Best and most realistic flight simulation?

So what is the best and most realistic flight simulation game out there? I've been out of touch with games and would like to put one on my Christmas list. I hope to find something that will let me select from a wide array of planes from jet fighter to Boeing 747. Thanks for your input.

 

Flight Sim X has the commercial aircraft. The sister Combat Sim series has the military aircraft.

Amazing simulations, as I couldn't even get the planes off the ground.

 

Nothing beats Flight Simulator X

 

Flight Sim X is the one you want if you want to just fly a range of aircraft from place to place.

If you want to shoot things then your best bet for WW2 action is any of the Oleg Maddox games (IL2:Forgotten Battles or Pacific Fighters). For modern combat its a toss up between Lock On:Modern Air Combat or Falcon 4.0:Allied Force. The former has the better graphics and simulates quite a few aircraft. The latter is focused on just the F16, but is more hard-core both in its flight model and its campaign engine.

Sadly the hard-core flight sim seems to be dying a death at the moment with only Microsoft's big hitter keeping it going. LOMAC, Falcon et al are kept afloat by a group of very dedicated fans. Its a far cry from the heady days of the '90s when you couldn't move for flight sims. Tornado, now that was a game....

 

You might want to check out X-plane ( www.x-plane.com, www.x-plane.org). Its flight dynamics aren't based off scripted flight dynamic files but are calculated in flight by the sim engine.

 

If you want the most realistic flight dynamics and characteristics, that's gotta be X-Plane. Like MozzUK said, X-Plane uses the blade element theory, in which every part of the aircraft is being calculated in real time, which performs just like in real life, while Microsoft Flight Simulator series and many others use lookup tables, basically match what is already being recorded in real life aircraft performance, then follow those flight scripts in the simulator.

Though, Microsoft Flight Simulator series has been in the business for about 20+ years, in every new version, they improve the flight models and dynamics upon its predecessor's, thus making them as realistic as possible (As Real As It Gets - FS2002 Slogan).

However, there are many aspects that make MFS series much more superior than X-Plane:

Latest version Microsoft Flight Simulator X -
* Graphics - Best graphics on the market, period
* World AI - AI aircrafts, road vehicles, ships, ferries, animals
* Auto-gens - Automatic generated buildings and trees, and realistically placed around the world.
* Realistic and detailed models - In the latest version, every aircraft in FSX has 3D c-o-c-k-pit, most parts are movable, click-able and interactable
* Vast amount of add-ons - Countless add-ons have been created for FS series, both free and paywares, including new aircrafts, airports, improved meshes, environment enhancement... etc

 

For WWII Combat:
- IL2 1946: it's a compilation of all the IL-2 games
- Combat Flight Simulator 2 and 3: older but good

For Modern Combat:
- Falcon 4 Allied Force: not the best graphics, but the highest in ****pit realism and battle simulator. There are mods that will let you play other aircraft
- Lock-On Modern Air Combat: Good looking graphics, although aging, has more combat aircraft to fly.

Commercial:
- Flight Simulator X and expansion: great variety of aircraft. However if you're concerned about performance, get Flight Simulator 2004. Not quite as nice looking but flight models and c-ockpits are good.
- X-Plane: hands down best flight model. Has a good plane builder too if you care to try your hand with it. Plus can fly on Mars!