Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (PC CD)

From the word go you know this is a serious piece of kit and while the knack to flying the older aircraft revolves around not stalling it and keeping the engine revs up, the modern planes are packed to the hilt with geeky goodness. For those wishing to engage in the experience of flight there are GPS navigation systems aplenty, dozens of cockpits switches and an air traffic control system which is as lifelike as it bewildering to understand.

Understandably, not everyone is going to get to grips with this beast immediately and full marks to Microsoft for including a wealth of training information within the program in the form of tutorials and reference material--it's essential reading if you're to get a firm grip on this truly huge simulation.

To give some idea of scale, using the various game modes available it's possible to take the controls of any of the 24 planes included then take off from one of the 24,000 mapped airports and fly anywhere around the globe. And for the true aficionado you can do it all in real-time. However, for those of us with a shorter attention span it is possible to speed up time to get through the tedious bits.

Add to this truly realistic in-game weather--updated over the Internet every 10 minutes--and what you have is one of the best flight sims ever to grace a personal computer.

Flight Simulator 2004 isn't without its faults. It's graphically intensive and requires a meaty PC to get top quality visuals onscreen, the sound can become monotonous and arriving on four CDs it takes forever to install. These minor points aside, however, this is a superb piece of software and belongs firmly on the hard drive of anyone who has ever harboured fantasies of flying as a child. --Chris Russell

If you buy this wanting a "game" you will be disappointed. But, if you are an armchair pilot prepared to spend time and learn then this is the closest thing to flying than actually being there (and, speaking as a real pilot, sometimes even harder to do than the real thing!).

From the revised interactive Air Traffic Control system, to the lucsious new graphics, 3D clouds, new weather system, perfect Garmin GPS computer and detailed 3D virtual cockpits for all the aircraft (and backwards compatibility with thousands of aircraft available for the last version), there is nothing better than this. I thought the 2002 version couldn't be improved on, but this is so much more!

The only gripe is, you need a kick-ass PC to get the most out of it, but if you are prepared to sacrifice some graphic quality it will still perform fine on earlier PC's.


A must for all aviation enthusiasts!!!   February 16, 2005
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

FS2004 is a must for all pilot wanabee's. It provides great aircraft handling and SUPERB graphics. It comes with a whole section of flying leesons, starting off as a student pilot and working your way up to gain your airline pilot wings. There are also many great add-ons, and downloads for FS2004 including new aircraft, updated scenery and new panels, I recommend www.fs2004.com as it has many great aircraft. You can also play multiplayer, which is when you connect to the web and fly with your mates.
FS2004 comes with 23 great aircraft, 14 modern + 9 historic, that work their way up from the Wright Brother's Kitty Hawk, to the mighty Boeing 747-400. To help you get started on FS2004, there is the "Learning Centre," which is where you can learn everything from taxiing, to historic navigation methods. This is all helped by some really helpful videos produced especially for FS2004 by an American flying school.

Hope this helps you, and remember, BUY IT!!!


MS Flight Simulator 2004   August 12, 2003
 34 out of 36 found this review helpful

This game is amazing.

The graphics have been vastly improved from the earlier 2002 version, and the ATC is much better too. I like the option where you can have your real time weather updated automatically, even when flying (probably best to have a "always-on-broadband-connection" for this). There are more planes, and the Learjet has at last been given a nice 3D cockpit.

Yes, you need a decent machine to see the graphics at their fullest, but there are many options that enable you to tweak the graphics up or down.

If you already have FS 2002 and you are wondering whether to go and buy this one - I say, go buy it. If you liked 2002, you'll love 2004


Flight simulator 2004 - Well done Microsoft!   June 26, 2003
 88 out of 95 found this review helpful

Although this game is not out yet, I have had the privilige of testing the full beta version, and I can tell you - buy this item. Absoilutley amazing! Also, good news is:
The minimum system requirments ae as follows:
450 GHz processor, 1.8 GB hard drive, 126 MB RAM for XP or 2000, 64MB RAM for lower systems, with service packs. If this sounds too good to be true, it is. While FS2004 ACOF WILL run on a 450 MHz machine, it will require you having the sliders right down and no AI traffic. My personal rock bottom spec would be 700MHz, with sliders fairly low. If you are wanting real-world weather and water textures, and aircraft reflections etc, I would recommend at least a 1.5 GHz. If you want more than a few sliders full, I would recommend a 2 GHz machine. For anything more than that i.e using the GPS a lot, flying into a highly detailed airport with lots of windows open and scattered clouds, then get 2.5 upwards, depending on your wish for graphic quality. If you are getting the latter, I can assure you that you will have an absolutley great time with FS2004 ACOF, and you will never want to come off it!