Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight Reviews

• Exellent flightsim - one of the best sims on the market

  
  By A2WPL6Y08K6ZQH on 2004-12-01
  I am in love with avaiation, and therefore FS has become a part of my computing experience. I purchased FS 1998, and though it was a tolerable product, I in no way felt that it was a great simulation of flight. It just didn't have the look and feel of flight. However, I was blown away by the progress made in FS 2002. Though the clouds were not always realistic (modeling gave them a two-dimension look that was disconcerting to say the least), I thought that the overall experience was pretty good.
  I saw FS 2004, and I thought it was probably mot much of an improvement based on reviews I had read. Let me just say that the first reviews I read were wrong. FS 2004 is a major improvement over FS 2002, and it stands as a all-time gret product for aviation buffs like me.
  
  Improvements:
  
  1. Weather: for the first time, flying on FS2004 simulates almost perfectly the experience of actually flying. Clouds have the mist look when you fly through them. The weather systems seem to generate randomly, just as in the non-virtual world. Also, I like the weather themes that can generate snow conditions, thunderstorms, and fair weather with high altitude stratocumulus clouds. In short, the weather is a fantastic approximation of reality. FS 2004 truly represents a quantum leap in simulations. (although IL-2 still has the best clouds).
  
  2. ATC: FS2002 had the feel of real ATC but with some stupid problems. For example, if you fly using IFR (insturment flight rules), and you failed to reach your assigned altitude, the ATC would terminate their services (what the heck is that about?). If you wanted to fly at a different altitude you couldn't. Also, you couldn't change you IFR route, or change from VFR (visual) to IFR in flight. FS2004 makes those changes. For the first time you can change your altitude, you can change your route, and you can switch between IFR and VFR. Yea!.
  Another big improvement is the ATC feel itself. For the first time, I actually feel as though I am flying in a populated world. Lots of traffic at big airports, just like in reality. Fly into San Francisco International, and you may just see airplanes lined up to land. This is a big improvement.
  
  3. GPS: In FS2002, the GPS was very basic and frustratingly difficult to use. It was based on a second generation handheld, and consequently, there were few features. The GPS in FS2004 ahs lots of features, is far easier to use because of a new interface window that you can access in flight (see above), and you can switch to terrain features and in-flight messages. It is a more realistic approximation of a GPS device you would use in flight.
  
  4. The World: FS2004 adds signs at airport runways so you can see where your going! It also adds more features to the world around you, such as construction cranes, and different buildings not seen in previous models of FS. Although I have noticed a new "Chick-fil-a" looking restaurant, I can state definitively that no such place exists in San Diego, CA next to the Lindbergh field runway. However, the scenery looks a lot better than FS2002. Little details really add up and make flying in FS2004 much better. The airports really look great. Denver Int'l looks very realistic now, as does Seattle-Tacoma. ( I would rate more but I just havent had the chance to fly all over to world yet!)
  
  5. Computer: For some reason, FS2004 sees to run better on my machine than did FS2002. No "slide shows" (bad framerate) that I have found yet, and the computer seems to run better with FS2002. I like this very much. I haven't added to many third-party add-ons with FS2004 yet, but it just seems to function better than does FS2002, so perhaps FS2002 had some unresolved framerate problems.
  
  6. Open architecture: In general, MSFS has open architecture which allows aviation geeks like me to add-on scenery, and hundreds of planes, general, military and specific airlines as well. Most of the products and downloads I have found are excellent and work well with FS2004.
  
  Complaints:
  Given how I feel about this product, I have very few complaints.
  I wish the ground textures were better. However, you can either download or purchase products that have photo-realistic scenery, so you can really fly though England of Southern California and really recognize the ground.
  
  Also, I wish the aiports had more realistic aircraft in them. Sometimes flying through LAX, I realize that Cessna would probably not be at that airport. I have even taken off from major airports with DC-3's lined up for takeoff - what is this the 1940's?
  However, these are minor problems, and overall Microsoft FS2004 is an excellent product and is well worth a purchase.
  
  
  
  

• The new state-of-the-art flight sim for PC

  
  By A2WJSVSBXEYEF on 2005-03-30
  My qualifications: More than 3000 hrs of real world flight time, Commercial, Instrument, Multi-Engine and Flight Instructor certificates, and an incalculable amount of my life spent "flying" every major flight sim ever made for the PC, starting with the original MS Flight Simulator on an Apple IIe in 1983. For whatever it's worth, folks, I'm an expert on this subject.
  
  FS-2004 Century of Flight is the new state of the art, the new gold standard. By itself, this software is worth going out and buying a new, hot PC just so you can fly it.
  
  If this is your first flight sim experience, you'll have fun just doing loops and looking at the pretty scenery.
  
  But here's the truth: the more aviation experience you have, the more you will appreciate this sim. Quite frankly, I can't think of a single significant element of the real-world flying experience that isn't precisely modeled and simulated in FS-2004.
  
  Want to climb in the 172 and practice NDB approaches down to minimums in rain and a stiff crosswind? No problem, you can do that here. Want to captain the 747 from San Francisco to Honolulu by moonlight? Consider it done. Want to fly neck-straining aerobatics "in the box" over the runway at Oshkosh in Patty Wagstaff's Extra 300? Start the engine and go. Want to load up the DC-3 and fly "The Hump" to gain an appreciation of true aviation heroism? Yep, you can do that too. With or without the snowstorms and turbulence.
  
  Quite frankly, if you can come up with a non-combat flying scenario of any kind, you can almost certainly experience something very close to it in FS-2004. This sim isn't just fun, or accurate - it's realistic training and practice for the IFR pilot.
  
  Words simply can't express the depth, thoroughness, accuracy and variety to be found in this sim. Everything happens in real time and it's so accurate on my PC that I can get out my E6-B whizwheel and do time, fuel and distance calculations while I'm "flying" and have them work out almost exactly.
  
  The more of a pilot you are, the more this sim will give you. And no matter how many hours you have, there is no pilot alive who won't benefit from the incredibly realistic practice and training that this sim provides. If you rent a 172 now and then, you'll be so much sharper in the real cockpit because of this sim. And if you own your own airplane, you can practice things like non-precision approaches, holding pattern entries, missed approach procedures and engine failures to landing, all without burning a drop of gas or putting your own airplane in jeopardy.
  
  Here's what it boils down to: In general aviation today, you either train and practice with this sim, or you're behind the times and selling yourself short. Get it.
  
  

• Good Sim, But Remember the "Sim" Part!

  
  By A29ONHWOAKOVDI on 2004-12-15
  I have been using flight simulators since MS Flight Simulator 4.0, and have more diverse experience than only Microsoft's offering to call upon. While any simulator can be made quite realistic with the latest hardware and enough money, it is important to note that Microsoft's offering is no different - you cannot, as they say, make a silk purse out of a pig's ear. This means that if you're running an underpowered system, you will not be able to run the simulation optimally.
  
  Published system requirements:
  * Pentium 450 or greater processor
  * 64 MB RAM for 98/Me, 128 MB RAM for 2000/XP
  * 8 MB/3-D with DirectX 7.0 or later videocard
  * 1.8 GB hard drive space
  
  My recommendation:
  * P4 2.x GHz processor; the faster, the better
  * 512MB RAM, with ideally 1GB under the hood
  * 128MB / 256MB AGP video card that pushes TONS of pixels - the more, the better
  * At least 5GB free hard drive space - You'll want to do a full install, and that comes in just under 3GB (2.88GB, I think)
  
  I run on:
  * P4 3.0GHz processor
  * 1GB RAM
  * Windows XP PRO (SP1)
  * 256MB 8xAGP GeForce 5700 series NVidia video card
  * Sidewinder joystick (soon to go, thanks to some pedals and a yoke I ordered!)
  * On-board surround sound processor
  
  The software itself is practically infinitely extendable, with software and hardware add-ons supported. A quick look around in the flightsim community will support my assertion that the software is CHEAP compared to what can be done to augment it. Add-on packages are available to augment FS2004's admitidedly weak "ground mesh" mapping - flying through Norway's waterways and coasts with the default scenery is nothing next to the real thing, and pales in comparison to some of the add-on packages (both for photo-texturing and mesh-building) out there. But of course, these things cost money (sometimes), as does building and maintaining a system that can fully take advantage of the software.
  
  This is a SIMULATOR, remember - a dozen years ago something like this with a set of pedals and yoke would have been a BIG deal and far out of the reach of the home consumer. Now, as the bar of admission lowers, it is important to realize just how MANY numbers are being crunched every second (most of those in graphics routines), and spec a system appropriately. It might not be a multi-million dollar prospect to own any longer, but to adaquately run the simulator and get something "real" out of it, it is certainly not unheard of to run multi-head (throwing many monitors onto a machine) for a partial panoramic view - but, of course, realism comes at its price.
  
  (same text as is found in my review on the "tin box" version of FS2004)
  
  

• No Concorde!

  
  By A1Y026INI6VO24 on 2006-09-04
  Having found FS2002 to be quite a novelty despite its rather poor landscapes I bought FS2004 for my son. I have found some of the graphics improved on, runways, airport installations, planes ... but others just as horrible as previously.
  As far as choice of planes goes, it is unbelievable that "100 years of flight" omits the Concorde! A lot of the stuff is repeated from FS2002, including the sailplane (glider) that just sits stupidly on the ground with no explanation as to how to get it towed. Some more interesting models are visible as figuration ; ATR42, Dash8, though they are not controlable by the user. We quite enjoy the DC3-cargo as they still fly around our part of the world.
  Lack of "real world" liveries is also a disappointment.
  Representation of monuments is fine but if they are surrounded by washed-out computer generated emptiness it's not really worth having them (you cannot land a Cessna or anything else next to the Eiffel tower - on a wide open prairy flecked with an occasional building!)
  Displacement of planes seems odd at times, you can fly out 5 or 10nm from an airport at an acceptable speed but returning can take ridiculously long.
  The computer also occasionally freezes or turns itself off during FS2004 for no apparent reason, problem we never have with FS2002. The problem is difficult to identify as it does not always happen even though we sometimes run FS2004 for 2 or 3 hours, other times it can occur every 20 minutes or so.
  We will be purchasing regional-commuter and Concorde add-ons. Would like to find a repainting add-on that recreates real-life airline liveries.
  
  
  

• top of the class

  
  By A2MX0WMUHQAC14 on 2006-08-31
  I have not played the game much as yet,but what I have used so far is tops. I am nearly 64 and suffer PPH and am on O2 24/7 so I need a game that does not require lightning reflexes,which I no longer possess. I had to give up piloting due to health problems years ago. Now I can get my weekly fix from ground level at home and without endangering anyone. Top marks from me.
  Rod Leveridge
  
  
• best flight sim ever!!
  By on 2004-07-28
  MS Flight Sim 2004 is the best sim...ever made. The graphics are great (on my 2.4 ghz 512mb ram 64 mb geforce 4 mx card i can run it at 800x600 resulution with medium graphics). Its the most realistic sim ever made also. The only bad thing about this game is that it takes around 1 1/2 hours to install, and it takes up around 5 gigs of your hard drive. A joystick is reccomended so you dont have to mess around with the keyboard too much...the planes are almost impossible to fly with just a keyboard. It has over 20 flyable aircraft, including the Wright Brothers first plane. It also has more modern planes like cessnas and the 737,747,and 777. The learjet and 2 helicopters are also included. There are over 20,000 airports to fly to, anywhere in the world.
  
  *WARNING* You should have at least double the minimum requirements to run this game. Just to see how it worked, I tried to run it on a computer that had the minimum requirements. It could load the game, but when i tried to fly i was getting about 3 framespersecond on average....on my machine (specs listed above) i can usally get 25 frames per second on a clear day...about 15 when the weather is cloudy.
  
  
  This is a great game, and if you like flying, or want to become a pilot, get it!
  
  
• Know your hardware!
  By ADJ8JZQCZTVGK on 2005-04-29
  Reviews which say, "This game runs horribly" or "This game crashed my computer," help no one when you don't list you specs.
  
  AMD 2700+ @ 2GHz
  512Mb DDR
  GeForceFX 5200 w/256Mb DDR
  SB Audigy Platinum
  7200 RPM 120 Gig HD
  
  I cannot get this game to slow down. I put the settings on ultra-high, trilinear filtering and all that, bump the resolution up to insane levels where I can no longer read the flight lessons because they're too tiny, and I don't even get a stutter. I can freely alt-tab in and out, or play in a window. My specs are very decent, but by no means are they the bleeding edge. I see other reviews here where people seem to hint that they have similar specs and are only getting 10 to 15 Fps. That's ridiculous.
  
  So first, know your hardware. Not all RAM is created equally and not all video cards are either. You may "have the numbers" but if you bought cheap hardware, expect cheap results. Also, SOUND! My guess is that many of the people here who have bad performance with apparently decent specs can trace it to their sound card. It's often overlooked. My sound card isn't great, but it used to be a lot worse. I noticed a marked improvement in many 3d games after I got the audigy--and that's just an audigy, not an audigy2 or anything flashy. Do you people that have performance issues even have a PCI sound card or is it built into your motherboard? If it's onboard, then it's sapping CPU time from you.
  
  Second, know your OS integrity. When's the last time you defragged? When's the last time you scanned for addware and spyware? Are you the kind of person that has bunches of useless stuff running all the time, like screen saver programs? Some one here said that FS2004 caused the loss of all date on her C drive. No, it wasn't FS2004, your computer and OS were unstable to begin with. Don't blame some game because you can't manage your machine.
  
  Now the game. Yeah, I meant those five stars. I love this thing. I know people don't call it a game, but I do. I'm playing "Being a pilot" and loving it. I enjoy many different kinds of computer games, but this one is quite unique in that it calms me down. Straight and level flight can be very Zen.
  
  
• Awesome Simulator
  By A1AX7PQLXRZ3NW on 2005-10-24
  One of my dreams is to be a pilot, and unfortunately this may be as close as I'll ever get, but this is an incredible simulator. If you don't watch it, the hours just slip away as you fly across the great spynx, or the niagra falls, or the rocky mountains, or the mississippi river!! And it's soo much fun to take off the runway without radioing for clearance and hearing the control tower yelling at you!! :-) Its awesome!! And I love it!!
  
  
• Learn to fly any class of plane for about $20.00
  By AD0J5KK4WQXNS on 2004-11-01
  
  But you should spend another $20 on a good joystick also. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 will teach you how to fly a number of real planes. Let me put it to you this way - if you are on a plane and the airhostess asks suddenly over the intercom "Can anyone fly a plane?" and if the answer is - "No one here can", then your next best bet is to go with whoever has the most flight time with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004... and its all thanks to John and Martha King of King's Air school and Rod Machado, your flight instructor who feature in a couple of hours worth of scripted tutorial videos that play in the games menu and describe everything that could ever possibly want to learn about flying a plane. When you are done with that then you can start reading the couple of thousand pages of documentation that range anywhere from using digital GPS tracking systems to flying with damaged equipment. Let us be clear here for a moment - if you get into it, then you are in it for the long term and will almost certainly save yourself tens of thousands of dollars in real flight lessons because when you go up for real you will know nearly all of it except for actually doing it.
  
  For $20 you are on your way to joining the best and cheapest flight school there is and really the tutorials are the Gem of the box, not to mention the fact that a round the world trip is possible with this simulator, including real-time weather events. I have the latest 256mb Radeon Graphics card and even it has trouble rendering everything on full detail so this game will certainly last a very long time. The 512mb card generation should be able to cope with everything.
  
  As a note there are classic trips you can take like missions - for example the Wright Brothers first flight. There are also plenty of mods and addons for it if you search the internet.
  
  This is a great and educational Simulator. If you like flying then what are you waiting for? It is massive improvement on previous versions of this sim (it has a couple of thousand airports to choose from). There is nothing else even remotely like it.
  
  
• Great Game, Ok Version
  By on 2004-06-09
  Well it's clear that they have lowered the price of the game because the imporvements over 2002 are small. However, the weather and ATC imporvments are GREAT!! Much better than 2002. The historical planes are semi-cool but who really wants to flyu a wright bros plane that goes 20 mph?? The planes are a bit disapointing because there is no reason they can't put a larger variety of jets on there. And where is the Concorde?

  At $52.50 it is a bad buy, at the new price $29.00 it is a must have.
  
  

• Good, but typical Microsoft
  By A18M78IMVBDB34 on 2005-01-31
  I'm fourteen and greatly interested in flight as a future career. So when I got FS 2004 for Christmas, I was thrilled, and hoped that it would help me study before I began taking courses. It was my first FS game, and the sleek, simple menues gave a very good first impression. The Learning Center provides a ton of information on pretty much everything to do with flight, and the Historical Flights section is very interesting. I couldn't wait to start flying. And here's where Microsoft's old problem turns-up--cool and flashy on the outside, not so good once you get to know it. To make this easier to explain, I've divided the remainder of the review into several sections, each discussing an important aspect of the game:
  
  Flight:
  I've never actually flown a real airplane before, so I can't compare FS flight to flying in real life. I was quite impressed, however, and the cockpits looked reasonably realistic. Take-off, landing and all the other manuevers associated with flying are pretty much the same in the game, and ATC is excellent and makes the entire experience feel realistic. For new-comers who don't yet know how to work with the radio, FS has an 'automated tuning' feature, which enables you to simply choose the desired frequency off a list.
  
  Realism:
  The amount of realism in the game largely depends on what options you set in the Settings menue. However, for the most realistic flying experience, I recommend setting everything to hard, so that the airplane will actually crash if it hits the ground at an inappropriate angle, instead of just bouncing off it. 'Hard' settings will also enable collisions with buildings and other aircraft, although due to the inaccuracy of object boundaries, sometimes a plane will 'crash' even though it hasn't even touched the object--one of the many flaws found in the game. However, novices can choose the 'Easy' settings which will disable all this. Now comes the downside to FS realism. Two things; First, the crashes themselves are utterly stupid and unrealistic. I mean, when an airplane collides with a mountain at 200kph, it doesn't just freeze and remain intact. I expect to see at least some signs of damage--broken windshield, severed wings, charred ground, etc. I know this isn't a combat game, but even so, no damage at all, just the words CRASH on the screen is pretty disappointing. Then there's the second problem--graphics.
  
  Graphics:
  The graphics in Microsoft Flight simulator are totally and utterly terrible! I've got a 2004 model computer, with a RADEON 7000 IGP graphics card which enables me to have the diplay at the 'High' settings option (Ultra-high is the max.). And still, the buildings and water are horrendous. The ocean looks like its been moulded, and houses and trees are blurry and inaccurate, more like a child drew them. The ground itself is just flat and boring, with a smudgy green surface that's supposed to resemble grass. Airport surfaces are ok, with individual cement tiles slightly visible, but still a far stretch from real life. From afar, mountains, valleys and cities look stunning, but the closer you get, the less so.
  
  Weather:
  Ahh, yes, what Microsoft bragged about most in this game--the weather features. Let me start off by saying that the clouds do look good. They're 3D, (as opposed to the 2D clouds present in old FS games)and actually move with time. That's about it. Snow and rain look good within the cockpit, but once you shift to the outside view, rain becomes hardly visible and more like flimsy lines, or in the case of snow, isolated flakes. I've flown through clouds before in real life (in the passengers seat), so I have a good idea of what it's like. In the game, as you move from clear sky to cloud, instead of there being a gradual progression with the cloud becoming more and more dense, the screen just goes from being clear to cloudy in one second. The same goes for fog. And if you're hoping for any of the dramatic 'flying above a sea of clouds', you'll be disappointed--what looks like a completely overcast sky from bellow turns into boring, isolated clumps of cloud the closer you get to cloud level.
  
  General:
  I think I've covered most of the important aspects of the game. The only other thing worth mentioning is the flying lessons. Allthough these are a fun and good way to learn, you're intructer keeps failing you if you don't do exactly as told and ends the lesson. This can get extreamly annoying, especially if you're having trouble with something, and then don't even get the chance to figure out how to correct your mistakes. Overall, though, it's a fun game and a good way to learn flying. But as I said, Microsoft looks good on the cover, but the deeper you dig, the crummier it gets. At times the game can feel totally patched together, and by God, if you don't have a fast computer, the constant freezing will drive you nuts. Buy this game if you want to learn how to fly without pouring over books, but unless you have the best computer on the market, don't expect to get mind-blowing graphics. It's this and all the minor flaws, especially the 'patched-together' feeling of the game that end-up degrading the fun and overall value of this game.
  
  
• Great sim, but can MS offer a more engaging aircraft selection?
  By A5UGX57EV695M on 2006-07-01
  MS Flight Simulator improves with each new addition with many fans having to purchase new graphics cards and, for the less technical among us, new systems to reap all the visual delights this wonderful sim. The game is, and has always been, beautifully put together, but you will need a powerhouse of a system to enjoy all the benefits of this latest edition "A Century of Flight." While I can appreciate MS looking at "Flight Simulator" as tool to teach us about the significant milestones of aviation history, I only wished that they could have expanded the selection of available aircraft; for example, many of the planes and jets are borrowed from earlier editions despite some interesting additions: the Curtiss Jenny, the Vickers Vilmy, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Robinson Helicopter, to name a few. Why not retain the Concorde from the 2000 edition? Not even a fighter jet? Why not add the new Airbus 380? Seems that MS has become rather complacent with "Flight Simulator" tweaking some minor changes here and there in the graphics department and some navigation feature enhancements like Garmin GPS, but not all of us are die-hard fans who want to purchase expensive and sometimes bug-ridden add-ons to satisfy our need for options to this absorbing sim.
  
  
• Need a joystick
  By A2EDLHZIDDKQ6J on 2006-09-02
  I am thoroughly enjoying Flight Simulator 2004 now that I have a joystick (Logitech Extreme 3D Pro). The simulator ran poorly on my laptop from the keyboard (no numbers pad, sluggish and uneven response). Performance was better but still disappointing using the full keyboard of my desktop PC. In spite of the claim to be keyboard friendly, the flying lessons are far better suited for use of the joystick.
  The Logitech joystick installed without any problem whatsoever and all functions work very well.
  
  
• The one we have been waiting for
  By A1ROSAW7PFWOK4 on 2004-08-14
  I got this game a year ago, and last year I hade a very crapy Compaq with integrated graphics and 256Mb RAM. I Ran this game. It was a Huge step from 2002. It was so good, I built a computer with almost the best Hardware in it, including the ATI X800 Pro Which came out not to long ago. When I take screen shots I keep them in the My pictures folder aswell as the real pictures I take with cameras. Sometime I cant tell the difference between what the sim produces and what the Real world produces. The aircraft are the same exact models as they were in Fs2002 with the exception of the vintage ones. That is no worry as you can easily download more aircraft on websites. The weather is great the clouds look real. FYI it will be hard to controll the aircraft with out a joystick or a yoke. Also it will be confusing to the new people at first. There are some good forums out there too. I like um one especially (too bad I can't include URL's). Well that is my breif opinion on the game. It is well worth what ever your paying in fact if it were 100 bucks i would still get it!
  
  
• Only fun if...
  By on 2005-11-01
  Okay, I have played this game and I LOVE it! I am in the Civil Air Patrol and this is very realistic... I know piolits that use this game to practice flying. I've read many reviews about bad graphics... Well duh! This game has terrible graphics, IF you have a horrible graphics card! Bottom line - you need a really good computer for this game to be any fun at all. I have a Dell XPS with a ATI Radeon card... But - above all, this game is almost %100 accurate! The instruments and everything from turbulance to airplane stress, this game has it all! If you like airplane simulators, this is the one for you.
  
  
• Real World, Real Flight,Real cool
  By A2X0DRKU0YMK00 on 2006-05-18
  I don`t generaly like to start out with comparisons to other simulations however that being said, one should note this is not a "Military flight feel" . This is a hands on true to life best your gonna get for under ($400-$5995) a pop Real Deal Flying Shop Programs. You should have a Powerful processing system at your disposal. While it is possible to "Dumb Down" this product for slower systems it defeats the purpose it was created for which is creating an enjoyable True Experience that teaches you
  the how to of FLIGHT. I am using a Dell 9150, w/a upgraded Raedon card (512 ram), 1 Gig on board memory and it is still not enough for this energy hungry program. It is dense beautiful and occassionaly finicky. Download real weather from the Web,Proram in equpitment failures. Fly realtime. See and land at destinations you recognize. When you have crashes it is not as Intense as a combat sim. It is however just as final..... I prefer The Drama of a more realistic Crash ( It Drives Home the Lesson for me) also disappointing was some of the hanling characteristics of the aircraft are not as fast as their real world counterparts. they are at least correct. Perhaps I need to upgrade my system to see this occure. Stay tuned to this Station for Updates thanks. This Simulation is WELL worth the Money.
  
  
• FSX doesn't work on your PC? Buy this one!
  By A3FIHI1504HRI2 on 2007-03-04
  Numerous fans of this game series flooded stores and websites to purchase FSX when it came out in October just to find that for 70% of them, the marvelous new game wouldn't work very well on their computer. Still, Microsoft continues to make a huge profit from these FSX sales today.
  
  Upon the release of FSX, the price of FS9 (this one) dropped like a bomb. So, now is the time to buy into a great game. FS9 is the best simulator out that most computers can still run. It has the most beautiful and realistic graphics and scenery the FS series has had.
  
  Also, the improved weather generator makes it all the more realistic. This game has some of the best default aircraft that we've seen out of the FS series, offering not only the standard FS aircraft we've seen before, but also some of the more historic aircraft that paved the way for modern aviation.
  
  The only downside is that the game's ATC simulator is not very accurate to real world standards, but forget it. Turn that off and fly online with the rest of us! FS9 is the most commonly used simulator amongst sim enthusiasts right now. If you have the latest and greatest computer hardware, spend the money and buy FSX. But if you're like the rest of us, buy FS9!
  
  
• Missed opportunities
  By A2VX9F32RQ6LV1 on 2005-01-06
  I usually fly military sims (Falcon 4.0, LOMAC, Forgotten Battles), and I was really looking forward to try a "peaceful" one for a change. I was a bit disappointed. I can't really judge on the flight models (although the Wright Flyer is a tad too easy to fly compared to the dedicated Wright Flyer sim, that can be purchased online), but the planes felt good engough (with the exeption of helicopters).
  Cons.
  Graphics. Well, that's something that should have been improved. In 2004 no sim should be having the clumsy 2D-3D cockpit views; the Il-2 came out in 2001 and it had perfect, photorealistic virtual cockpit!!! Three long years ago!!
  The surroundings are the other problematic part: you actually have to buy the photorealistic USA if you want to see "real" scenery. And how about the rest of the world? Again; it's 2004. Take a look at LOMAC's (or Il-2's for that matter) terrain, cities, etc! In the Forgotten Battles, you can actually fly around in Leningrad, and find every house, every bridge in its place! In FS2004 they didn't model even New York accurately!
  Traffic: you also have to buy an aftermarket-software to have "live" airports, with moving vehicles, etc.
  Airplanes: true enough, you can download airplanes from the web, but it's still very frustrating to see only American-made planes given with the game. I'd like to see an Airbus shipped with the sim! The world is actually bigger than the North-American continent, you know!
  How long does it take for Microsoft to get to the same level as the smaller publishers in these fields?
  Pros: excellent tutorials and lessons... that's something that every sim is missing on the market.
  Very flexible, many additional planes, sceneries, etc can be purchesed, downloaded or created for it.
  
  
  
• Not a review - a warning
  By A1TK6R2JSC97HL on 2004-08-05
  A friend lent me his copy of this game - aCoF to evaluate on my machine, just to save me from the possibility of paying full price for a game that won't work well on my machine. I had by then become a devotee of the next newer version - FS2002. While aCoF obviously surpasses FS-2002 on a frame-by-frame basis, comparitive frame-rate more than evened things out for the older game. I knew that the minimum system requirements were conservative, but nothing prepared me for how conservative they were. Despite only "requiring" a 450mhz-class CPU & 128mb of RAM, aCoF ran like a slide-show on my 2.2 Ghz Pentium 4, w 512 MB of RAM, with GeForce graphics acceleration - and that was with options sliders set to 0 or near it. Apparently, software manufacturers like MS believe that they're past the days of having to set the minimum sys-req at half the optimum - now we have to multiply by five to get an honest idea of what's really needed. Though a better graphics accelerator and more RAM, would improve things, personally I'm happy enough with FS2002, and that program looks to have a more permanent place on my PC.
  
  
• Not at all what I expected.
  By A10C84Y38RT22P on 2004-09-23
  Having never played a sim that wasn't based on space combat or battle mechs I thought this game would be kind of boring. After waiting until after forever I took another look at it when the price went down and decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did.
  
  Flight Simulator managed to captivate, facinate, and challenge me without combat or competitions.
  
  
• The best flight sim I have ever played!
  By A28FT3QZMU0A86 on 2005-06-24
  MS Flight Simulator seems to get better every time they make another one and this edition is no different. There are new aircraft and more controls to learn. Many of the weather concepts they described has changed since 2002. The clouds are more realistic and that is a definite plus!
  
  When you first load up the game. You are introduced by King Schools John and Martha King. They help you get familarized with the controls and the indicators withthe plane. Then you take a flight with instructor Rod Machado who helps you with a introductory flight. He will help you with landing, turning, and taking off. Plus this game has a whole section on flying lessons with him to help control the commercial jets as well. The section that is very cool is the learning center. It helps with understanding what is a GPS, what are taildraggers and more. The videos with John and Martha are a nice touch. There are scenarios where you can recreate everyday flight. In one you can drive an author in a Cessna 172SP around to all of his book signings and pratice ILS stuff. There is also a tour of famous sights you can visit. Like the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and more. The air traffic control is much improved. You can set ILS for your flight, change the runway you want to depart or land at and make changes to your flight in air. Also the traffic is more realistic, for example, a JFK airport there could be a line of aircraft waiting for takeoff, but at private runways, there is no one there. At the big airports if you set the textures at high settings you can see the features at international airports like the jetway at airports, signage on runways and baggage carts. Weather is better since the clouds looks much more realistic.
  
  The only problem is you need a big computer to run it at max features and this game you want to have the sharpest images possible. A video card at around 128 MB should be good to run it at medium textures.
  
  This is the best game yet for the Flight Simulator series and will make any flight simulator junkie happy.
  
  
• Not what it should be.
  By AZB983MLCI14E on 2005-09-19
  Flight Sim 2004 is well thought out and there are quite a few good features in the package. Rod Machado's flight school is about as good as you can get, and the weather options are great.
  
  There are a couple crippling problems with the flight aspect of the game.
  
  First off, trimming. It may just be me, but it's considerably harder to trim the aircraft in Flight Sim than it is in a real airplane (light GA airgraft, that is). The result of this is holding constant pressure. You can't really fly straight and level hands-off. Getting an auto-trim function would make the game much less frustrating,
  
  The engine just isn't that great by today's standards. Scenery is blocky and generic, so don't expect to fly VFR. Even using an add-on scenery pack specific to my area I couldn't identify any landmarks. The aircraft themselves, however, are rendered wonderfully.
  
  FS2004 really pretty much is at the end of its life cycle since 2006 should probably be rolling around pretty soon, but by today's standards, X-Plane 8 is much better. If you're looking for a flight sim as a supplement to real-world flying, I'd recommend waiting for Flight Sim 10 or picking up X-Plane 8.
  
  
• Better but still away from reality
  By ASVMG20M8Z4L on 2006-04-05
  This flight simulator has improved, but still far from reality. So if your looking for game rather than a flight simulator it's ok.
  
  For modern airplanes like the Boing 737,747,777and Lear jet there is no real IFR (Instrumental Flight) only basic screen, far away from the real thing. No weather, no flight plan (only for GPS), etc... cockpit detail and accessibility are poor at least , low graphics quality.
  
  Terrain, airports and airplanes (exterior) graphics good
  
  Airplane performance fair.
  
  Disappointing for a Fly2k user (made in 2000). This flight simulator has 100% realistic cockpits with much more IFR capability, also a good airplane performance, with a fraction of hardware requirements.
  
  
  
• The Classic Flight Simulator
  By A266G1WA7U7RAG on 2007-04-10
  Forget about MSFS-X. A Century of Flight is the only flight sim you'll ever need. As an owner of MS Flight Simulator X, I can honestly tell you that it won't give you any better graphics or performance than 2004 unless you have a $5,000 machine minimum. I deleted MSFS-X from my 2 GHz duo-core machine and re-installed MSFS 2004 and have BETTER performance and graphics. For the full experience, get a CH yoke and rudder - you'll think you're flying the real thing!
  
  
• A Masterpiece!
  By A1WGUNNY90U041 on 2004-07-02
  Nobody can beat the team at Microsoft at this game. Absolutely nobody. They have, after all, been at work on this software since 1983. When you consider how much development time, modeling, research, testing, filming, recording, and writing have gone into this truly exceptional product, calling it a "game" is a bit silly. What you have here, for a mere $30, is all of general and commercial aviation refined into a neat, fun, and incredibly instructive package. It's so complete that it's hard to imagine how it could possibly be improved. Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace is hardly as well done.

  Better have a computer with LOTS of horsepower to run it well though. And a BIG monitor is a must.

  Another thing. Fans of this sort of game know that it's all about realism and spending a lazy Saturday flying around the world in real time. There's no appeal here for fans of "arcade" style games. ADD sufferers beware.
  
  

• Bought when first released
  By A9Y5O2R4D6EH5 on 2006-12-20
  I've been flight simming since the 1980s and went with MSFS when it finally came out and have had every version since.
  
  Just have to say, even though the new FSX version is on the market now, until available hardware/systems improve enough to run it well, I'll stick with this FS9 (2004)version.
  
  I've talked to many fellow flight simmers who bought the latest version FSX right away and although most can run it to some degree, it must be run with detail sliders way down range. Lots of them report that when set to even minimum details that they will accept, frame rates are too low to fly.
  
  On a powerful PC THIS 2004 version will run with sliders to the max for most people. Of course, systems vary and even this older version might not on yours. Too many variables involved to say for sure though.
  
  I'll guess within 2 years hardware will improve enough to run FSX as well at this one does now. Lots of great features in FSX but just a bit ahead of it's time for now.
  
  
  
  
• Great flying sim overall!
  By A2GCSZK6P9NAQ on 2004-06-23
  If you like reality when it comes to flying buy this game. The weather effects are great! From T-storms to blinding snow to clear blue skys. You can even download real-time weather off the internet weather sites for any start location! The clouds look real not like artificial white graphics in past FS's but real and when you fly through them it you feels as if your just floating up there like the real thing. There is of course no combat in this sim but just learning how to keep a Leer Jet steady against a strong prevailing wind is a challege! My favorite feature is being able to set your fly time, location, weather type and even game speed. I have recently read another review where one guy said the ground textures are not so hot but if you zoom in using the "+" you can see the textures much clearer and the cloads! In all I think flight sims have come along way since the 90's and with each new release like this one it gets more relatisic!
  
  
• FS2004, a new revolution in simulation on a PC.
  By A1UUGCY1HIQZLR on 2005-03-07
  Sorry to hear some customers had problems running the program. I would suggest you ask for advice on flightsim website forums which are very helpful and full of helpful fellow simmers and some real pilots who also use the program. Two top sites are: simviation.com and avsim.com
  
  With FS2004, this may just be a new beginning in simulation approaching realism. The day may come when we wear VR goggles and find flight simulation on an everyday PC indistinguishable from the real thing.
  
  However to get the most realistic value out of FS2004 today , addons from third party developers are required. Microsoft simply cannot add and develop all possible features unless FS became a flagship product like Windows. Some of the addon planes simulate systems and avionics up to 95% accurate in terms of completeness. Jetliner addons now have workable and flyable FMC components and flightplans(with data supplied from navdata.at). It's coming to the point where there are much fewer "dummy" cosmetic buttons on the instrument panel except for the emergency circuit breakers. Addon developers also contribute to the programmable scenery system of FS where artists can easily add new airpots , buildings and textures to the land meshes(basically grids of textures). Some of these excellent addon sites are precisionmanuals.com, flight1.com, simmarket.com, fsscene.com ; X-plane may have a more realistic basic flight model, but the massive community and developer following and addon technology(which also allows custom flight modelling development) for FS2004 have all but negated that advantage. It's almost becoming a simming "OS" for flight simulation where the possibilites are seemingly endless. Take the ActiveSky2004 addon for example which does dynamic weather using the cloud generating system of the main FS program.(which can include rain, hail , snow, even thunderstorms and lightning) Cloud layers and type are virtually there. You can see and fly through multiple cloud layers with the realistic effects on visibilty just as if you were flying in real life through the clouds. Fog and mist has never looked better. And that's just one of several fabulous features. To sum up, the value and innovative depth of this version also known as FS9 is just as revolutionary as the old days of FSII on 8-bit PCS.
  
  
• What a great improvement !
  By A2427EPDGY7AEO on 2005-06-21
  I've must have played flight simulator 1998 for a few thousand of hours since I got it. I always dreamed of working as a pilot across the world. FS 1998 was so great for me. Now that I have a more powerful CPU, I use FS 2004 and my dream is coming more and more real. For those who, like me, love realistic geography in this kind of game, you will fall off your chair.
  
  It's like flying in the real world from L.A., CA to Paris France or from Sydney, Australia to Rio, Brazil. You're 7 hour flight across the atlantic will take you 7 hours as in real life. Also, what a great improvement in this new version. Weather options are awesome including a real-time update with internet.
  
  I just forget to mention the GPS, thousands of new airports, dozen of new aircrafts, awesome flight school (equivalent to a few hundred pages of information about flying) for hours of fun. Come on, take the pilot's seat and dream for a while.
  
  
• Microsoft Flight Sim 2004
  By A1CTKR662Q59ZI on 2005-07-19
  The tutorials are decent - you have to use them to have any chance of piloting even the basic plane.
  The scenery is sometimes rather sketchy, sometimes very realistic, but apparently very accurate.
  You have to use a good joystick to make any progress, probably a yoke would be best.
  The 737 is very difficult to master! Whenever I fly now, which is often, I am amazed at how smoothly the pilots can make their approaches!
  
  

• Legacy - Executive Jet for Flight Simulator X
• Space Shuttle Expansion for Flight Simulator X
• CH Products Throttle Quadrant USB (300-133)
• PC Gamer (1-year)

• Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick (963290-0403)
• CH Products Flight Sim Yoke USB ( 200-615 )
• CH Products Pro Pedals USB Flight Simulator Pedals ( 300-111 )
• Logitech Attack 3 Joystick
• Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe DVD