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Best Flight Simulator?
- Thread starter ibanana
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It's not too much of a simulator, but, I loved Combat Flight Simulator 3. I can't think of a better combat flight game thats not arcade style but isn't so much of a sim that it's frustrating. It's a bit old now but I still have fun with it 
I've always preferred Flight Simulator over X-Plane. However, if you just want a simulator, X-Plane is good. I find FS to be much more fun though. I know some people want the most authentic experience you can get, however, sometimes, when you're in a commercial airplane low through the buildings in LA, a little voice pops in your head and says "Do a barrel roll!"...
I've always preferred Flight Simulator over X-Plane. However, if you just want a simulator, X-Plane is good. I find FS to be much more fun though. I know some people want the most authentic experience you can get, however, sometimes, when you're in a commercial airplane low through the buildings in LA, a little voice pops in your head and says "Do a barrel roll!"...
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Does anyone really want to take the chance of clicking "HERE" when a newbie is involved?
Cliffs of dover
I've kinda beat a dead horse but this game is amazing. Complex engine management has had even experienced simmers grounded or blowing many merlins(not to mention spewing oil everywhere). Prop pitch, mixture, etc. etc. etc. all have to be done by the player with certain features on. VERY frustrating/rewarding experience just to get off the ground. Gauges work... sometimes as they did in real life. Lots of trial and error and reading up on individual planes.
This is intended for combat, but many people spend hours just flying around, look up videos of London, there are plenty. It is stunning to see for yourself. The shadows in the cockpit put other flight sims to shame. At night you can more easily see the fire coming from the exhaust.... very cool.
The game is new and buggy, but patches have been coming out every week and it is getting much better. Check out this footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LMftuei6Fw&feature=player_embedded#at=23
And this was done by a player not the devs!
Sorry about the attachments, I got carried away.
I've kinda beat a dead horse but this game is amazing. Complex engine management has had even experienced simmers grounded or blowing many merlins(not to mention spewing oil everywhere). Prop pitch, mixture, etc. etc. etc. all have to be done by the player with certain features on. VERY frustrating/rewarding experience just to get off the ground. Gauges work... sometimes as they did in real life. Lots of trial and error and reading up on individual planes.
This is intended for combat, but many people spend hours just flying around, look up videos of London, there are plenty. It is stunning to see for yourself. The shadows in the cockpit put other flight sims to shame. At night you can more easily see the fire coming from the exhaust.... very cool.
The game is new and buggy, but patches have been coming out every week and it is getting much better. Check out this footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LMftuei6Fw&feature=player_embedded#at=23
And this was done by a player not the devs!
Sorry about the attachments, I got carried away.
Attachments
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Flight Simulator For Mac
The Best Flight Simulator For Mac - http://flightsimulatorplus.com/:apple:
The most comprehensive and realistic flight simulation program in existence today! Including 150+ aircraft models and 20,000 airports.
The Best Flight Simulator For Mac - http://flightsimulatorplus.com/:apple:
The most comprehensive and realistic flight simulation program in existence today! Including 150+ aircraft models and 20,000 airports.
Attachments
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You are a waste of a human being!
http://www.myspace.com/490745663
http://twitter.com/#!/Feminaathur
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Femina
http://internetbasedkids.com/2009/07/what-is-squidoo/
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=%22flight+simulator+plus%22+is+it+a+scam+or+real+deal&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=eae50598965cbe94&biw=1472&bih=1048
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=%22flight+simulator+plus%22+reviews&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=eae50598965cbe94&biw=1472&bih=1048
I did a Google search for "flight simulator plus" review.
I got page after page after page of bogus reviews.
I did a Google search for "Flight Simulator Plus" is it a scam or real deal.
Again page after page of bogus reviews.
These people are so dumb that most of the bogus web sites have the same background music.
The world has become a very scary place when "Flight Simulator Plus" can
use the advertising tricks that they do.
You are a waste of a human being!
http://www.myspace.com/490745663
http://twitter.com/#!/Feminaathur
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Femina
http://internetbasedkids.com/2009/07/what-is-squidoo/
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=%22flight+simulator+plus%22+is+it+a+scam+or+real+deal&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=eae50598965cbe94&biw=1472&bih=1048
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=%22flight+simulator+plus%22+reviews&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=eae50598965cbe94&biw=1472&bih=1048
I did a Google search for "flight simulator plus" review.
I got page after page after page of bogus reviews.
I did a Google search for "Flight Simulator Plus" is it a scam or real deal.
Again page after page of bogus reviews.
These people are so dumb that most of the bogus web sites have the same background music.
The world has become a very scary place when "Flight Simulator Plus" can
use the advertising tricks that they do.
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I have Microsoft Flight Sim X Gold and like 5 add ons that I can remember (Just Flight Traffic, REX and 3 ORBX), I'm playing it on my Windows 7 gaming rig. I am going to try X-plane 9 soon, but I think it will be interesting to see "X-plane 10" vs "Microsoft Flight". Both have no release dates but should be completed within a year or so. I think they'll be written a lot better to take more advantage of 4-8 cores I'd hope.
The way it normally works is the people who started out using MSFS, will prefer MS Flight and the people who used X-Plane first, will still prefer X-Plane.
X-Plane 10 should be released before the end of the year but I'm not sure when.
They say the reason it is taking so long is because it's a complete overhaul.
And it is supposed to take advantage of multiple cores.
"In a sentence, X-Plane 10 will have a plausible, scalable, dynamic world. Enter the plausible world for X-Plane 10. We will build every city in X-Plane from the first blades of grass upwards.
Here is how it works: We will start off with grass or field textures for the entire world, including the cities, and then build up from that. We will take each individual parking lot and place it on top of the grass. We will place each building on the parking lot, in 3-D. At no point will the painting of the roof of a building appear on the ground. This will never happen. Every building will be a real 3-D building, planted by an algorithm in a location that is at least physically possible."
I really like using Reality XP's Garmin GNS 530 WAAS. It is extremely realistic.
"Fly This Sim" has a very realistic Garmin G1000 also. But you really should have two computers and two monitors to use it.
Not much word on Microsoft Flight features. I know you can either fly solo or fly it with other enthusiasts.
X-Plane 10 747-400
X-Plane 10 release date
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Thanks for the links..>X10 is looking very, VERY Cool!!!
I'm excited for both...MS Flight and XPlane10. I grew up playing MSFlight Sim, initially...bizarrely enough, I started playing MSFlight Sim before XPlane, and BEFORE Microsoft even had a OS I started playing MSFlight on my Apple IIe! From there...I played a lot of MS Flight sim through the 90s...and grabbed a hold of XPlane in the early 2000s...about the same time I switched over to OSX...for good. I've maintained a partition on my HDD of my Mac Pro for Windows JUST for MSFlight sim and Adobe Audition. Now that Audition is available for Mac...and XPlane 10 is forthcoming, I may need to reevaluate the need to continue using Windows...however, the new MS Flight looks intriguing as well. Not sure about the "Commerce" or "Market" jargon, but we'll see.
Thanks again for the links.
Someone else mentioned it earlier...I, too, enjoyed the MS Combat flight sim games...as well, the F-22 sim that came out 10-15 years ago Just seems the decent ones faded away when the console games (XBox/PS2 and 3/Wii) and the handheld PSP, Gameboy, DS, etc...hit the market. It's too bad, as it seems with this thread anyway, that there is STILL a decent Flight Sim crowd out there. And now that most of us are in our 40s and 50s, we have more disposable income to throw at the hardware. It seems a fine time to develop the "Ultimate" flight sim.
I'm really looking forward to both XPlane and MS Flight's forthcoming software. Very exciting times...as well, one can now build an entire airplane sim in his/her garage...with all of the options on the market for yolks, pedals, throttles, radio panels and instrument clusters. Cool Stuff
J
I'm excited for both...MS Flight and XPlane10. I grew up playing MSFlight Sim, initially...bizarrely enough, I started playing MSFlight Sim before XPlane, and BEFORE Microsoft even had a OS
I started playing MSFlight on my Apple IIe! From there...I played a lot of MS Flight sim through the 90s...and grabbed a hold of XPlane in the early 2000s...about the same time I switched over to OSX...for good. I've maintained a partition on my HDD of my Mac Pro for Windows JUST for MSFlight sim and Adobe Audition. Now that Audition is available for Mac...and XPlane 10 is forthcoming, I may need to reevaluate the need to continue using Windows...however, the new MS Flight looks intriguing as well. Not sure about the "Commerce" or "Market" jargon, but we'll see.Thanks again for the links.
Someone else mentioned it earlier...I, too, enjoyed the MS Combat flight sim games...as well, the F-22 sim that came out 10-15 years ago
Just seems the decent ones faded away when the console games (XBox/PS2 and 3/Wii) and the handheld PSP, Gameboy, DS, etc...hit the market. It's too bad, as it seems with this thread anyway, that there is STILL a decent Flight Sim crowd out there. And now that most of us are in our 40s and 50s, we have more disposable income to throw at the hardware. It seems a fine time to develop the "Ultimate" flight sim.I'm really looking forward to both XPlane and MS Flight's forthcoming software. Very exciting times...as well, one can now build an entire airplane sim in his/her garage...with all of the options on the market for yolks, pedals, throttles, radio panels and instrument clusters. Cool Stuff
J
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"I've maintained a partition on my HDD of my Mac Pro for Windows JUST for MSFlight sim and Adobe Audition. Now that Audition is available for Mac...and XPlane 10 is forthcoming, I may need to reevaluate the need to continue using Windows."
I'd still use Windows for two reasons:
The flt sims will most likely get better performance under Windows than with OS X.
I know this to be a fact with a GTX 285 and X-Plane 9 but maybe things will change with X-Plane 10. But I doubt it.
The add-ons that I use are PC only.
.
"I've maintained a partition on my HDD of my Mac Pro for Windows JUST for MSFlight sim and Adobe Audition. Now that Audition is available for Mac...and XPlane 10 is forthcoming, I may need to reevaluate the need to continue using Windows."
I'd still use Windows for two reasons:
The flt sims will most likely get better performance under Windows than with OS X.
I know this to be a fact with a GTX 285 and X-Plane 9 but maybe things will change with X-Plane 10. But I doubt it.
The add-ons that I use are PC only.
.
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A long time ago I loved Sub-Logic's flight sim on the Apple ][. Just curious, but didn't MS buy that company and turn the DOS version into FS?
Skyfighters 1945!
The best flight simulator is Flightsimulatorplus.com... okay, just kidding. Considering that I just registered, I thought I'd have a little fun.
My flight sim days started on the old Apple //e using the Sub Logic flight simulator. Yes, wireframes were all the rage back then. Flight Simulator 2 actually had full color and it would render a frame every few seconds... If I recall, this was eventually purchased by Microsoft and became the basis for the Microsoft flight simulator.
I agree whole heartedly with those who loved A-10 from Parsoft. That was lots of fun. The F-18 series from GraphSim was very good as well.
Then, for a while, I was getting into the Jane's series of flight sims on the PC. Other PC favorites include Secret weapons of the Luftwaffe.
For general flight sims, I've shifted from MS Flight Sim to X-Plane. Initially, I did this due to the cross platform nature of X-Plane, but I came to appreciate the flight models better in X-Plane.
One flight sim on the Mac that I really miss though is Sky Fighters 1945. The author unfortunately died in 2009. The latest version works in Leopard, but does not work in Snow Leopard (or Lion I presume). I even kept a Leopard partition just for this flight sim. Don Hill Jr. did a great job with this and he was very responsive to e-mails, etc. I've played this sim for countless hours and his loss is a real tragedy to the Mac flight sim community.
The best flight simulator is Flightsimulatorplus.com... okay, just kidding. Considering that I just registered, I thought I'd have a little fun.
My flight sim days started on the old Apple //e using the Sub Logic flight simulator. Yes, wireframes were all the rage back then. Flight Simulator 2 actually had full color and it would render a frame every few seconds... If I recall, this was eventually purchased by Microsoft and became the basis for the Microsoft flight simulator.
I agree whole heartedly with those who loved A-10 from Parsoft. That was lots of fun. The F-18 series from GraphSim was very good as well.
Then, for a while, I was getting into the Jane's series of flight sims on the PC. Other PC favorites include Secret weapons of the Luftwaffe.
For general flight sims, I've shifted from MS Flight Sim to X-Plane. Initially, I did this due to the cross platform nature of X-Plane, but I came to appreciate the flight models better in X-Plane.
One flight sim on the Mac that I really miss though is Sky Fighters 1945. The author unfortunately died in 2009. The latest version works in Leopard, but does not work in Snow Leopard (or Lion I presume). I even kept a Leopard partition just for this flight sim. Don Hill Jr. did a great job with this and he was very responsive to e-mails, etc. I've played this sim for countless hours and his loss is a real tragedy to the Mac flight sim community.
Probably MS FLight Sim X - because of one addon:
Apologies about the displays inside that plane, they're quite dirty with fingerprints. It's amazing how good that new PMDG B737NG is. It really is awesome. Systems are excellent, and it generally seems very realistic.
People already do that with MS FS2004 and FSX. The B737 simulator at Darling Harbour, Sydney is a FS9 based thing using the old PMDG B737NG. That was an addon I never had. I however won't be going that far.
I do have a Concorde for FSX, the FSLabs one that is also extremely good - but it's no easy thing, you've got to operate it like the real one. It has all the characteristics of the real thing, including the surge if you throttle back the engines quickly at high speeds. The first time you encounter that, you wonder "what the hell was that" - but then checking the flight manuals reveals the reason why.
It's definitely not a plane for the beginner. I actually have the Air France and BA manuals for that plane (much prefer the Air France ones) and you can follow them very closely.
While I've tried numerous flight sims, I go back to the ones with the very fully simulated add-on planes. The eye-candy doesn't matter that much - I like planes with all the working systems of the real thing.
Apologies about the displays inside that plane, they're quite dirty with fingerprints.
It's amazing how good that new PMDG B737NG is. It really is awesome. Systems are excellent, and it generally seems very realistic.I'm really looking forward to both XPlane and MS Flight's forthcoming software. Very exciting times...as well, one can now build an entire airplane sim in his/her garage...with all of the options on the market for yolks, pedals, throttles, radio panels and instrument clusters. Cool Stuff
J
People already do that with MS FS2004 and FSX. The B737 simulator at Darling Harbour, Sydney is a FS9 based thing using the old PMDG B737NG. That was an addon I never had. I however won't be going that far.
I do have a Concorde for FSX, the FSLabs one that is also extremely good - but it's no easy thing, you've got to operate it like the real one. It has all the characteristics of the real thing, including the surge if you throttle back the engines quickly at high speeds. The first time you encounter that, you wonder "what the hell was that" - but then checking the flight manuals reveals the reason why.
It's definitely not a plane for the beginner. I actually have the Air France and BA manuals for that plane (much prefer the Air France ones) and you can follow them very closely.
While I've tried numerous flight sims, I go back to the ones with the very fully simulated add-on planes. The eye-candy doesn't matter that much - I like planes with all the working systems of the real thing.
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ProFight Simulator
Just purchased what I thought was a good flight simulator. I am using an iMac OS X with a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
Downloaded it and it came up Flight Gear. I tried to start it and it try's to load and initialize and then goes back to start up page. I have been reading up on ProFlight Simulator and some feel it's a scam. Have I reacted to hastily and have I gotten burned on this purchase or is there a fix. Would love someone to help.
Just purchased what I thought was a good flight simulator. I am using an iMac OS X with a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
Downloaded it and it came up Flight Gear. I tried to start it and it try's to load and initialize and then goes back to start up page. I have been reading up on ProFlight Simulator and some feel it's a scam. Have I reacted to hastily and have I gotten burned on this purchase or is there a fix. Would love someone to help.
X-plane is much more realistic, but Flight Sim is much more polished.
X-Plane is not an out of the box experience. You have to add on a lot of stuff to get it to work just like Flight Sim in terms of eye candy. There is no default scenery (or at least very little), there is very little wide screen support, no flexing wings support (as far as I know), default aircraft set is very laughable and yet a full installation would set you back 60GB. No game shoild take 60Gb of space, especially not in today's costly SSD era.
I prefer Flight Sim any day because of its completeness, but the flight physics are complete crap. I guess someone should step forward and create the ultimate flight sim combined with features from both.
X-Plane is not an out of the box experience. You have to add on a lot of stuff to get it to work just like Flight Sim in terms of eye candy. There is no default scenery (or at least very little), there is very little wide screen support, no flexing wings support (as far as I know), default aircraft set is very laughable and yet a full installation would set you back 60GB. No game shoild take 60Gb of space, especially not in today's costly SSD era.
I prefer Flight Sim any day because of its completeness, but the flight physics are complete crap. I guess someone should step forward and create the ultimate flight sim combined with features from both.
Probably MS FLight Sim X - because of one addon:
...People already do that with MS FS2004 and FSX. The B737 simulator at Darling Harbour, Sydney is a FS9 based thing using the old PMDG B737NG. That was an addon I never had. I however won't be going that far.
I do have a Concorde for FSX, the FSLabs one that is also extremely good - but it's no easy thing, you've got to operate it like the real one. It has all the characteristics of the real thing, including the surge if you throttle back the engines quickly at high speeds. The first time you encounter that, you wonder "what the hell was that" - but then checking the flight manuals reveals the reason why.
It's definitely not a plane for the beginner. I actually have the Air France and BA manuals for that plane (much prefer the Air France ones) and you can follow them very closely.
While I've tried numerous flight sims, I go back to the ones with the very fully simulated add-on planes. The eye-candy doesn't matter that much - I like planes with all the working systems of the real thing.
LOL...Yep, that's why I wrote it...People definitely ARE doing that with MSFS 04 and X...in fact, I'm one of them
It's really the one constant throughout my computing heritage...I started, at 16 years old in 1985/6 with an Apple IIe playing MSFS before "Windows" was around! From there, due to the adaptation of MS Windows in the corporate culture I decided to pursue, I had to leave Apple for the next 15 years. I continued to play Flight Sim...and still have the older copies of Flight Sim including; MSFS 2.0, 3.0, 5 and 5.1, '95, '98, 2000 and 2002....and to this day, I continue to use 2004 (COF) and FSX.
Since making the (permanent) switch to Mac about 6 years ago, I gave XPlane a spin...and I LOVE it! It's Awesome as far as flight physics are concerned (I'm a private pilot with my instrument and multi engine rating). You're absolutely correct about the "Eye Candy"...however, with XPlane, the community is incredible!!! The downloads are endless...whether it's scenery or specific aircraft you're looking for, you can find it. As well, I like the aircraft builder in XPlane much better than MSFS-X. Like you though, it's a toss of the coin which sim I use...and why I choose that sim at a certain time. I DO like the eye candy...and I've invested (over the past decade) a mini fortune on add-ons both for scenery and aircraft. Certainly one of the coolest additions to Computer flight-"simming", for me anyway...has been the internet and the ability to connect with other "Sim" folks that have MUCH more time than I to build aircraft and design airports and scenery...as well as ATC these days. Way, WAY too cool!!!
As far as taking up the garage...yep, that's me
My wife has been very tolerant of my sim hobby...I haven't put the cash in to an actual "Home sim" setup like this... http://www.flyingcity.net/index.php...roduct_id=54&gclid=CP_g_vmX6KoCFRZ3gwodUyfU6wBut I will when the next/new line of sims comes out...XPlane 10 and MS "Flight"...I think it's time one of the camps hooks up with Google and Google Earth
Seems they've already done the leg work for actual world scenery...Imagine being able to fly by your house, with your vehicle in the driveway...dog in the backyard, etc. For those of us that HAVE been Simming since the early days of "Stick-Scenery", the technology has come a LONG way...in fact, playing X-Plane on my iPad is really friggin' cool...much better than just 10 years ago on a home PC! Imagine what the next decade holds??
Jer
I'd personally love to have a home simulator setup, but it's too expensive now.
I'd move simulators just to stay with specific addons that I like. I actually don't fly any of the default planes that come with Flight Simulator, only addons. It's also the only reason I hang on to Windows.
If those addons I like went over to X Plane, I'd probably move to XPlane as well.
People have already hooked up Google Maps and/or other mapping facilities to Flight Simulator, I've tried it - but ultimately it's not that convincing when it takes a lot of time for the textures to update (in my experience). It may be better for others.
I hope for computer technology to catch up with flight simulator capabilities, then it's possible to push the details further. At the moment, I can't use ground traffic - it taxes my Mac Pro too much, but everything else can run full detail. Or maybe that's the software (FSX) needs to make better use of our modern computers (more likely).
I believe that it's already possible to do your own physics for Flight Simulator, some addons already bypass entire functions of FSX physics/simulation to do their own more sophisticated simulations. BBC had an episode recently showing a B747 simulation that used FS for graphics, and something else for physics / simulation. If I'm not mistaken, that was probably intended when FSX was developed - if the default features weren't adequate - the addon developer was to do their own. When you see the work that goes into the high-end addons - it's hardly surprising they are charging more than the cost of the basic Flight Sim software. They are very sophisticated products.
I'd move simulators just to stay with specific addons that I like. I actually don't fly any of the default planes that come with Flight Simulator, only addons. It's also the only reason I hang on to Windows.
If those addons I like went over to X Plane, I'd probably move to XPlane as well.
People have already hooked up Google Maps and/or other mapping facilities to Flight Simulator, I've tried it - but ultimately it's not that convincing when it takes a lot of time for the textures to update (in my experience). It may be better for others.
I hope for computer technology to catch up with flight simulator capabilities, then it's possible to push the details further. At the moment, I can't use ground traffic - it taxes my Mac Pro too much, but everything else can run full detail.
Or maybe that's the software (FSX) needs to make better use of our modern computers (more likely).I believe that it's already possible to do your own physics for Flight Simulator, some addons already bypass entire functions of FSX physics/simulation to do their own more sophisticated simulations. BBC had an episode recently showing a B747 simulation that used FS for graphics, and something else for physics / simulation. If I'm not mistaken, that was probably intended when FSX was developed - if the default features weren't adequate - the addon developer was to do their own. When you see the work that goes into the high-end addons - it's hardly surprising they are charging more than the cost of the basic Flight Sim software. They are very sophisticated products.
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I'm astonished nobody has mentioned the IL-2 Sturmovik series, which are pretty awesome if your interested in some WWII dogfighting. Plus there's a descent online community and multplayer if so inclined. Might not be the most realistic flight physics, but the damage effects are unparalleled in any game I've seen so far.
I haven't played the latest sequel, Birds of Prey but the older ones I'd highly recommend such as IL-2 1946 and IL-2 Forgotten Battles. Mind you it's Windows only, but it definitely worth giving a bash
I haven't played the latest sequel, Birds of Prey but the older ones I'd highly recommend such as IL-2 1946 and IL-2 Forgotten Battles. Mind you it's Windows only, but it definitely worth giving a bash
I've looked at IL-2 Sturmovik when it was first released, saw the bad reviews because of bugs and stuff, and never looked at it again. Are the bugs fixed?
I played the very watered down DS version and though it was pretty cool.
I played the very watered down DS version and though it was pretty cool.