How virtual Warrington looks in Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator has now been released on the Xbox Series X and S consoles, following its launch for PC last year.

The title has been described as a ‘technological masterpiece’ due to its jaw-dropping rendering of the entire planet for gamers to fly around.

So how well does the in-game recreation of Warrington match up to the real-life version?

We fired up the propellers for a bird’s eye view.

Jetting off from Lymm Dam Airstrip, which features in the game but in actuality now appears to be disused, the Warrington Guardian took a leisurely flight in the direction of the town centre over Thelwall and Latchford.

Looking towards Warrington town centre from Victoria Park and Knutsford Road

And while the geographical features are spot on, it soon became clear that most of the buildings are rough approximations with fairly generic buildings replicated in the shape of the true bricks and mortar rather than intricately detailed models.

The view along the Manchester Ship Canal

Perhaps the most convincing lookalike is Warrington Wolves’ Halliwell Jones Stadium, although again its creation was clearly an inexact science.

Bizarrely, Fiddlers Ferry Power Station’s iconic towers are completely flat.

But locations such as Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve and the Thelwall Viaduct on the M6 are a decent interpretation.

And even a virtual visit to Warrington would be incomplete without a trip to Ikea.

However, there are some nearby landmarks that have been faithfully recreated to a good likeness.

In the north west, these include the Liver Building, Jodrell Bank Observatory and the Blackpool Tower.

Jodrell Bank

Blackpool Tower

A trip to the former did end in disaster though.

Awaiting rescue from the Mersey

Meanwhile, for football fans there are versions of Manchester United’s Old Trafford, Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium and Everton’s Goodison Park to fly over.

Old Trafford

Anfield

Goodison Park

Despite not being 100 per cent accurate, the game is nevertheless mightily impressive.

And, if nothing else, it offers the chance to see our town from a view you would likely not be able to experience otherwise.