Publisher: Microsoft
Ages: ten & up
Parental
Advisory:
None
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight is the 20th anniversary edition of Microsoft's venerable Flight Simulator. This time, the aviation simulation celebrates 100 years of powered flight and features historical as well as modern civilian aircraft, improved graphics, interactive 3-D cockpits, dynamic weather effects and interactive multimedia content. It's a thorough and realistic simulation that appeals to those who want to practice real-world flying.
Flight Simulator 2004 lets aviation enthusiasts experience virtual flight in such historical aircraft as the original 1903 Wright Flyer, Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny," Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis," a Douglas DC-3 and more. Gamers get to discover the challenge of piloting touchy and under-powered old planes, and it's fun to consider the possibilities of piloting as Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart once did.
The game features 15 contemporary aircraft that include the Cessna 172 Skyhawk SP, Robinson R-22 helicopter as well as a variety of turboprops and jumbo jets. Each of these planes feature interactive 3-D virtual cockpits that let players tune radios and operate aircraft controls and avionics by pointing and clicking in a virtual cockpit view. The enhanced interactive air traffic control (ATC) offers clearances for takeoff and landing, and more.
A virtual global positioning system (GPS) provides color moving maps and airport/facility information, and the Jeppesen NavData database includes VORs, NDBs, ILS, low- and high-altitude airways, and intersections. The title features some 24,000 authentic airports worldwide (increased from about 22,000 in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002) and a new dynamic weather system that creates real-time, real-world weather with impressive three-dimensional clouds that form and dissipate. The game can actually download weather reports from a Jeppesen database to make the game reflect real-world weather conditions.
As in past versions, the graphics are terrific. The worldwide scenery includes accurate 3D terrain and buildings and vegetation. And while the terrain looks semi-realistic, the planes themselves look exquisite. New interactive 3D scenery improvements include taxiway and runway signs, more detailed airports, and improved lighting and sky effects. All this, however, takes some serious computer processing power. If you don't have a powerful system that's well above the minimum one listed on the box, there's no way that you'll be able to view and play the game in it's full glory.
Those who have played the game before will find the newest version familiar. And Microsoft has done a great job of making the simulation more approachable to beginners. In particular, the game's flight school offers an instructive and in-depth course. Multi-player capability over a local network or the Internet lets gamers participate in races and formation flights.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight is clearly the finest flight simulator to date, and one that will appeal to aviation enthusiasts. Casual pilots who aren't interested in navigation and realism will do better with an action-oriented game. And those who own prior versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator will find the upgrade well worth it.
8/26/03 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
