DCS World

I am not an expert on flight simulators by any stretch of the imagination, so fair warning, I may be naive or ignorant in my assessment of this game.

That said, by far I believe DCS World, and what I have seen of its addons including DCS: A-10C Warthog, to be the most comprehensive and realistic modern combat flight simulator series I have ever seen. Many thanks to the developers for making the base game available for free on Steam. There's a lot included in DCS World to appeal to both the hardcore flight simulation crowd and to educators.

There are some minor omissions and simplifications from DCS World's default aircraft model, the Su-25, compared to its DLC packages in terms of the compexity of the cockpit's controls and graphical complexity, but what is available is so impressive to me I can't complain. Even this simplified model is more complex than many flight sims I've experienced in the past.

It's a good sign that some of the original companies which designed aircraft featured in this series are assisting with the development of the game/simulator, alongside the usual industry veterans. The sound design, user interface design, controls, mission editor and scripting system all seem to be quite well-executed. The game supports flightsticks, HOTAS and TrackIR, as well as (a rather inappropriate method of control in my opinion) the Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller alongside a mouse and keyboard.

I've not yet completely explored what the game has to offer in terms of difficulty levels, or rather, aircraft simulation settings, but my advice is that people who are looking for a casual, pick-up-and-go flight simulator should do their research or probably look elsewhere, as the game may be far more complex than expected.

There are customizable options for making the simulation simpler to understand, which can help once you get your bearings on the game's overall level of simulation. Even on the "easiest" settings, however, in general you probably won't be able to successfully fly in this game without researching actual documentation on the original aircraft first or following a tutorial due to the level of detail included in the recreation of said aircraft.

That said, you can't beat the price (at least for the base game, aircraft DLC is another story), so I would insist that you test the game out and see what you think of it first. There's plenty of tutorials in-game as well as available on the Internet to help you become accustomed to the Su-25's basic startup/taxi/takeoff/landing procedures and usage in combat.

If you are interested in online multiplayer, there is a thriving community of DCS World players online these days. I bet there's a wingman available to help you out.

Overall, at a first impression I consider DCS World and its expansions to be an excellent value for its cost. I look forward to eventually checking out the expansions.

Originally written February 19, 2014 on Steam, edited for repost