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Microsoft Flight Simulator 98, Microsoft, Redmond, Wash., $59.95.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 is a new version of the oldest of the PC flight simulations. In its favor, it is reasonably stable and has collected many generations of improvements. It also has an equally seasoned following and continues to receive excellent third-party support that affords users a cornucopia of free and inexpensive add-ons. On the other hand, its graphics are somewhat dated, and its rich feature set requires fast hardware.

Even so, this new version includes more built-in enhancements than earlier releases. Most obvious is support for 3-D graphics accelerators that improve the look of the terrain and objects in the virtual environment. Also new is multiple player support, which enables you to fly in formation with friends, as well as some new aircraft such as the new Learjet 45 and the Bell 206B JetRanger III helicopter. If you have a force feedback joystick, you will also be able to feel the vibration in the stick cease as your aircraft lifts off the ground.

Flight Simulator 98 increases the number of stock airports to more than 3,000. Scenery has also been added for more cities, both foreign and domestic.

Still in the package from previous editions are multimedia flight lessons from Patty Wagstaff, and there are new flight models validated by Cessna and Learjet. Sadly, this product lacks the paper documentation of earlier versions of Flight Simulator. For civilian flying, though, Flight Simulator remains the king of versatility and features. It requires Windows 95, a 486 DX2/66 PC, and 8MB RAM.

Bernard Dy