Reviews / previews
"Pulse-pounding
excitement" isn't a term
you're likely to hear from
anyone describing
Microsoft's long running
Flight Simulator series.
Third-party publishers
continually try and jazz
up the old war horse,
however and that is the
Reason for Being behind
Air Races--a new FS98
add-on from
WizardWorks.
For
a
modest
$20,
Air
Races
gives
you
eight new planes and a
handful of races and
adventures in which to
test them out. These
involve four low-level
pylon race events set in
FS98's default Las
Vegas, London, Paris and Hong Kong scenery areas as well as a brace of
"DEA Rescue" adventures which call on you to rescue some imperiled
colleagues with your Cessna before bombing the headquarters of an evil drug
kingpin.
Although moderate entertainment value can be found in the game's race
events, the included adventures are about as cheesy and poorly-structured as
I have ever witnessed in an add-on scenario
of this type. Apart from the annoying (and
rather insulting) Charlie Chan accent used
by the actor voicing the despotic drug lord,
Quong, success here has more to do with
bombing accuracy (and with a Cessna no
less!) than piloting skills.
No, if you're serious about collecting
additional planes for FS98, then the five
tail-dragging racers and three twin-engine
models offered in the game may be enough
justify the sticker price. If you're not, then
the corny adventure premise behind Air
Races has about as much to offer
discerning cyber-pilots as Deer Hunter did first-person shooter.-- Andy Mahood / GamePro
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