'Now increase your thrust and gently pull back on the stick. That was good. Now retract your gear.' No, it's not the voiceover of some instructional video on intimate personal relationships but the static-distorted tones of your co-pilot trainer in Microsoft's Flight Simulator 98.

Anyone who has ever dreamt of piloting an aeroplane has almost certainly come across the Flight Sim series before. It's been around for 15 years and was one of the first serious attempts to simulate flight on a PC.

In the latest Windows 95/NT-only incarnation, Flight Sim 98 takes full advantage of the recent advances in technology, such as MMX processors and the DirectX5.0 driver set.

Flight models for seven aircraft are present, ranging from the Boeing's docile workhorse, the 737-400, to the highly manoeuvrable but seemingly uncontrollable JetRanger III helicopter from Bell. All have been designed to be as close to the real thing as possible and, though we're far from experts, they certainly seemed to respond realistically.

You can take off from and fly to some 3,000 airports dotted around the globe and the cityscapes of the major locations are plotted in three dimensions.

The difficulty level is perfectly gauged, beginning with quick trips in a dual-control Cessna and building up to long-haul passenger flights with you seated as the captain.

Graphically the game can be stunning. Take to the air over London, for example, glance down at the accurately mapped River Thames and you could easily believe that you're speeding over the capital. Ground features vary in both frequency and detail level and range from hillocks to the Houses of Parliament

We were fortunate enough be able to play Flight Sim using Microsoft's new Sidewinder Force Feedback joystick. This adds a new dimension to the flying experience, and we found ourselves fighting instinctively with turbulence and receiving a deathly shudder as we adeptly landed our Cessna nose-first for the umpteenth time.

As usual, to get the most out Flight Sim 98 you'll also need a fairly powerful PC. The game will run on a 486 processor, but we really would recommend at least a 133MHz Pentium for best results.

Flight Simulator is not a game for arcade freaks or those after a quick thrill - in fact, it's not really a game at all. Stick with it though, and you'll discover that it's one of the most rewarding ways to pass time with your PC. An absolute triumph. Scott Colvey

#49.99 (inc VAT, #10 cash-back voucher for existing owners)

Microsoft: 0345 002000

Minimum requirements: 486DX2 66MHz (Pentium recommended), 8Mb of RAM (16Mb recommended), Windows 95/NT, SVGA graphics card, 2x CD-ROM drive and 75Mb of hard disk space.