Yes, once again, our hoist’s hook has failed to connect with the important pulley system we’re supposed to transporting. "Forward... back... slide left... forward... move up," our co-pilot intercedes as we hover perilously close to the side of a mountain in a hefty, fuel-laden EH-101 helicopter. Every time our hoist line gets close, a little bit too much pressure on the joystick sends us lurching off course once again in dramatic fashion. If we were a bystander, we’d be on the phone to the emergency services already.

Alongside this humming brute of a helicopter (which we once learnt to be capable of flipping two-seater planes with its downforce), Acceleration throws an FA/18 Hornet and special racing variant of the P-51 Mustang into the FSX mix. A healthy batch of over 20 new missions means that you won’t be short of things to do with them.

While Flight Simulator X’s missions revolve largely around fairly routine aviation operations, often throwing in dramatic twists, Acceleration is interesting from the outset. You’ll be tasked with missions ranging from intercepting UFOs and maintaining clear skies around space launches to assisting crews working to prevent large-scale avalanches. Each of the new planes makes an appearance in the new missions to varying extents. A little disappointingly the P-51 Mustang, with its clipped racing wings, makes only two appearances – the intention obviously being that this will be utilised more in online multiplayer or the ‘free flight’ option. The F/A-18 enjoys more of the limelight, finding a particular role in carrier operations. Those wondering what, in particular, justifies the ‘Acceleration’ moniker will be pleased to find that lowering your fighter’s ‘launch bar’ before plugging yourself into your carrier’s catapult system, will see you brought from 0 to 60 feet above the waves with minimal delay. On the flip-side, lowering your tail-hook before touching down on deck will see you decelerate just as rapidly. Pulling off a faultless landing though, is a challenging, yet rewarding, art.  

Though we’d recommend inducing a suitably zen-like state before attempting them, the EH-101 helicopter features in a good number of missions, largely based around either transporting materials around or rescuing those in need. As with many of the other missions, strong emphasis is placed on precise flying. Sway around haphazardly and you stand little chance of success – as with flying in general, small joystick movements are the way to go (don’t even think of using a keyboard/mouse). In this regard, FSX: Acceleration manages to provide a manageable difficulty curve across its missions. You may not find yourself ready to join the Red Arrows for a while yet, but persistence and experience is key.

Those who enjoyed FSX’s brief foray into the world of Red Bull Air Racing will also be glad to note that a significant amount of attention has been paid to this sport in Acceleration. Significantly though, the single-player missions are far from being the extent to which you can participate in air racing. Instead, they’re presented largely as a means to practice and refine your technique before taking off into the virtual skies. This was an option we were happy to take – embarrassing ourselves in front of the virtual audiences of Longleat, Istanbul or Tempelhof seemed preferable to unconventional field-ploughing in clear view of an online opponent.

… continued