I don’t think there are many flying (plane, jet, etc) games on XBox Live Indie Games, but then again, I guess I haven’t played all that many. So when I heard about RC-Airsim I decided here was something I haven’t tried yet. Actually that’s not what I thought, the creator was on twitter, so I heard about it through that, and decided to review it for my next XBLIG game. However I hadn’t tried it yet, so I could have thought that. But I didn’t. But I could have. I could go on forever like this. Okay so I wasn’t expecting much with the title. RC-Airsim meaning a simulation of radio controlled planes. And I didn’t get all that much. Now before I go on, I’m not trying to slam this, but it’s gotta be said. This is not a game, it’s a simulation. That was my first mistake, thinking of it like a game. So let me give you my thoughts briefly before I get into the details of the review. Unless you’re a radio-controlled plane enthusiast, you probably won’t care about this that much. Like I’m not. Watch the video to get an idea, and if that interests you, go ahead and read the rest of the review by clicking Read More below.
If you are into RC planes, this might be a good way to brush up your skills before doing the real thing. Notice I said brush up your skills. This isn’t for beginner RC airplane enthusiasts, it’s more for people who are at least intermediate. Okay, we’ll start with the graphics. Graphics are ok for what they are. Just 3d model planes, a simulated “yard”. Nothing special about it, but they’re not bad either. There is no music to speak of, and the sound effects are what you would expect.
There are no actual instructions, just the different control schemes you can change to, different planes, and the the actual take off option. That said the control is not that hard itself. Although flying and landing a plane is tough if you’re not into RC-planes. I kept crashing no matter what I tried. So there are 7 model planes starting with the Back 40 Trainer, Double Helix, Emerald Glider, Master EDF, Slowmowatt, F-15 Regal Eagle, and Super Dee. I don’t know if you can tell what kind of planes they are from the names, because they seem to be fanciful to me. In any case there are four different control schemes which I will outline next.
First we have the LS Throttle, which uses the left thumb-stick up and down for throttle, left and right for rudder. The right thumb-stick serves for the Ailerons (left/right) and Elevator (up/down) – I don’t know if that’s a proper R/C plane term (Elevator) but it sort of makes it go up and down. The next control scheme is Triggers Throttle, where you use the XBox 360 controller’s left and right triggers for down and up throttle respectively. Rudder is with the left thumb-stick left and right, the right thumb-stick is like in the previous control scheme. Next we have RS Throttle-Mode1, in this case things are a bit switched, Ailerons and throttle on the right thumb-stick, while Elevator and Rudder on the Left. Finally we have LT/RT Throttle-Mde1, which is basically like the Triggers Throttle mode except now the Elevator control is on the left thumb-stick, along with the Rudder, and only the Ailerons are on the right stick. I don’t know if these are all R/C accurate but I think the author got some positive comments from real R/C guys. All control schemes use ‘A’ button to reset your plane on the runway, and the start button for the pause menu.
Other than that it’s just a take off. Really this should have had tutorials and should have had mini-games to help you learn to control the planes. This could have been taken farther, and perhaps had a wider audience. I guess you could consider this a niche program (thanks Z-Man ;-) ) It’s not really fun at all since it’s a simulation, and since it only appeals to those who have flown R/C planes before. This thing could have had flying contests, it could have had some sort of multiplayer. Someone suggested different plane views as it’s hard to land. I even haphazardly landed a plane, but do I get any sort of screen congratulating me or at least telling me I’ve landed. Nope. That said if you are an enthusiast (let’s see how many times I can say that), and you have flown R/C planes before you will probably want to use this to hone your skills for real life. There is also a PC version.
Name: RC-AirSim
Developer: Some Call Me Tim
Price: 240 MSP (about 3 bucks US), the pc version is $8.95 USD
Where you can get it: You can get it on XBox Live Market Place or on the Xbox 360, however I will just direct you to the home page here.
Tags: independent, Indie, Indie Flux, IndieFlux, model plane, radio-controlled, RC-AirSim, reviews, Uhfgood, xblig, xbox 360
“This isn’t for beginner RC airplane enthusiasts…”
I disagree. That’s exactly who this is for. You wouldn’t want to take out a real plane first would you? Yes, this sim isn’t “easy” because the real thing isn’t.