Features

• Cockpit design alike actual car models
• Original FIA GT Series cars and courses
• Real racing teams featuring more than 70 racecars, including the Porsche 996, Viper GTS-R, BMW Z3 M, and Ferrari 550 Maranello
• Car physics based on actual racecar telemetry data
• Sounds recorded from actual racecars

Reviews (3)

Best racing sim on the market
This is, without doubt, the best racing sim on the market. Models are outstanding, physics are tops, sounds are awesome, support is excellent, and the 3 new add-ons are definitely meant for the American market: the creators of GTR have already added 3 ovals to satisfy left-turn-itis... You have 3 levels of difficuly: Arcade, Semi-pro, and Simulation. Simulation is very difficult, while Arcade is quite easy. Lots of cars, lots of tracks, lots of options. Have fun!!

drivers heaven !
this is the best experience i have ever made in racing game !
forget about gran tourismo 4. i am now on the game since 1 week and playing it nearly 12 hours a day. my opinion now, this is the most realistic and hardcore game of all categories...

and i love the porsche`s in it... :-)

GTR FIA GT Racing Game PC
If you have any interest in racing games, and you own a PC, then this is the game for you. Two words: Incredibly Detailed. You can customize nearly every aspect of the game.For example, want to drive in the cockpit view but can't see over the dashboard? No problem - use the hotkeys to adjust the drivers seat. You can even tell the game to add driver head movement so you can actually look through a turn the way real drivers do.You can adjust every part of the car to make it handle exactly how you want it to handle.
The graphics are fantastic.You can adjust so many graphic settings that it should run on most computers.The car detials are exact, though most of the race car sponsors are unfamiliar to me.The cars have different paint schemes and customizations.Even the cockpits are exact replicas of the real sports cars.
The gameplay is near perfect.That is, you can modify the game to make it as hard as you want it to be.The cars all exhibit real physics with down forces and tire wear just to name a few.The game gives you three modes to play, from Arcade mode to Simulation.Remember, this game is designed as a simulator, so the game has a steep learning curve.I recommend a good two analog stick game pad to get the most out the game. And practice changing the setting to make the game comfortable to play.
Overall, the game is fun and deep, with excellent graphics and sound.What more could you want in your race car driving simulation?

---Update: For a game with so many settings, you can't adjust the number of laps in the arcade mode.Seems like they should have added that.Also, the game is very hard.I have spent most of my time playing in Arcade mode.Just be prepared to practice, ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Star Wars fans, listen up. If you missed out onLucasArts's X-Wing or TIE Fighter simulations when theyfirst appeared, it's time to make amends. These classic games from thedays of DOS have been given a complete makeover, updated with enhancedgraphics, and now run under Windows 95 and 98. X-Wing CollectorSeries contains both of these Collector editions in a singlebox, along with a demo CD-ROM containing X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter:Flight School, and offers them all at a price that should be wellwithin anyone's entertainment budget.

Entertained is what you'll be once you've installed these games. X-Wing lets players pilot A-wings, Y-wings, B-wings, and (of course)X-wings in dozens of missions against the evil Empire. Although Rebelships have the advantage of being equipped with shields, don't expectany mercy--the game is infamous for containing some of the toughestmissions of all time.

TIE Fighter turns the tables by letting players work their wayup in the Imperial ranks. Several types of TIE ships are modeled, fromthe ungainly TIE bomber to the incredibly agile TIE defender. In bothgames the controls are about as perfect as they can get in a game ofthis type, and campaign missions play out with convincing voice actingand great plot twists. The graphics pale in comparison to a newer gamelike X-Wing: Alliance, but there's so much gameplay in these CD-ROMs that we barely had time to notice. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• A few hundred fun, challenging missions to play through
• Many different ships
• Sound effects and music straight out of the movies
• Perfectly captures the excitement and feel of Star Wars

• Updated graphics still don't look as good as those found in modernspace simulators

Reviews (12)

An ageless game
I bought this game for my 486 years ago, back when the game had to be installed from a floppy diskette.The gameplay is second to none.No game since this one has kept me up at night, formulating different strategies in order to succeed in a previous mission failure.The amount of detail in this game blows my mind comparing it to other, more "asthetically pleasing" modern games.The level of difficulty is very, very high; however, I never became so frustrated as to give up, only to try harder.Hands down, my favorite videogame of all-time.This one even tops Diablo II, folks.

My Favorite Game
Tie Fighter is my favorite game.Of course, that means little without knowing me.I'm 33.I got my Atari 2600 when I was 8, and my first computer (Timex/Sinclair ZX81) when I was 10.I used to regularly steal $20 bills from my mother's purse to spend hours at the arcade.(P.S. -- Haven't seen HyperBall in along time.A very nifty mechanical game.)

I believe popular video games began a downward spiral with the sad arrival of Doom.

Nowadays, I still have a working Atari 2600 adapter for my ColecoVision.I have a nice collection of KOEI games for the Nintendo Entertainment System.I have nearly 2000 arcade machine ROMs on my computer.

It is my opinion that Dungeons of Daggorath was the most innovative video game, ever.It is my opinion that Tie Fighter is the best video game, ever.It's sad that nothing better has come along in the 10 years past its release.

Oh...My...God
Concerning X-wing

I remember getting this game for my birthday way the heck back in 1992.The missions were so fun and CHALLENGING now this is a word that most people in the computer game industry seem to have forgotten.The appeal of this game for me was that because it took so much time to complete(I think I managed it in 2 years) the victories were all the swetter when you won.

Nowadays you can just type in a cheat code and skip to the end well keep in mind that such a thing did not exist on the old DOS machines.

X-wing was the first but later on Lucas-arts improved the engine by adding TIE FIGHTER (that's right a game where you play on the side of the Imperials) this also provides some very challenging missions but can be beaten with much more ease that anyone could ever beat x-wing.Still fun, just as enjoyable

Now X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter brings us relatively up to date combing elements of both games what you have is a game that is more useful for multiplayer than single player missions.This is finally where the age of this type of game in this type of format began to show.Most of the missions in this game were just repeats of the same missions in X-Wing and Tie Fighter.Although the graphics are better and there are one or two missions that provide a great level of enjoyment.

If any of you old dogs out there are still using 98 or 95 pick up a piece of gaming history and get a copy of this package.

would be more fun if wasn't so difficult
this is one of the older games that are still around, but, unlike the other oldies, this one now has Direct-X 3D acceleration.It also has Lucas Arts premium sound effects , so if you've never played a Star Wars game, this is as good a place to start as any.

You get a manual, a quick reference guide and 2 CD-ROMs containing a total of 3 titles: "X-Wing", "Tie Fighter" and "X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter: Flight School" (a demo of an improved title).

this was the first game(s) I ever bought and was hoping for agood space flying/shooting sim that's fun and not too difficult.I got half of what I wanted...it looks good and the tutorials are fun and simple, but like most of these type games, most of us can only finish the first 2 levels before being inundated with unenjoyably heavy fleets and relentless laser fire.

Awesome
I can't believe how fun an old game can be.Sure, the graphics are a little dated, but the gameplay is unbeatable.This Collecter Series is a really great deal that saves a lot of money because if you only buy one of the games you'll end up wanting to play the others too.So buy it today! ... Read more

Product Description

SimCity™ 4, features new simulation and graphics engines, new regional game play and thenew ability to track the lives of individual Sims as they go about their daily routine, SimCity 4 isthe most realistic, powerful and personal SimCity experience ever. Lay the groundwork for theircities by molding mountains, carving valleys, seeding forests and laying rivers. Build a worldclasscity with stadiums, airports, universities, and real-world landmarks. Feel the rhythm of thecity: peaceful protests and rowdy riots, noontime crowds and nighttime calm. Control everyaspect of your city and see the results for better or worse.

• Sculpt mountains, gouge valleys, seed forests, and bring forth animals to create a world allyour own.
• Summon volcanoes, release tornados, and call down meteors and lightning.
• Build a world class city with stadiums, airports, universities, and real-world landmarks.
• Deploy emergency vehicles and join in the action as they battle blazes, mobs, and more.
• Place your Sims in your city to get the inside scoop on what's going on around town.
• Connect a massive region of SimCities, each sharing and competing for resources.

Features

• Create and control the most life-like metropolis you can imagine
• Take your Sims from "The Sims" into your SimCity
• Dispatch police cruisers to fight crime, send out the Mayor's limo to quell a rioting mob, or cap an erupting volcano threatening your citizens
• Form mountains, carve valleys, plant forests, raise oceans, and more
• From mellow traffic flow to commuter hell, noontime crowds to nighttime calm, partygoers to troublemakers, the movement in your city is ever-changing and unpredictable

Reviews (28)

Should be Crash City not Sim City
I bought this game for my son and I am now spending many minutes a day rebooting his MAC computer. The game locks up the entire system and requires a hard reboot each time. If this was an automobile from GM of Ford the roads would be littered with wrecked cars. Don't waste you money.

Great game, but you need a patch to fix a performance issue
I played all the previous versions of Sim City back in my bad oldWindows days and really enjoy the game.But for some reason this version will paralyze even a fast Mac.I'm running this on an iMac 1.8GHz G5 with 1GB of memory, and after about 10 minutes of play I have to quit and restart the game because the response becomes impossibly slow.Very frustrating.Haven't tried the updater yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

UPDATE (Apr 05): Installed the updater and it appears to have fixed the slow response problem.

Very Good...if it has update!
I have noticed many people have said just how bad Sim City 4 is. The thing to solve these problems is to get the updater It will make Sim City much better!

Graphics not a problem...if you fix them!
Lots of these reviews complain about the graphics on this Mac version.I had the same problems too - unexpected crashes and VERY slow game performance, on a pretty new G5 tower.

Doing two things will fix these issues.In the game's video/display options panel, switch off the page scrolling, and reduce the graphic detail.That's all it took to have this game running great.The manual should cover these quirks but it doesn't.

One final tip - learn the keyboard commands (found on the back of the manual) as it will speed up gameplay hugely, and totally compensates for no scrolling.

Not worth it!
Ok so i was a fan of Sim City 2000 which I found a demo of on a CD I didnt know i had. So I put it in and played Sim City 2000...and played and played and so on so I soon got the full thing. I became addicted to it. When Sim City 4 came out, i wanted it so much but I only had a mac. When it came out I bought like the first day! When I played I was sooooo dissapointed. nothing seemed to work right, the airplanes shadows became square and the streams on the airplanes was stretched all the way across, it kept crashing, and the industrial zone turned white, edge scrolling messed up sooooo slooooow. When I played it on a PC at my friends house, it was beutiful! Not a single bug! I ditched the game and played 2000 again finding it much better. Now I only play for like 10 minutes before getting bored. Seiously on this, NOT worth spending $40-$50 on this pathetic game. Maxis should be ashamed of themselves to take so much care in the PC games then throw it on a mac bugs and all. NOT worth it! Keep your money while you can! In other words, it doesn't take good graphics to make a good game. So get with it Maxis!! ... Read more

Product Description

You may have seen it on the World Poker Tour, you may have seen it on Celebrity Poker, and you may have seen it on ESPN, now experience it for yourself! Play tournaments true to actual poker tournaments with a modern interface. It comes with nine predefined tournaments including Poker Night, Card Room and the 2003 and 2004 World Championships, or create your own tournaments. ... Read more

Features

• Whether you are playing in poker tournaments during your local poker night, at a nearby card room, in Las Vegas or preparing for the grand-daddy of them all, the World Series of Poker, Donohoe Digital Poker is for you!
• No other poker software lets you practice your tournament skills and experience what the pro's do as well as manage your local poker night no-limit holdem tournaments. Donohoe Digital Poker is easy to use, has beautiful graphics and features an advanced learning AI.
• Unlike online casinos where you have to risk real money or use "play money" tables where the opponents don't necessarily act rationally, Donohoe Digital Poker lets you hone your skills against computer opponents who behave as if there is something at stake. This doesn't mean they are completely predictable or incapable of bluffing. However, they will give you better practice than the play money tables.

Reviews (35)

Save your money
I was so excited when I bought this and so totally disappointed!!! There are many on-line sites where you can practice playing poker for free against real people. Anyone of them is more entertaining and a better learning experience than wasting time with this. The graphics are on a par with playing "pong" on your TV in the seventies.

Totally realistic poker software
This is an excellent holdem game - it is really the only one that simulates what real tournaments are like - from the blinds, to the chip races, to allowing you to customize tournaments to your liking. Unlike hoyle or pokerstars, it has a strong AI. Other people have commented on how hard it is to hit a straight or flush, but that is real poker. The odds are that 9 other players you play against will get better cards more often than just you. Plus, version 2 is coming out soon and that promises to have online play and more! A truly great game.

Reviewed by y'all way to high!
This game is marginally better than that Hoyle Casino joke, but it has no resemblance to a real game. The AI is OK, but there are WAY too many great hands, that seem to ALWAYS beat you on the river card. I've played hundreds of hands, and when I cheat to see what all the community cards are I end up missing my straight, only if I fold first. I NEVER hit it when I'm digging for it!!! EVER!!! Can't tell you how many times I've been sunk by a boat when I do hit my flush. Hole cards are awful for my hand, but every one around me is getting AA, KK, OO, JJ, AK. I think this game is poor, and only gave it 2 stars because Hoyle's was my only comparison, and it's palin awful!

Helps a lot for beginners but AI makes big mistakes too..
Overall, it isnt a bad game. The AI opponents do often call allins with nothing.Also odd is how occasionally a whole table will call ur allin's during a tourney!
The odds regarding starting hands-ie Ak beats A6 normally, is fairly good. If you want to learn holdem (only NL in this game) this really helps but it wont help good players much.
It's surely worth 20 bucks simply b/c of the fun factor.

A disappointment
I bought this and played in several of the 40-player tournaments, winning one of them and finishing second in another.The program does a good job of making the experience fun and easy, and there are some nice features that you can turn on or off as you see fit, including what they call the "cheat mode," which lets you look at the cards of uncalled hands and see community cards not dealt when nobody calls.When there is a showdown after somebody has gone all-in the probability of winning the pot for each hand is given as it is on TV.You can speed up play or slow it down, and you have the option of jumping to the end of the hand after you fold--an option that one soon chooses and stays with!

There are three levels of difficulty, although I didn't play long enough to get a real feel for the differences.I did notice a rather annoying and ultimately totally off-putting bug (or perhaps, in the spirit of some programming traditions, maybe this is a "feature" that helps the neophyte player win).Quite simply some of the computer players called with hands that could not beat the board!

Now it is true that there are times when it is correct to call with a hand that cannot beat the board.These are very rare however and typically occur when there is a straight on board.Everybody has that straight (at least), and if it is the best hand, the players left at the showdown split the pot.Clearly if the board is AKQJT, with no more than two cards of any suit, it is the nut hand and no matter what the bet is you have to call and split the pot.However, in this program some computer players were calling with hands that made no pairs, no flushes, no straights and were undercards to the board.For example, one board was something like A89TQ of three different suits.One of the computer players called with something like 64.As any hold'em player knows that call makes no sense.It is just throwing money away.

This discovery really turned me off the program because even at the most elementary level of play, real players do not make such suicidal calls.

The package also claims that "Computer opponents learn and adapt to your style of play."What this statement should mean is that the program does things like fold a lot when it notices that you don't bluff much or call a lot or raise if it records a lot of bluffs from you.This "learn mode" is what makes poker-playing 'bots very difficult to beat, and would be an essential part of any program that presumed to be able to beat sophisticated human players.My problem with their learn mode is that I didn't see any evidence of it!

I would like to note in passing that some years ago Mike Caro, the self-styled "Mad Genius of Poker," developed a poker engine that was able to beat some very good human players.However, I am not aware of a program that can play at the highest levels of the game, a program that could beat a table of world champions, for example, a program comparable to chess-playing programs that can beat grand masters.Maybe such a program exists and I am not aware of it.My guess is that such a program is possible, but very difficult to write.

Anyway, I would not recommend this program and I am sorry that I bought it. ... Read more

Product Description

FLIGHT SIM 2004 CENT/FIT WIN32 EN DVD BOX CD ... Read more

Features

• Dynamic weather system based on realistic atmospheric physics, with true three-dimensional clouds that form and dissipate, and automatic real-world weather updates when you're connected to the Internet.
• Weather "themes" that generate a wide variety of stunningand challengingflying conditions with just a few clicks of a mouse
• Enhanced interactive air traffic control (ATC), including traffic at all airports around the world (including non-towered airports), altitude changes en route, pop-up IFR clearances, and precision and non-precision approaches to multiple runways
• Interactive 3D "virtual" cockpitstune radios and operate key aircraft controls and avionics by pointing and clicking in the virtual cockpit view.
• Scenery improvements, including taxiway and runway signs, enhanced auto-gen 3D objects, more high-detail airports, and improved lighting and sky effects

Reviews (101)

The best FS till date!
I've had MSFS2004 for the last 3 months and there's not a single day that I haven't played it. Its just that absorbing! Some reasons for this are much improved GPS navigation, more interactive ATC and ofcourse, the new airplanes.

But I'm not a huge fan of classic aircraft, and I fly my favourite plane, the 737, all the time and it is an absolute joy to fly it on MSFS2004 with the new GPS system. Its accurate to the T for precision landings. The detail paid to accuracy is mindblowing, specially runways and airport layouts. I live in a relatively smaller city of India and I was stunned to find that the airport layout is almost exactly the same as the real one here!

I do face some problems with the game, mainly with screen resolution which flickers when I have the game on high or ultra-high display settings. Also, external scenery transition isn't smooth with high display settings. Microsoft could also have done a better job with the aircraft paint jobs - the orange scheme of Soar Airlines is disgusting.

PROS:

- New additions like GPS and interactive ATC are excellent
- Airports are accurately detailed (there are almost 25,000 of them!)
- Good value for money

CONS:

- Doesn't work smoothly with high display settings. Images are not crisp
- Cockpit graphics are substandard

TIPS:

- If you're looking for some real challenge alongwith great scenery, try flying the ILS approaches into Princess Juliana Airport in St. Maarten, Madeira in Portugal, Male in the Maldives and Osaka Kansai Airport in Japan (built on an artificial island)
- Try flying the polar route and check out the Northern Lights at night! Eg: Taipei-Anchorage, Moscow-New York etc.

Also, I have a question which I hope readers can help me with. I'm unable to turn the aircraft left or right while on pushback. I've tried using the numbers 1 and 2 key as mentioned in the handbook, but it doesn't work. Can somebody help me with this? I would really appreciate the help.

Enjoy this game!

Item Good Seller NOT
I don't have a problem with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. As expected it's good. The store that is selling this particular item is the problem!

I've seen where many customers have had good experiences when they get what they ordered from this company but those of us that didn't get what we ordered have had nothing but problems.

Don't believe the advertised Limited Edition Tin box. It isn't! When trying to contact customer service: The first time the gentleman on the phone was nice and said a manager would reply the next day. The manager didn't. After a week I called, waited on hold for 22 minutes, the lady on the phone argued with me that the manager did reply by e-mail, although my inbox showed nothing from this company other than the original purchase verification. When I asked if it could be re-sent she said no. When I asked to speak to a manager, she said he was in a meeting. Her overall tone was rude and not at all helpful!

When I finally received a return authorization number, I prepared the item for return and then wanted to make sure shipping would be reimbursed also. After e-mailing Gamestop 3 times, I finally got a reply and stated only the price of the item would be refunded. (Wow their e-mail actually reached me this time!)

This company has no customer service as demonstrated by the false advertising, the rude associates, the difficult customer-company communication, and the fact that when they advertised a product and didn't deliver it as advertised, they feel that they are the ones who shouldn't live up to their promises. The $29.99 price is higher than even Amazon because you think they are selling the Limited Edition. Don't be fooled, save $5 and buy somewhere else.

Bottom line: DON'T SUPPORT GAMESTOP OR PURCHASE FROM THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK! I know I'll never buy anything from them ever again!

best sim so far
I OWN TWO PREVIOUS VESIONS MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 95,98 AND NOW 2004 A CENTURY OF FLIGHT.IN MY OPINION MICROSFT HAS DONE A BETTER JOB WITH THE 2004 VERSION,MORE AIRCRAFT TO FLY A REALY GREAT FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR ROD ,IMPROVED ATC,ONE THING THOUGH LETS HOPE THAT WHEN 2006 COMES OUT(IT'S ALL HUSH HUSH AT MICROSOFT HQ)THAT THEY WILL AT LEADT ADD NEWER AIRCRAFT MY FAVORITE BIENG THE AIRBUS A321 WHICH I FLEW TO EUROPE ON,AND THE CITATION X BY CESSNA.

Good Sim, But Remember the "Sim" Part!
I have been using flight simulators since MS Flight Simulator 4.0, and have more diverse experience than only Microsoft's offering to call upon.While any simulator can be made quite realistic with the latest hardware and enough money, it is important to note that Microsoft's offering is no different - you cannot, as they say, make a silk purse out of a pig's ear.This means that if you're running an underpowered system, you will not be able to run the simulation optimally.

Published system requirements:
* Pentium 450 or greater processor
* 64 MB RAM for 98/Me, 128 MB RAM for 2000/XP
* 8 MB/3-D with DirectX 7.0 or later videocard
* 1.8 GB hard drive space

My recommendation:
* P4 2.x GHz processor; the faster, the better
* 512MB RAM, with ideally 1GB under the hood
* 128MB / 256MB AGP video card that pushes TONS of pixels - the more, the better
* At least 5GB free hard drive space - You'll want to do a full install, and that comes in just under 3GB (2.88GB, I think)

I run on:
* P4 3.0GHz processor
* 1GB RAM
* Windows XP PRO (SP1)
* 256MB 8xAGP GeForce 5700 series NVidia video card
* Sidewinder joystick (soon to go, thanks to some pedals and a yoke I ordered!)
* On-board surround sound processor

The software itself is practically infinitely extendable, with software and hardware add-ons supported.A quick look around in the flightsim community will support my assertion that the software is CHEAP compared to what can be done to augment it.Add-on packages are available to augment FS2004's admitidedly weak "ground mesh" mapping - flying through Norway's waterways and coasts with the default scenery is nothing next to the real thing, and pales in comparison to some of the add-on packages (both for photo-texturing and mesh-building) out there.But of course, these things cost money (sometimes), as does building and maintaining a system that can fully take advantage of the software.

This is a SIMULATOR, remember - a dozen years ago something like this with a set of pedals and yoke would have been a BIG deal and far out of the reach of the home consumer.Now, as the bar of admission lowers, it is important to realize just how MANY numbers are being crunched every second (most of those in graphics routines), and spec a system appropriately.It might not be a multi-million dollar prospect to own any longer, but to adaquately run the simulator and get something "real" out of it, it is certainly not unheard of to run multi-head (throwing many monitors onto a machine) for a partial panoramic view - but, of course, realism comes at its price.

Excellent tool
This verison is better than ever and a great tool for learing to fly IFR. The dynamic weather is amazing to say the least.

For fans of the other versions this is a must have. ... Read more

Product Description

X-Plane is the most comprehensive and powerful flight simulator available for the personal computer. X-Plane simulates anything that flies: single-engine fixed wing props to multi-engine jets; gliders to dirigibles; helicopters to spacecraft to VTOLs such as the V-22 Osprey and AV8-B Harrier.

Features

• The most realistic flight model available for personal computers. It comes with subsonic and supersonic flight dynamics, simulating aircraft from the Bell 206 Jet-Ranger helicopter and Cessna 172 light plane to the supersonic SR-71.
• 29 aircraft spanning the aviation industry (and history), and several hundred more are freely downloadable from the Internet.
• Scenery that spans the Globe. You can land at any of thousands of airports, as well as test your mettle on aircraft carriers, helipads on building tops, frigates that pitch and roll in the waves, and oil rigs. Weather is variable from clear skies and high visibility to thunderstorms with controllable wind, wind shear, turbulence, and microbursts. Rain, snow and clouds are available for an instrument flying challenge, and thermals are available for the gliders! X-Plane can download real weather data from the Internet, allowing you to fly in actual current conditions!
• Detailed failure-modeling, with 35 systems that can be failed manually, or randomly when you least expect it! You can fail instruments, engines, flight controls, and landing gear at any moment.
• Includes Plane-Maker which allows you to create your own airplanes, and World-Maker which lets you create your own scenery. Also included is Weather Briefer which produces a weather briefing based on actual weather conditions downloaded from the net.
• Extremely customizable, allowing you to easily create textures, sounds, and instrument panels for your own airplanes that you design.

Features

• 35 systems can be failed manually or randomly
• Comprehensive and powerful flight simulator
• 29 aircraft spanning the aviation industry and history
• Scenery spans the globe; easily customize your own airplanes
• Variable weather; fly actual current conditions with Internet downloads

Reviews (2)

X-plane 8.0 - Rule the world with it
When I got it from the factory.All I got it the DVD in a plastic holder and that's it.No box, no instruction book.Nothing.

I had to get into the program and find out how to fly planes (X and otherwise) on my own.All I got this game for wa to train actor on Boeing 777 on a Mac, before we got them in flight simulators up in Seattle.But this game turned into much more.

If you can run up a B-52, take-off, circle and land; you can fly anything.I've landed a B-52G twice.But think crash.Not don't crash.What does the load vectors do.Will it take-off with four engines.What if all engines shut do on take-off?Crash land.Anyway.That's $100,000+ flight training at Alteon in Seattle (a private flight training company) for $50.Which you want to pay?

Some of the flight sims are a pain, like the X-15.Even if you load Edwards AFB or even Denver, you end up over water or desert that I have no idea where I am.The Space Shuttle is even worst.

But the MOST DIFFICULT plane to fly is the Cessna 172.You end up side ways, when you an at V1.And by the time you at V2, you're screwed.Commit, pull up and take-off.You're in the air or you've crashed.

Mike Rossi

Have fun!!!!

Xplane is great!
X-Plane 8 is the latest and greatest in the long-venerable series of what is arguably the worldÕs best flight simulator.X-Plane is not really a ÒgameÓ, so to speak. It is a very realistic flight simulator with all sorts of bells and whistles and more aircraft, airports, scenery, and scenarios than you could ever ask for.

After opening the box, one is greeted with a DVD-ROM and a manual about 200 pages in length.For those who have never flown a real airplane or a flight sim, the manual devotes quite a bit of time to introducing the controls and terminology of the simulator.One minor annoyance is that in the lead tutorial for new users, the aircraft discussed in the manual is not included in the actual sim, at least not that I could find in version 8.I made do with a different craft, though.But the manual is otherwise a very welcome addition in this world of software that generally comes with little useful documentation.

Once you get through the tutorials and the terminology and you are ready to fly, navigating the sim is quite easy, though not entirely Mac-like.The dialog boxes and menus look different than a Mac user may be used to.That might be expected for a cross-platform game such as this, though.Even so, it is extremely easy to load your chosen aircraft (You want to fly a Hindenburg?Sure, why not!), pick your airport, file your flight plan, and then be on your way. You may configure weather conditions and daylight to your liking.X-Plane 8 even gives you a chance to fly the space shuttle and to fly several planes on Mars, using real-life conditions (though not real life aircraft, since those do not quite exist yet, nor do airports exist on Mars in real life).

The graphics in X-Plane 8 are truly beautiful.Scenery comes in two versions: one version for older, slower computers, and one version for those with better hardware set ups.The minimum specs call for a machine with 400 MHz processor and 32MB VRAM.I found that to be slightly unrealistic.Sure, you can run X-Plane on such a set up, but the graphics will be low-res and the experience will not be as pleasurable.This sim just about screams out for a system like the new iMac G5, with its 1.8+ GHz processors and 64MB of VRAM.Indeed, it plays smoothly and comfortably on such a system or on the PowerMac G5 as well.

Game play would probably be best with a real joystick, but I was able to use a small game pad or my mouse quite well.If you really get into the simulator, purchasing a suitable joystick would be a worthwhile investment.

X-Plane has FAA certification and is used in many training environments.That we hobbyists get to use it just for fun is a real treat.This is a world-class, top-notch flight sim, and it is bound to thrill anyone with a sense of adventure and a desire to explore the world through flying. ... Read more

Product Description

Atari (26525) Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Expans ... Read more

Features

• Design dazzling laser light water shows — and synch them to music
• Create wildlife spectaculars with performing dolphins, killer whale shows, and customizable aquariums
• Splash, swirl, and “stir up” your park guests with incredible interactive water
• Select more than 50 new rides and coasters for your water park
• Add hundreds of new park enhancements with the Swimming Pool Designer and Waterfall Designer

Amazon.com Review

Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance casts you as the youngest son of the Azzameen family, a merchant dynasty operating in a galaxy far, far away. The game is set in the turbulent time period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Caught amid increasing tensions between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, with business rivals watching for any sign of weakness, the Azzameens are on the edge of financial ruin. Worse, their Rebel sympathies may endanger their very survival.

As the family's newest pilot, you fly tutorial missions at first, under the supervision of your sister Aeron and the droid Emkay. But even as you are training, the situation heats up. Before long, the family has been betrayed, your space station has been seized, and you're forced to turn to the Rebellion. Though the game's focus is on combat, the development of this story is tight and suspenseful.

The story and the merchant/smuggler setting give the game plenty of variety. One mission may have you piloting a loaded freighter through an Imperial blockade, while another may place you in the cockpit of an X-Wing on a hit-and-run raid against an enemy battle station. Every ship, every weapon, every sound effect is pure Star Wars, totally faithful to the look--and feel--of the movies. This extends to the missions themselves: nothing works as planned, but somehow you and your Rebel allies manage to make it all the way to the climactic Battle of Endor. If you've distinguished yourself in the earlier missions, hot pilots will get the chance to take the controls of the Millennium Falcon and cram a torpedo into the gut of the Emperor's second Death Star.

Controlling the fighters, freighters, and transports in X-Wing Alliance is easy, with all the options you'd expect in a Star Wars simulation. Shield, engine, and weapon power levels are all adjustable, so you, too, can transfer all power to front deflector screens while attacking, or shut down power to weapons to outrun a swarm of TIE fighters. Novice players may find it difficult to control wingmen or to keep track of the changing objectives when missions go sour. But practice makes perfect, and the truly frustrated can simply skip up to three missions without penalty.

With a modest learning curve and graphics that put you right in the milieu of the Star Wars films, X-Wing Alliance will have you flying combat missions for the Rebel Alliance in no time--and loving every minute of it. --Alyx Dellamonica

Pros:

• Loving attention to detail
• Fantastic sound effects and John Williams's music
• Interesting and changing mission objectives
• Wide variety of spacecraft

• Occasional bugs within missions can render them unwinnable

Reviews (27)

Finally!
Don't get me wrong by the title....I loved X-wing to death, and TIE Fighter was just fabulous too (we'll forget about Xwing V. Tie Fighter), but WOW!!!LucasArts finally got to an age when they had the computing muscle and graphical abilities to really give their X-wing series the beauty and power it deserves.These missions are really challenging and thrilling; when you fly into a cloud of TIE fighters and pick em off as they screeeeam by(with good surround sound speakers), you'll really feel like you're in the climactic battle of Return of the Jedi.

Which brings me to the "Finally!" of my subject line: you finally get to fly inside the Death Star!!!!That is, if you can make it to the final mission...some of these missions are very, very tough, even on "easy".I beat all of the missions up to the mission RIGHT before the Death star one.It was just too hard!!Fortuatenly, LucasArts implemented a "skip" feature if you just cannot beat a mission.This will come as a highly welcome relief to those of us who played certain X-wing missions 40 or 50 times before beating them...

I gave up on the game after losing the death star mission a few times, but I WILL get back to it once the school year starts again.

One note: I played the first half of this game without a 3D accelerator, then got a Voodoo III, and holy COW!The difference makes it almost an entirely new game.Don't play this game without an acceleartor, or you're missing out in a big way.

Though it didn't grip me quite as much as the original X-wing, this is still a fantastic game.Buy it if you're into the star wars thing!

good game for the fast computer
this game has some GREAT graphics.the missle trails engine glow and the model details are terrific.the story is a can't wait till next mission story.the AI is incredibly smart.a good game

Really captures the spirit of Star Wars
When I first heard about X-wing Alliance, I thought it was just going to be a cheap attempt to drag out the X-wing franchise.But this is an awesome game.Unlike TIE fighter, the gameplay experience has really been increased from the original X-wing in this game.Flying freighter-craft truly is different from flying starfighters - if you try to fly it like an X-wing, you're as good as dead.Also, comapred to pirate starfighters, I could understand why TIE fighters were considered so deadly, a distinction I didn't really get in the original X-wing.

Most importantly, though, when playing this game I truely felt I was in the SW universe.For example, in one early mission during a bacta transfer between the Azzameens and a shady group of pirates I really felt like I was in one of Timothy Zahn's novels.Also, the shuddering of the ships and the multiple explosive and cha-cha-chas of the TIE fighter's laser cannons went a long way towards enhancing the flying experience.The same goes for the planets images during combat, as well as the immensity of some of the space stations.

A couple minor criticisms: the cutscenes don't seem very relevent/Also, the "big finale" against the Death Star seems to just have been thrown in, and was somewhat of a disappointment.Finally, most of the levels were a little easy - I beat most of them on one try with the setting on hard.I was hoping for a bigger progression in difficulty as the game increased.The Battle of Endor in particular I was hoping would be more fierce.

Overall, however, this is a great game, with an awesome multiplayer platform.The real forte, however, is the single player - this game has great replayability.I would recommend it to anyone.I even enjoyed it more than Rogue Squadron or Rebel Assault and maybe even Jedi Knight.

horrible!
This game was so confusing, its all expanded universe, you can't get past the first level without waiting for an hour, you never fly into the death star eather. I gave this game away for 5$. Its a total rip off. You don't know what you are doing. Its stupid. don't buy it, you will hate it.

Be prepared to become engrossed in the game
There are some games that you play that just are "games" and not experiences. Earlier titles such as the Rebel Assault games were as such. The gamer did not feel like they were actually "doing" what was happening in the game. Games such as Quake and Duke Nukem and Doom, while entertaining, are superficial and do not engross the gamer.

But X-Wing: Alliance is different. Where as Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six changed the way we play first person shooters (how many times did your palms sweat on missions that you could not be detected?), X-Wing Alliance changes the way we play flight sims. This isn't a superficial space shooter that leaves the gamer hungry for more. In fact, it is completely satisfying. The story is compelling, the graphics are sharp, the gameplay is never dull, and the music is, well, Star Wars.

The missions will leave you hooked for hours, constantly forcing you to put off that paper that must be written or that supply report that was due on your boss' desk three days ago. You are ultimately rewarded for your longevity and resourcefullness by hopping into the Millenium Falcon (assuming the role of Nien Nunb or Lando...I never figured that one out) and blasting tie fighters at the battle of Endor. And if you think that the Falcon didn't do much at that battle, just wait until you fly the 4 missions of that battle, and you'll have a new respect for what Lando did (especially the VERY HARD final mission of flying into the Death Star. Expect to spend a few days here)!

When you talk about Multi-player, this game excells in all areas. You can log on and play solo against others or join groups and coordinate battles. All ships in the game can be flown in multiplayer (I especially grew fond of the Toscan Fighter, though nothing beats the shear power of the X-wing).

Overall, an excellent game. Not only is it fun to play and enthralling, but you actually at most points feel as if you are in the game. When you fail a mission and decide that you need to make your multiple jumps back home instead of just quitting the mission right then, you'll know how engrossing this experience really is. ... Read more

Features

• In Nancy Drew -The Final Scene, Nancy's friend has been kidnapped and hidden in an old theater. You have three days to rescue before the building is demolished
• Use your wits and stealth to sneak around as Nancy & find clues to this mystery
• Meet with over 20 different characters & figure out which of them has a secret
• In Nancy Drew -Treasure In The Royal Tower, you unravel the riddles in an old ski resort, to learn the secret it hides
• The castle itself seems to be riddle or maze -- explore strange detours, mysterious artwork, and dead-end corridors

Reviews (4)

Great deal=great game(s)
The Final Scene and Treasure in the Royal Tower are both great games. Treasure in the Royal Tower is my favorite out of the five I have(Secrets Can Kill, Stay Tuned for Danger,The Haunted Carousel and, of course,The Final Scene and Treasure in the Royal Tower). I have absolutely no complaints on any of these five games, except for in Secrets Can Kill the characters are very cartoony. In The Final Scene, the culprit was the person I least expected. All in all, I think the Nancy Drew games are the best computer games ever made(along with The Sims).These games are great for kids and adults alike, and if you don't buy at least one Nancy Drew game, you'll be missing out on some major family time. Buy this game, and you won't regret it. I guarantee. You won't regret it, and you'll want to buy more the minute you beat the game.

Loved these games!
Both of these games are very addicting!My 7 year old son and I used junior detective (there is a harder level) and it was fun!Well worth the money you pay!

Great family fun!
My 10 year old daughter and I had so much fun playing this together!I thought she would enjoy it on rainy days but I was just as enthusiastic about playing as she was!
And my 6 year old son loves it!My daughter got stuck a couple of times where I could not figure out how to help her but Herinteractive.com has a great message board for each Nancy Drew game with lots of hints and clues if you get stuck!
A great family activity for a rainy day!

Double Pack
This double pack is really fun except it is hardly ever in stock!!!!!!! i had to wait a month because everyday when i went to look for it wasn't there! but it was definently worth the wait!! at such a good price this is definently the best game of the century!!!! ... Read more

Features

• New multiplayer game for up to 7 players
• In-depth strategy game covering almost every aspect of real-world business
• Develop your own technology or acquire it from another company
• Choose from over 60 product types to manufacture and market
• Vivid 3D graphics show off a bustling city environment

Reviews (3)

Capitalism 2... It's unlike anything on the market!
I'd rather not bore you with a lengthy, sugar-coated review.If you are into business/tycoon games at all, and enjoy dealing with finances, the stock market, analyzing charts, etc. then this is the game for you!Like I said, when it comes to depth and addictiveness, It's unlike anything on the market, especially for $10!!

Awesome game!
I love this game!Great business simulation with many different ways to play.

Review abstracted by Capalive.com
Professor Thomas Kosnik,
Consulting Professor, Stanford School of Engineering, and Lecturer, Harvard Business School , Technology Today, CNBC-TV Cable
"Capitalism is a world class, hands-on learning experience which I've used at Stanford School of Engineering and Harvard Business School. Gamers not only learn the subtleties of growing an entrepreneurial business but also learn about leadership and team building necessary in any business situation." "Capitalism is very realistic and will allow the dynamics to change depending on whether you're selling a cola product, which is sort of a low tech-branded consumer good, or whether your selling consumer electronics or a PC."

Professor Drew Fudenberg
Harvard University
"This game does an excellent job of modeling many of the key aspects of modern business. Not all aspects of it are realistic, but enough of them are that many sensible strategies are encouraged. In particular it's gratifying to me to see that the game rewards thinking about sources of long-term competitive advantage, be it from brand recognition, low production costs gained from learning-by-doing (a nice touch!), a monopoly on high quality inputs, or a big technological lead."

Businessweek, October 21, 1996
Capitalism isn't just for those who aspire to be the next Michael Dell or Sam Walton. It can be a fun and useful exercise for anyone who wants to test their entrepreneurial mettle without, for once, taking any risk. Players can choose to compete against computer-controlled rivals in four different industries: farming, manufacturing, raw material mining, and retailing. For a truly adventurous and time-consuming game, players can mix and match industries as captains of giant conglomerates. As in the real world, players compete locally, in one city, or fight it out on the global stage.
With so many possibilities, Capitalism is an intense strategy game, much like chess, where players must constantly think ahead. As such, it could easily overwhelm novices. But by adjusting several factors--competency and managerial style of the computer-controlled rivals, for example, can be varied from very aggressive to conservative--gameplay can be suited to various styles and speed. The game even allows a player to hire presidents to manage the day-to-day operations of different divisions so the player can concentrate on the big picture.

Far Eastern Economic Review, September 26, 2002
The mass market isn't the only audience for Chan's games. Like Virtual U, Capitalism has made the leap from game room to classroom. Because of its high degree of realism, the game has been used by professors at institutions like Harvard and Stanford Universities to help students learn basic business principles. Chan is hoping that Restaurant Empire and Hotel Giant will also be adopted for training and education. "Simulation games are a fun way to learn about anything," he says. "They prove that computer games aren't just about shooting things but can also be educational."

CNN - 22nd May 2002
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN Correspondent
Some guys have all the luck. They have the billion dollar market cap, the brand, and the empire, while the rest of us spend our lives toiling away in cubicles with no chance to ever run the show. That is until now. Even the desk jockey can claw his way to the top in "Capitalism," the game.Hong Kong game developer Trevor Chan just released the follow-up to the award-winning original, but the objective is the same. Move your assets to turn an upstart into the most profitable company in the world. First-time players can choose a challenge like, the world in your hands, where you manage a research and development lab out to post annual revenues of $400 million, and as you take on the competition, that's when the real drama begins.But "Capitalism" is no Business 101. Critics call it a deep involving game that could test even the sharpest business document. In fact, it's been used as a simulation exercise for business students at Stanford University. ... Read more

Features

• All the new features included in the official Steam Service Pack 1 plus Passenger Service Pack 2 so you can now transport people to and from stations and set up train "portals" to generate new trains onto your route
• The powerful but easy to use Trainz Paintshed which lets you create new paint schemes for your locos and rolling stock in minutes
• The official TRS 2004 fan pack including logos and extra content so you can add Auran approved content and graphics to your personal Trainz fan site
• A huge bonus CD containing additional Australian content including locos, rolling stock and more

Reviews (12)

nice
You get to melee in Star Wars ships. That's essentially the point of this game. X-Wing Vs. Tie Fighter includes melees such as free for all, ones with wingmen, in asteroid clusters, etc. There are also things like minecleaning and turkey shoot where you shoot at larger ships.
Balance of Power adds the B-wing to the list of ships, and campaign missions. Also, my favorite part of the game, it adds a 25 minute long turkey shoot that starts with cargo freighters and ends with a super star destroyer. The first time you see the size of it, you'll be happy you got the game.

Fun. Once I start playing, it's usually hours before I quit. Controls are good, too, though it takes a bit to memorize what keys do what.

GREAT GAME
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!???????????
ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE YOUR MOVING IN YOUR LITTLE SHIP?

Probably, but it doesn't work to well. When you're first playing the game, it can be confusing and you can get "Lost in Space".
Why?
Because, first of all, all of the controls are new to you and you don't know what is what in the cockpit. So if you turn, your facing a [blank] picture of space - and you can't find your way back to the battle. But you get used to it. But it's still annoying!

So why did I give this game five stars?
Because EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, (and a little more at the bottom) IT'S GREAT! YOU REALLY FEEL LIKE YOU'RE THERE! ONCE YOU KNOW THE CONTROLS AND WHAT EVERYTHING MEANS, YOU'RE HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME, YOU DON'T GET OFF TILL MIDNIGHT!

G-R-E-A-TG-A-M-E-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GET IT!

WARNING: If you don't currently have a joystick, don't get the game! It requires a joystick to play! (I had to go through that, and it wasn't fun.)

OMG!!!!!! if you dont own this u r CRAZY!!!!!!!
THIS GAME RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IT IS NOT JUST 4 STAR WARS FANS!!!!IF U LIKE PILOT GAMES IT IS 4 U!!!!!IF U LIKE STAR WARS IT IS 4 U!!!!!THIS GAME INTRODUCES THE SUPER STAR DESTROYER, MAKING UP 4 THE TINY ISD'S.and u can download ship path's and fly awesome fighters like TIE defenders and missile boats, 2 name a few.GET THIS GAME!!!!!!

This game ROCKS!
ill keep it short and brief, the critics who blast this game dont know what their talking about, this game is one of the bes tive ever, played. IF youre thinking about buying it DO SO!!!!!

Awesome! I hail this game!
This game is totally awesome! It really puts you into the Star Wars universe like Battle for Naboo and Rogue Squadron did. The controls are good for a game like this. I give this game 5 stars! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

As a member of the Rebel Alliance, climb into the cockpit of an X-wing and battle the Empire for freedom as you fly against deadly TIE fighters and menacing Star destroyers. Fight in three combat tours of duty, including two add-on tours of duty: Imperial Pursuit and B-Wing. You'll pilot three spacecraft with full instrumentation and 17 cockpit views per craft and dodge the weapons of the evil Empire in both deep space and on surface missions. Includes X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Flight School with 14 playable levels. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The best game ever made. period.
TIE Fighter, even now, is, simply put, the best computer game ever made. Other people might say it's Civ II, and some would say that it wasoutclassed by Freespace or Wing Commander, but they are mistaken. TIEFighter had a story. Not just a "we've been attacked, go and shootthem back" story but a very deep story, which involved the pilot.Furthermore, it had original missions. It wasn't just "go shootthem" or "help defend us", you do things like flying escort,scouting, recon, spying, etc. Well, basically, go look at PCGamer's reviewof it and rating, and see what other games have gotten better ratings thanit. one has, and they're wrong. That having been said, this is basicallyTIE Fighter (and X-Wing, another respectable game) with updated graphics.They didn't put on Xwing versus TIE Fighter's truly awful control orinterface, all they did was update the graphics. The result is that now thebest game ever made has graphics to suit. No real computer gamer can affordto be without this.

All Time Classics
Even in their original forms, both of these games have been on my hard drive since they first game out.With the exception of Elite, the StarWars games were the first space sims to feel like you were actually flyingin a 3D environment, not playing a 2D arcade game (sorry Wing Commanderfans).Add 2 fantastic Star Wars story lines (both well fleshed out in therespective strategy guides), a chance to sample the overall lacklustersequel, updated graphics, and win 95 funtionality for under $20, and youcan't go wrong.Freespace fans, check out the originals, and pick upAlliance.Its nice to see the series back on track.

All that's missing is Ben Kenobi whispering in your ear...
This collection of all the X-wing titles (before Tie Fighter) is a great value, and an excellent introduction into the wonderful world of Rebel dogfighting.The sound effects, the graphics, the atmosphere--all of itevokes images of your favorite space battles in the Star Wars movies.Youget to start slow, and work your way up to the really tough missions--andyou'll need the time to learn, trust me!Quite simply one of the mostall-around enjoyable games I've ever played. ... Read more

Features

• Expansion to Sims 4 allows god-like control over city infrastructure
• Players take complete individual control of roads, rail, air, waterways, and even vehicles
• Choose from modern European or three historical architectural eras
• Introduce new disasters into your city
• For 1 player

Reviews (25)

They will gladly take your money...again.
Since the makers of the original SimCity 4 never actually fully patched that version, they tell you to buy Rush Hour to solve the issues existing with that main version. Throwing in a few additions that could have been made available for download, you must buy this expansion in order for the game to even work with ANY future elements they may provide. Newer building tools or the rare new structure will simply not work with the stand alone version.
But the "situation" even goes much deeper than that-
Problems were not only not fixed, but were actually HIDDEN by the game designers. Observant players of the original SC4 would notice cars driving in circles or driving a highway,leaving and re-entering it at each exit! With Rush Hour, they merely lowered the amount of time automobiles would be displayed so players would think there are no problems. Very sneaky Maxis! Many gamers are none the wiser. It is truly amazing the game developers could get away with such practices... and laugh all the way to the bank.

god like powers
This is the best game since GTA. The best thing to do is name streets and roads and neighborhoods and districts. I wish you could make a ethnic neighborhood then it would be really fun. You can make suburbs like the big city can be very blue collar and crime ridden and bad schools and one suburb can be white collar with mansions and excellent schools depending on what neighborhood you pay most attention to, just one of the best games ever made.

A Must Buy... if your conscious is flexible..
This expansion is a must purchase.It's more than the features they describe, they've refined and improved just about everything is seems from the regular Sim City 4.

My issue however is that there are so many aspects that you get in the expansion that were missing without it (such as say, the ability to click a button to make a certain building historical, which you could do in previous Sim Cities), it really kind of left a bitter taste in my mouth buying this.The ORIGINAL Sim City 4 should have had many of the polished aspects of the expansion.This isn't just a ton of cool new features, this expansion makes the game complete.

Kinda clever.. sell an incomplete game, then make you buy the expansion to get the full product.So it's a must purchase, but I blow my nose at you so called "computer coders", you and all you're silly kinnigits... pbhhhhhtthhh....

Sincerely,

A Frustrated Gamer Who Knows He's Not Going To Be Sleeping Tonight Because of the Darn Game

(or just Graham will do)

A tremendous improvement
I have been waiting for Maxis to improve the transportation features, and finally they've done it!!!I can now control traffic more efficiently in my city by knowing what paths citizens take to and from work.This allows me to determine where I should place new roads, mass transit lines, stations, etc.The monorails allow you to have a much more futuristic city, only you can't build monorail lines over elevated freeways.The surface freeways and elevated trains also make city transportation systems much more realistic.If you have SC4 and don't have Rush Hour, I highly recommend that you buy it now.It is worth every cent.

All the bells, whistles, and sirens a city should have!
After purchasing SimCity 4 and hearing of the Rush Hour expansion, I didn't know what to expect--after all, I just payed $40 for the stand alone version.Yet, to my surprise, RH added a tremendous ammount of gameplay and realism that wasn't available with SimCity 4.While the U-Drive it features are alright, I am extremely impressed with the tremendous addition of ground level highways, (I wanted these for a while now) Chicago-style "el" lines, monorails, and a new slew of roadway tools.Mayors should also take note of the new building sets, greatly improved gameplay performace, and more realistic play.Rush Hour is more than a simple add-on, it's a sequel to a great game. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

These bad guys are so good....
I love playing games, but when push comes to shove, I'm not very good at it. I own both X-Wing and TIE Fighter. When I play X-Wing, I always die in a fiery explosion in my first mission (once I was lucky, though, and got captured!), but TIE Fighter is so flexible in difficulty that even I have gotten pretty far. It's more interesting, too. Most Imperial fighters (and all of the classic movie ones)have no shields, so you must rely on your wits, aim, speed, and allies to keep from becoming toast, and if you run off to do secondary missions (for which you gain major brownie points with the Emperor and promotions through his secret "Order"), sometimes none of these can save you. Luckily, at least on the difficulties I played on (and it can get much harder for all you challenge junkies), it's not very easy to die or get captured even if you try (yes, I have. yes, I'm strange).
If you hate games but love Star Wars (or vice versa), this is going to convert you. If you're into games of any kind (unless you only play solitaire and mahjongg, in which case you probably are from another galaxy anyway and don't need to discover the Star Wars one), BUY THIS RIGHT NOW. You will not regret it. You'll get more fun for your money than from any other game, even the Sims or Grand Theft Auto, no matter how sophisticated your computer is (I still only have 400 MHz).

A Classic and All-Time Great
It's been ten years since Tie Fighter made its appearance, and I think that it's still probably the best game I've ever played.

As many have said, this is an exquisite experience even if you're no fan of Star Wars. If you are, however, you'll be delighted to know that this game, rather than being the standard "unbelievably lucky Rebel kills the evil Empire all by himself," in TIE Fighter, you are an Imperial pilot. And you're not alone, you're - well, I'll get to that.

The graphics, while not exactly ILM, are decent, as is the music. But it's the gameplay that makes a brave man weep in the wake of its sheer perfection. As a simulation game, controlling your TIE fighter is quite complex but you'll learn and get used to it in a matter of minutes. The combat itself is fast-paced and detailed, very advanced for a game of its time.

And unlike most previous Star Wars games, in which you had an incredible advantage over your enemies, in TIE Fighter, you (as an individual) are often equally matched or even outmatched. The AI is beautiful, and it works both for your enemies and your allies. You are often only one element in a large and well-orchestrated operation. You'll get an amazing sense of accomplishment out of this game.

It's just... epic. That's the word that keeps popping up in my brain. It was epic.

You'll be quickly immersed in the storyline; in-mission voices are a big help. The campaign is very, very long, but worth every minute of it. There's a stunning variety of mission designs and goals.

As you progress in rank, you'll get access to more advanced crafts and weapons, and, for storyline purposes, if you complete "extra" objectives in certain missions, you'll gain levels in the Emperor's secret service. (For a big fan of the Empire like myself, well, this is just *cool.*) In the earlier missions, you're often either alone or with one or two squadrons. You'll occasionally be under the command of your wing leader, but for the majority of the missions you're the leader of your flight group.

And the farther along you go, the larger the battles get. This is the thing that really blew me away. In major missions, there are often ten or more capital ships and literally dozens of fighters and other smaller craft. You feel like you've become a part of something big.

It just sucks you in. It feels like it's real. I haven't seen a game since that's quite reached that quality of depth.

Please don't be fooled if you've played its successor, "X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter," which was nothing but a backfired attempt to fix what wasn't broken.

In short: play Tie Fighter before you die.

You know you love the Dark Side...
There is something extremely thrilling about playing the bad guy for a change. I was always happy to earn a medal after completing a mission in the X-Wing games, but I LOVED earning the Emperor's blessings as a TIE Fighter pilot. Goose bumps! I got goose bumps on missions of vital import to the Empire. I felt like I could take on the entire Rebel Alliance myself.

The style of dogfighting is so different in a TIE because you ain't gots no shields!!!! :-) You simple must not get hit or pray that its a glancing shot you can shake off over time by outmaneuvering the enemy.

Playing for the Empire opens up a diffrent sort of game. It is a lot fresher than the X-wing games, which make you feel like the understudy to Luke Skywalker since you are essentially taking on his place as Top Gun in Rogue Squadron. I mean, how many times can you blow up the Death Star in a Star Wars game? That type of game you can find over and over. But in TIE Fighter, there is a new perspective, much more intrigue and mystery. Lots of suprises. Hey, you are working for the bad guys, not everyone on your team plays well with others.

There is a reason that this is considered one of the best games of ALL time. It is that good. And a minor spoiler... I nearly cried when I got the pleasure to fly as wingman to HIM. The Force IS strong with this one.... the Dark Side of the Force.

Just get it!
This game, although old, its a classic of its genre. The gameplay is fantastic.Don't waste time and buy it.

P.S.I hear there's tension between Wing Commander and TIE Fighter nuts about which game is the best of them all. I've played Wing Commander 3 and Prophecy too.My advice: forget about moronic issues. Just get all of them!

One of the BEST classic games
For 10 bucks, please buy this. That is all I can say. Back in 1997 when I played this game I was HOOKED. Its not going to blow you away with amazing graphics or sound, but its star wars. It a well done game in terms of GAMEPLAY. You dogfight with imperial ships, bomb destroyers with space rockets, and so on. It's not hard to learn the controls but i HIGHLY reccommend a joystick. Its much more fun this way. You do not need a 150 dollar professional model either, grab one for 15 bucks and have a great time.

Do not expect a game of 2003, but expect to be entertained for a while!

Hope this helps! ... Read more

Product Description

Experience the excitement of trains on your PC. Take the controls from the engineer's cab with 6,000 tons of freight behind you and exciting challenges ahead. Or relax in the passenger's seat and enjoy the unfolding scenery. Trains, routes and sounds have been recreated in explicit detail with authentic landscapes and real-world adventures. From steam, diesels and electric engines, immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and adventures of Microsoft Train Simulator

• As Real As It Gets. Real-world rail challenges based on operational events unique to each route, players can choose form a variety of challenges such as keeping to a strict passenger timetable amidst unforeseen obstacles or using helper engines to get a 50-car intermodal train over Marias Pass during a winter storm. Or you can enjoy any of the routes from a passenger viewjust sit back, let the computer control the realistic rail operations, and enjoy the sight and sounds of your journey.
  
  
• Six famous rail routes from around the world. Experience some of the world’s most breathtaking and challenging railroad scenery, covering both freight and passenger operations.
  
  
• Tools that Encourage Enthusiasts. Train Simulator is based on an open architecture and comes complete with tools that encourage enthusiasts, railroad clubs/historical societies, and third-party developers to customize and extend the product by creating new trains, routes, scenery, and challenges.

Features

• Customize your trains, create new routes and activities
• Authentically recreated trains, routes, and sounds
• 11 drivable locomotives with realistic controls and activities
• Hundreds of miles of accurately detailed routes across three continents
• Real-world train operation activities and challenges from novice to expert

Reviews (2)

A roaring ride
This is a simulation game that roars alone the train tracks rather than through the air. Unlike several flight simulation games, this one has no war games attached to it. It includes only the rail routes of six actual lines in history, from Britain's 1920s Flying Scotsman line to Tokyo's modern Odakyu Electric Rail commuter line.

Players get to see the scenic countryside and cityscapes along the tracks, also taken from the lines' real environments. The conductor's voice, train engines, trips into the train yard and locomotive controls all duplicate the real thing--as much as a computer game can.

This is terrific for kids whose parents are sick of destructive games that glorify fights, injuries and death. Kids get the sense that they can control and do something productive. It's my kind of game.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

A Bargain
I purchased Microsoft Train Simulator when it first was released (for around $40) and it is one game which will never leave my hard drive.At $9 it is a steal. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Prepare yourself for the fight of your life and choose your craft, weapons, and wingmates carefully--the fate of the galaxy depends on it! Dive into all-out dogfights against up to seven other players in X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. The game even includes the story-driven Balance of Power campaigns. Multiplayer options include up to four players over the Internet or up to eight players via a LAN. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Oldy but goody
While this is an old game, it is one of the best Star Wars games that I have played.You can fly for either the rebel aliance or the Empire in a variety of craft.

This is one of the better Star Wars games I have played becuase of it's replay value, you can either play online or work for higher medals and rank on your missions. A great game for any Star Wars fan.

A good multiplayer game- NOT single player
This game seems to have been made to address the lack of multiplay in either X-Wing or TIE Fighter. It does a good job of that, and many would argue a too good job. Unless you're an incredibly good pilot, you won't be able to do all the missions solo without turning down the difficulty. No matter which side you choose, the other side will probably win if you're alone. The same goes for the Balance of Power add-on, which contains some very difficult and boring objectives (would you like to identify 50 freighters for us?).

Aside from new texturing, the models are similar to the ones in TIE Fighter. In fact, you will be unpleasantly surprised to see that there are fewer types of ships and stations than in the earlier game. Until you get Balance of Power, the only heavy Rebel fighter is the Y-Wing. This bodes ill for any Rebel fans that want to play missions in which a target must be disabled. I also can't help but notice that the Imperials have the superior TIE Advanced and Assault Gunboat, which seems a bit unbalancing for multiplay purposes.

If you like playing with friends, then you can play this and the expansion cooperatively. That can be a good deal of fun, provided you have a fast and stable connection. If you're looking for a cool story like the ones in X-Wing or TIE Fighter, go get Alliance instead. It's much better for the single play aspect that the older games were so strong in.

Disappointed by a poor effort
I bought X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter hoping it would be like the beloved original X-Wing, with better graphics and more ships.Sadly, the game looked awful, with shifting texture maps on the large ships, presented in a maximum 640x480 resolution.The graphics improved with Balance of Power, but the dim starlight made the battle scenes less than impressive.For a game based on visually stunning movie masterpieces, it was annoying to maneuver around the pitch black underbelly of a star destroyer with no lights on the hull.The huge, never-seen-in-the-movies gun turrets on the star destroyers looked incredibly lame as well.

Even though the sound effects were turned up to maximum volume in the Configuration screen, I still had to turn up my computer's volume ALL the way to hear them.Adjusting the John Williams background music had no effect on its volume, so I had to turn it off.There was no training exercise information on how to handle missiles locked on to the player's ship, which was quite an oversight for a supposedly "fun" product.

Star Wars:X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter
My kids LOVED IT from the moment it arrived in the mail.And speaking of delivery, it was here in 3 days!How's that for customer service.My sons are 14 and 11 and they both like it alot, however my 14 year old plays it the most.They're addicted to the Star Wars adventures whether it be movies, books or computer games.You can't go wrong with this one (and the price is right, too).You feel like you're actually sitting in the cockpit with the pilot.It's definitely a favorite of theirs.Order it, order it, order it!

excellent
this game was great! i like the campaign missions because it feels like the movie, the rebels are always running and the imperials are always chasing. i especially like the way you can destroy tie fighters easily. the taunts are awesome too. it takes a few minutes to get used to the complex cockpit, but it is worth getting used to. this game isnt any ol' shoot em' up game it requires a little strategy too. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Toga party, anyone? Now your Sims can do that and more withThe Sims: House Party Expansion Pack, which makes it easier thanever for characters from The Sims to make friends and quicklyrise to the top ranks of their professions.

They'll need all the extra money they make from promotions to pay forall the cool goodies included in this expansion. Party themes rangefrom Wild West campfire cookouts to Hawaiian luaus and room-shakingraves, with plenty of objects provided to keep guests entertained.There's a costume trunk to guarantee everyone will be dressed for theoccasion, and it's even possible to hire a caterer to keep the food anddrink flowing. If you're really lucky, a famous star may pop in for aguest appearance. Every party is packed with surprises, and theinclusion of extra neighborhoods ensures there's always a bash to plan.This is one expansion that no fan of The Sims should be without.--T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• More than 100 new objects and characters
• Guaranteed social interactions can really help a Sim's career
• Great music and fun themes
• Plenty of surprises

• Takes time away from real parties

Features

• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Genre: Strategy
• Mission: Party hard with your Sims using a dance cage, mechanical bull, and hookah
• Platform: Windows 95/98/Me/XP

Reviews (197)

Having a big bash!!!
It's cool to have parties when a lot of people come.I have a huge party room where people dance and be the D.J. It's fun when you get a big cake and hire a male or female dancer and they pop out of the cake and do a dance,but watch out because sometimes they come up to you and make out with you or flirt with you.If you don't have this game you should buy it.

House Party!
The Sims House Party is one of the few expansion packs that I can't do without apart from Hot Date and Livin' Large (And to some extent Vacation, and Superstar). It truly enhances Sims' lives by inviting each other for costume or themed parties, but it has it's disadvantages as well.

You want to make sure that your Sims really know the people around you for the party to go well or the dreaded Mime'll arrive. He doesn't do much apart from get in the way and annoy people. While on the other hand, if your party's a success you get a surprise visit from a celebrity! It's never happened to me yet, but then again I've done the sad mistake of signing up with the Talent Agency too quickly.

Also, if your Sim isn't on good terms with any other Sim in the neighborhood, using the phone to declare a house party'll automatically invite them as well. This can get nasty sometimes. In cases like these, it'd be "safer" to use the phone and manually select who you want to invite over. Then of course, you can always buy the turkey and the Christmas tree.

Parties are even divided into adult or kiddy parties, with dance entertainers popping out of cakes for the former but a purple gorilla usually stuns the kids for the latter. Some of the additional items that come along with this expansion pack are DJs, Caterers and costume wardrobes!

Recommended.

Great New Stuff!!!
Want some new skins, objects, walls, and floors for your Sims?Look no further than House Party!There is some great having-fun-potential here!!!Whether you want an entertainer to pop out of a cake or you want to sit around a campfire to sing songs and roast marshmallows (this is so cute... when they sing around the campfire, someone pulls out a guitar and they all sing real melodies but with Sim lyrics), House Party is for anybody!
Don't stay up too late! And go easy on the alcohol! ;)

One of the best expansion packs.
If you love the Sims you'll love this expansion pack. If you want all the Sims expansion packs make sure you purchase Livin' Large first so you don't have to uninstall House Party and any other expansion packs. House Party is the third one in the series. This game is GREAT. It allows you to have a party. Depending on if your party is good or not you may get a visitor. If you party is bad you will get a clown who will not leave you alone but it is fun to slap him. If your party is good than certain celebrities will visit you. I have had Drew Carey visit. The game gives you more options and more neighborhoods. Enjoy the game!

Funest toy ever
It is very fun because you can make people that are fanous,make people that look like you, or just make a stranger. You can also make your dream house or you can marry your crush!
... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Journey to the other side of reality, to a virtual city shrouded in secrecy. Welcome to Chemicus, a land where scientific knowledge from the beginning of time is protected and wields sacred powers. You play as an accidental intruder transported to Chemicus by an ancient amulet. Your unintended presence has threatened the tranquility of this virtual city, and it's up to you--if you dare--to restore harmony before it's too late.

In Chemicus: Journey to the Other Side players gain knowledge and use their intelligence to solve challenging riddles and unlock the city's darkest secrets. Take up the quest for ancient science truths and discover powerful tools; explore science facts and gather essential resources; experiment with chemical elements and discover the ultimate power. Chemicus awaits your return with stunning 3-D movies, riveting animation, more than 2,000 3-D images, exotic landscapes, and mysterious interiors. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Much Better Than Physicus, But...
My wife and I are avid adventure gamers and, to help pass the time until "URU: Ages Beyond Myst" is released later this year, we decided to try "Chemicus". We played "Physicus" a couple years ago and, while we enjoyed it, we both thought that it could have been a much better game if it had tied into Physics a little deeper and if more effort was put into the adventure game design (look for my earlier review).

We just completed "Chemicus" and I can honestly say that this was a MUCH better overall attempt. Nearly all of the puzzles of the game are chemistry-related ranging from the fairly easy and logical to the pretty hard and requiring a hint or two (we peeked into the included walkthrough only a couple of times to get us unstuck).

The greatest improvement over "Physicus", however, was on the game design side. Like "Physicus" the graphics and music are lush and inviting. But, the scope of the game is where "Chemicus" shines over its predecessor. "Physicus" was just a singular environment or location to explore with very few cut-scenes and conveyances to enjoy along the way; both popular elements to a successful adventure game. In "Chemicus", even though the "subway" system was a little on the cheesy and repetitive side, at least it felt like we were transporting between unique locations (thank goodness the space bar forwards you through the animations). Plus, after solving some particularly difficult puzzles, we were rewarded with some nice cut-scenes; the balloon ride over the city being the best one. It wasn't on the same level as the bigger games like Riven and Schizm, but still an improvement.

One thing that "Physicus" did get right and that "Chemicus" fails on, is its link into the "Brain Center", the included chemistry text book. The content of the chemistry text is impressive, although, it looks as if the inclusion of animation and narration of some of the experiments and topics went by the wayside probably due to the added scope of the underlying game. What really annoyed us was the fact that we couldn't follow a link from the particular puzzle we were working on into the appropriate chapters or topics of the textbook. Along the way, you pick up "Knowledge Chips" that add chapters to your Brain Center and I suppose, if you kept up with the reading along the way, the new topics would relate to the new puzzles in the area. But, later on, when we were still working on the puzzle, it was very difficult to find those same topics in the textbook again. Like "Physicus", a link to just the appropriate topics would have been very useful.

Other than that, the game was very well written and designed. The user interface was very intuitive and easy to use. Could have done without the gratuitous, politically-correct diatribes on "greenhouse gasses" and "socially responsible science" that we have come to expect in these games (easy to ignore, though). We just started on "Bioscopia", but it looks as if that one more closely resembles "Physicus" in design and scope, bummer. I hear they are working on a "Chemicus II" game, so once we finish with URU, we will probably give it a go, too.

Education and confusion come together in Chemicus
Okay, okay, I had fun.But I was also incredibly frustrated by the set up and "logic" (or I should say lack of logic) of this game and that truly detracted from my enjoyment. I wanted to learn something from this game, but I didn't get the connections half the time!
This game has so much potential for teaching chemistry, but the set up was lacking logic - you don't know what you are supposed to be doing, and you have to go back and forth between the various "stops", never knowing if you have really done what needs to be done. And because you have to go back and forth so much, you have to wait for each area to load when you go to another stop. I tried skipping the animation of the transport zooming through the tube, but it still took a long time for the stop to load. And you want to scream when you click on the wrong button and have to wait twice!!
One example of frustration for us is that you have to melt the ingredients for solder someplace other than the melting furnace before you put it into the melting furnace... How does that make sense? The logic behind why some ingredients are placed in certain places is very foggy, and sometimes you just don't have enough (understandable) information to figure something out, or the information is there but so obscure that you have to be a rocket scientist to understand it.
So you look for help, and all you are given is a walkthrough, when hints would be so much better... and would help you learn why you are doing things. I have thought of making my own hints to pass on to someone who would like to learn something from the game.
I ran Chemicus on a mac running OSX. It had to run on classic, so there were many times when it lagged. Don't know how it runs on a PC.

Not bad for edutainment!
This is great game but it is NOT easily solved.It has Myst like elements where you find puzzles and solve them to move around.The game has a twist where you keep an inventory of items you will need in other areas of the game.The hints that came with the game were helpful..I hated to use them but after getting stuck and not making progress after a few hours I had to take a quick peek to continue.At first I thought it was too easy but then it got hard.If anyone writes otherwise they are not being truthful.I took many chem classes in college and not everything is intuitive in the game.Infact, sometimes you know what to do but the game only lets you do things in order to perform a task and you think that you are wrong (but you're not).You only switch CD's once ever and then you are done. I copied the help file to my computer so I would not have to reference it off of the disk. The only part I did not like was the navigation.If it had not been for that I would have given it 5 stars..All in all I have zero regrets getting this game.I had just finished playing Myst III and I wanted another same type game.great buy

Very Challenging and Quite Lovely
Your friend, Richard, a Chemistry buff, has discovered a strange amulet that, combined with certain experiments, allows him access to another dimension.You are supposed to meet with him to discuss his findings, but discover he has disappeared.It seems the denizens of this other dimension aren't too pleased!They think Richard's visits have upset the stability of their world and are holding him prisoner.Now you must cross the dimensions and prove your friendship by restoring a mysterious "Transmitter Molecule."

_Chemicus_ is a first person game very much in the style of MYST:you are wandering through a virtually empty world picking up clues and solving puzzles.From time to time, as in the MYST series, you might see another person from a distance or receive a transmission from your imprisoned friend, but there is no character interaction. So the draw of this game is not clever, pun-filled scripting, but using close observation, deduction and sheer brainpower to get from point A to point B.There is not very much more story than is given to you in the introduction;to enjoy _Chemicus_ you have to enjoy solving inventory-based mechanical puzzles.

And the scenery, of course._Chemicus_ is a really gorgeous game.The "Other Side" is depicted as a place enough like our own world to be somewhat familiar, but enough different to give a certain sense of alienation -- again, much like MYST.The buildings and landscapes have a kind of organic texture that I personally find appealing.Unfortunately, there is no 360-degree movement;_Chemicus_ is a slideshow game.That means you're quite limited as to what you can view closely and where you can go.Personally I didn't find that too annoying (my husband hates it!), particularly as this game is so long and full of puzzles.I just didn't feel as put out by not being able to explore more fully as I might have.

Aside from the graphics and the sound -- mainly subtle f/x -- the strength of this game is in the puzzles.Because they are all based on chemistry, there is a logic to them that is often lacking.Some of the puzzles are a bit confusing, but none is arbitrary.It does in fact help to have had a course in chemistry and some math, however.The game provides a "BRain Center" to teach you what you need to know to proceed, but I found that often the information it gave you wasn't quite enough.However, I was pretty astonished at how many of the tasks could be accomplished with no specialized knowledge.In a way, this game helps point out how much we use chemistry in everyday life, without thinking about it.

I had some serious problems running this game, however.Despite having far more than the system requirements and using a full install, _Chemicus_ ran at a frustratingly slow pace.The scene transitions and animations were especially slow;I found them a good place to grab a snack or make a cup of tea.I also had trouble with the game crashing, often when I was accessing the Brain Center.If it hadn't been for those two things, I would easily have given _Chemicus_ 5 stars.

Several other annoyances were minor:games were saved as a list with each game defined by date and time only, so it was hard to tell what each one was.I consider this minor beacuse I don't tend to backtrack much.There was a lot of back and forthing -- inventory was almost never used in the place you found it -- and some of the locations were hard to keep track of.One or two puzzles involved somewhat obscure solutions, aside from the chemistry.

_Chemicus_ comes complete with a PDF walkthrough in case you get stuck.I did have to access this a few times.I didn't really like the way it was set up because, as walkthroughs tend to, it only told you what to do without telling you how.It also presents events in a specific order, which might not be the way you've played, _Chemicus_ being extremely non-linear.And I think it would have been helpful if you could have accessed the help file without totally exiting the game.

Althoughmarketed for "Everyone" _Chemicus_ will probably appeal best to science oriented teens and adults;I don't think it will really appeal to just any adventure gamer.A long game, it took me about 30 hours to complete.

If you like MYST-type games and if you like science experiments, you will probably like _Chemicus_.

I love a challenge!
Beautiful graphics, and really hard. This game is not easy, and that's the way I like it! (If you aren't like me, the makers of the game put a walkthrough on one of the CD-ROMs in case you get stuck.) This game is a first-person point & click in the style of Myst. There is a lot of area to cover and a lot of hard puzzles. It ran smoothly, and was hours of fun. For the length of time this game will take you it's also a really good value for the price. I liked it more than it's two predecessors (also good!), Physicus and Bioscopia. ... Read more