in a fit of boredom, I purchased X Plane 9. $[...]? "Well", I thought, "we'll see what we can get out of a flight sim that costs a third less than FSX standard."

I installed the program on my PC. It took about 30 minutes to install the primary program, and about 10 minutes to install the North America/Europe scenery disc. That's right, scenery on separate DVDs, and it's all worth it.

I started up the program and configured my graphics settings. Just for a hoot, I set them all to maximum settings. 4X Anti-aliasing, Ansitropic filtering, 1680x1050x32 resolution, turned on the rain and weather effects, and started it up. It loaded in about 20 seconds, which was 3x faster than FSX, and the opening shot was enough to catch my breath. It was superb. I'm not talking just nice resolution, the realism was astounding. Everything looked and moved like I was actually flying through a real world environment. So I flew around for a while, and the handling feels better. It responds more like an aircraft would whether it be rainy, sunny, windy, what have you, the plane behaved accordingly. FSX had done this also, but it was only mediocre compared to the flight physics this program was employing.

I wasn't won over yet. I wanted to see if I set FSX to the exact same specs, how it would respond.

Firstly, FSX doesn't have the same detailed customization as X-Plane 9. You have about half those settings. However, what I came to see was whether FSX could produce a visually stunning image as X-Plane 9. I set everything up, maxed out, as best as I could. There weren't as many visual options either for FSX as there were for X-Plane.

After I mimicked the settings for FSX as I had for X-Plane, I started up the simulation.

I was disappointed. FSX didn't do too bad, but when I tried to take off, I was rewarded with frame skips and stuttering. FSX couldn't reproduce the visuals and physics without cutting it's own performance. This was supposed to be the power of DirectX 10? Pfft. At max settings in X-Plane, I had seamless flying, with rain and thunder, lightning, drops splattering the windshield and shearing up the side, off the wings, too. Unlike FSX where you just see gray colored lines and a reflective runway as if it were wet.

I will state one thing, however: If you like using your keyboard, you can in X-Plane, it's just a little tougher to use. X-Plane does mouseflight (which is neat once you get the hang of it) and Joystick control, which I highly recommend. You will find a more satisfying experience that way.

I am now an X-Plane fan, and unless Microsoft can give me their performance, physics and detail, I'm not sure if I'll even be interested in their next release. Who knows. In the meantime, I'll be flying X air. ;)

~Pastor J

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a game...VERY realistic, May 28, 2008

By 

Van Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: X-Plane v 9.0 (DVD-ROM)

X-Plane 9 is not really a game in the classic sense. But it is, without question, the most realistic flight sim you can get for entertainment. It is even used as part of an FAA certified trainer. It has more options and customization than you can imagine. It even allows you to create your own aircraft. I found the program solid and much more efficient (both CPU and graphics) than FSX. This is no "flight-arcade" game. If you really want realism, X-Plane this is only way to go.

59 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A better simulator than Flight Sim X, May 25, 2008

By 

Danielle Townsend - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: X-Plane v 9.0 (DVD-ROM)

I purchased both X plane and Microsoft's Flight Sim X for the purpose of using them for some home flight training. As a simulator X plane 9 knocks the socks off Flight Sim X. Flight Sim X was simply too easy and the controls a tad unrealistic. Simple things really bothered me like the fact that the turn coordinator is there simply for show (it doesnt work) Flight Sim X is also a real system hog (see reviews on amazon for numerous complaints). I have numerous other complaints related to its realism that I wont waste time on here. X Plane 9 is everything flight sim x wants to be. I found the simulation much more challenging and the weather manipulation far superior to Flight sim X. The aircraft models and graphics to me looked roughly the same. In addition to the benefits as a simulator, X plane also allows you to do some really amazing things that Flight Sim X doesnt. Want to fly on Mars? Pilot the space shuttle back to earth from orbit? Take the X-15 from under the wing of a B52 into orbit? Design your own airframe? If your trying to decide between X plane and Flight Sim X I would get X plane.