Review: Take to the virtual skies

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As we face these difficult times and stay-at-home orders, we have needed to find new ways to stay entertained. Some of us have read books. Some people exercise. And some people sleep. But for those itching to get out and travel again, these past few months have been terrible. There are ways, however, to take to the skies once again and to experience the world as never before seen: virtually. 
Along with millions of other enthusiastic, travel-missing people, I stayed up until midnight on Aug. 18 to begin the download of what was to be the future of flight simulation: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. 
And the game did not disappoint. With 30 different aircraft and over 37,000 worldwide airports to fly to around the world, MSFS2020 lived up to its high standards.
Millions of other flight simmers and curious people logged on to the live multiplayer network to fly with their friends, or to explore the world from a different perspective. The real-life photo imagery within the game provides 3-D buildings and accurate road and airport layouts that our planet has never seen in a civilian flight simulator.
The game quickly became a sensation and allowed those who missed traveling the most to experience the world right from their own home. 
The game, which costs about $60 for the base version, comes with 30 specialty handcrafted airports and 20 aircraft, with more available with premium editions. The sim, however, does come with a catch, as it takes a pretty hefty computer to run. But the results from the sim are undoubtedly incredible.
In conclusion, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 may not yet be ready to replace older flight simulators like X-Plane 11 and Prepar3d in terms of age and ease of use, but there is definitely promise to show that the game will be “The Future of Flight Simulation.”
Andrew’s Review Score: I give MSFS2020 a full 6/10. I believe that the graphics are great, and the simulator runs well on a strong computer and that most aircraft are easy enough to fly. I lowered the score as there have been some technical errors and the flight engine isn’t completely accurate, but this game shows much promise for improvement.