| THINGS-TO-COME's JetPakNG |
| Wednesday, 24 August 2005 | |||||
JetPakNG - Review"It flies higher, better and longer than all of its real world counterpart and fits perfect for low-level exploration of any kind of scenery"
Introduction It has been the dream of human beings to fly on their own for a long time. If you ever wanted to get an engine on your back and start flying away, it's time for you to know THINGS-TO-COME's JetPakNG and have a big deal of fun in your flight simulator! THINGS-TO-COME is a great developer of futuristic aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. With JetPakNG, you are ready to fly within seconds: just start the engine, move the throttle forward and start climbing away. You can easily go to anywhere in the world and check the biggest mountains, volcanos and beaches - it's a relief from heavy jets or even general aircraft, a truly amazing experience! Installation and documentation If you can install MSN Messenger, you can definitely install JetPak - it's extremely easy! JetPak comes in a 9MB executable file, which is by default only compatible with FS 9.1. There is, however, a simple 330KB patch that makes it compatible with FS 9.0 (2004), this way you don't need to update your simulator if you don't want to. After installation is complete, the installer automatically creates a folder in the Start Menu containing everything you need to get started. The documentation included is a short but helpful 15 page .pdf document. It is absolutely necessary that you read the manual before flying, it contains valuable information that will be needed later. Getting started
There are two models included in the package: a standard and a high-speed one, with different uniform and a stabilizer. In the standard model you can fly at 80 knots and 8000 ft maximum (with unlimited fuel, there is no max. altitude!). In the high-speed model you are the test pilot - submit your max speed/altitude to THINGS-TO-COME and enter the hall of fame! Both models are completely animated, so you can actually see the yoke, throttle and engines moving - even her legs bend and straighten! Sounds and effects are also great: there's visible smoke and fireball going out of the engine and the sound adds a lot to the environment, specially if you're in a dark room with loud volume. It was the first thing I noticed in JetPak that the engines are very powerful, even at medium-throttle. You need to pay attention on take-off not to advance the throttle too quickly, or you'll spin out of control. At this moment you can see the legs straightening out and the smoke coming out of the engines. It works somewhat like a helicopter, so if you're not used to flying them you might have some trouble to control JetPak - nothing that can't be overcome with some practice. There is no 2D panel, so I set the zoom to 50% on the virtual cockpit to easily see the instruments - there is nothing too complicated, only a radar altimeter, an artificial horizon, a vertical speed indicator, a barometric altimeter, a fuel quantity indicator, a COMM radio and the start valve. The radar altimeter bips at 1 meter to indicate that you're close to the ground. The gauge refresh rate is fair, but nothing spectacular - I miss a mini 2D panel for critical stages of flight. Using ActiveCamera adds a lot to the realism, the panel shakes and the field of vision changes when turning. Now the fun part begins, you can do whatever will please when controlling the JetPak - hover, get altitude, speed and enjoy the landscape ...! The fuel doesn't last too long, sometimes it's better to check the 'Unlimited fuel' option and not to worry about fuel shortages. Controlling the JetPak in the air is very fun and easy, forward pressure should be applied to gain speed and back pressure to reduce speed. Exaggerated thrust will make you gain altitude and reduce the speed, so a balance between forward pressure and thrust helps you achieve the desired effect. One thing I must tell you is that it feels real good to fly it, the sense of liberty that JetPak generates is simply amazing - I could fly that for an entire day! One problem with the helicopter model in FS2004, and thus in JetPak, is that the aircraft enters an uncontrollable spin when flying backwards faster than 8 knots - that's why flying backwards should be avoided when possible in FS. Landing is definitely the hardest part of the flight, as you have to hover and gently descent at the same time - again, nothing that practice can't overcome! At this point, the instruments are of great help to land it safely. A JetPak pilot should also pay attention to the winds and always land with a headwind. Other features Another great feature of JetPakNG is FS Camera. Running on the background, FS Camera converts the default FS tower-view into a virtual cameraman, always trying to get the best fly-by shots. You also can save and load your own motor-tracking profiles. That enhances the overall experience even more!
Conclusion Adding it up, JetPakNG is for sure the most innovative and futuristic add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator today. If you want a break from those heavy jets with complicated procedures, JetPak is right for you. Save one McDonald's meal and buy it - I'm sure that after you fly this, you'll want a real one for yourself! I highly recommend JetPakNG! You can purchase JetPakNG for $9.99 (that's right, ten bucks!) at THINGS-TO-COME official website. I'd also like to extensively thank THINGS-TO-COME for sending me a copy of this product for this review!! For more screenshots, please click here.
Final grade: 8/10!Test computer: MSI KT4 Ultra, Athlon XP 2.12Ghz, 512MB RAM, MSI GeForce 4 Ti4200 @ 283/570, LG 17" monitor ... |
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