Microsoft's free flight game will launch on February 29, 2012 as a direct download from the game's official website. As part of this initial download, you get the Big Island of Hawaii and one playable aircraft: the ICON A5.
If you link the game to your Games for Windows Live account, you'll also have access to a second plane, the Boeing Stearman, as well as supplementary missions, achievements, and an online pilot profile that allows you to track milestones and share your accomplishments with friends.
If you want the entire Hawaiian island chain, well that will cost you. Also available for download on February 29 is the Hawaiian Adventure Pack, an add-on that not only gets you the rest of the Hawaiian islands, but 20 new missions and a new plane: the Vans RV-6A. The Adventure Pack will cost 1600 Microsoft Points, or $20. There are two additional planes available for the game's launch as well, each with a different price point.
Apparently more "detailed" planes -- those offering a cockpit view as well as an external view -- will cost 1200 points ($15) apiece. The first of such planes for Microsoft Flight is the Maule M-7-260C. Planes without the cockpit view, such as the North American P-51 Mustang, will run 640 points ($8). More information about the game can be found on my Microsoft Flight profile page.
New game profile pages were added for the following upcoming releases:
I also made a list of five interesting sim games that are tentatively scheduled for a 2012 release, which can be found here. Fans of older sim games can learn more about SimCity 2000 and Oval Office: Commander in Chief, while new reviews are available for both L.A. Noire and Royal Envoy 2.
Senior Game Designer Aaron Conners will be hosting a live preview session of the upcoming Showtime expansion for The Sims 3 on January 26th, answering questions throughout the session via live chat.
Topics of discussion include the various ways your Sims can become stars, how the new SimPort feature works, and other things to expect when the game launches in March.
The preview event takes place at 10:00AM Pacific Standard Time at the publisher's website. If you can't make it, a video of the chat will be made available at the same address.
The Sims 3 is about to get a little more social with The Sims 3 Showtime, and to prepare players for all that social goodness, the developers are going to alter the layout of each player's website to make it more Facebook-like.
With the revamped "My Page," you'll be able to share what's happening in The Sims 3 or in one of its expansions, update your Player Wall with in-game achievements, and share news and comments with friends.
You'll also be able to post to your "real" Facebook page, in case your friends aren't active Sims players and you absolutely, positively need them to know what's going on in your virtual life as well as your actual one.
