I guess I don't want anyone to be misinformed. Even if it is at another web site. Lately, I have found the majority (darn near 100%) of reviews posted at other sites to be entirely "happy only" reviews. Why? Probably because they don't want to offend the people that pay their bills, via advertising or the more difficult scenario. You never want to hurt people's feelings, especially some developer that's poured their heart and soul into creating a free or inexpensive add-on that took many months to create. Here at FlightSim.Com, we don't want to hurt feelings either. Flightsimmers are a great group of hobbyists and friends that stick together to share one of life's most fun pastimes. However, I for one, can't stand phoney reviews. Perhaps I should restate that. Not phoney, but many reviews I come across on other sites are misleading because they never seem to mention the bad, bugged or annoying parts of a product. We are not afraid to tell it like it is. If "Honest" Abe Lincoln were alive today, we'd hire him. If a product is simply not worth the money or time to invest in it, we tell you. If a product is flawed we tell you. If a product is just the best thing on the earth, we've ever seen, we'll tell you. People have written me thousands of times, sometimes chastising me for YELLING or writing in capitals when I am excited. Well, that's me. If I find something so great, that believe no simmer should be without, I WILL YELL ABOUT IT. Luckily, most people like that. When I do a review, I get excited and will tell you if it is equally bad or good. All our contributors are encouraged to tell it like it is, as well. We pride ourselves on the best, most honest reviews in the business.
My recent review of Phoenix Simulations Boeing 777 is an example where our great new reviewer Andrew Herd delved into the new FS2000 product, but left out some things I found worth mentioning. His original review didn't mention some of the errors I felt were important to mention. Other sites have not picked up on these glaring errors. This is an outstanding product. But you have a right to know about the faults we found. That's what makes us different from the other sites. We will tell you.
Recently, I received a lot of praise from our users, concerning my review of Wilco Publishing's Airport 2000 Volume 2. I was bluntly honest, and told you how this product was a travesty in the sense, they built a product loaded with buggy aircraft and overly detailed airports that no one could ever enjoy, because the frame rates were so horrid. We were the only web site that posted a negative review on this product. Everyone else praised it. Raves galore. I guess everyone is supposed to be a slideshow enthusiast and not a pilot, right? Not me. And not you either. Thanks again for the 100s of emails I received from disgruntled buyers of this product, that had to return it to the store. I felt your pain. Yes, we were dealing with a giant in the flightsim world, Wilco Publishing. We don't want to upset them, as we want to be able to promote all their future products. We did get them upset, as you can see in my review, a response from Wilco's chief person. I held by my review, stating what I felt from day one. Even at the risk of upsetting publishers, we will tell you the truth. Rest assured, Wilco Publishing, your reputation is not sinking in my book. Your recent release of the 737-500 for FLY! is a super jetliner simulation built for FLY!. I am taking my time on this one, wanting to again, only present the review, once I am satisfied I have tested it in and out. But for those of you waiting for my review, I'll tell you know, don't wait a moment longer! The 737 for FLY! is a must have!
A few years ago, I did one of the first reviews on a new sim called X-Plane. I hated it. Thought it was silly, with some terrible flight quality bugs and weather errors. Austin hated me for that. I still don't know if he has recovered from that old review or not. I think he has, my recent review of X-Plane 5.31 tells why. It now ties with another as my favorite flightsim, period. Again, I tell it like it is.
Recently, we have turned down some user-submitted reviews because they are too brief and not comprehensive enough to be published. Sometimes they are just "too happy" for my taste, if it's a product I already know about having problems. Nothing's perfect. Most add-ons are a great value. Most are of high quality. Some are disasters. This spans the entire range from freeware to payware and big commercial products. I hope you'll appreciate our hard stance on product reviews here at FlightSim.Com, and choose us as your final authority before you hit the download keys, or drive to the store. And to all the developers out there, thank you for what you do, and do well (most of the time).
