Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004

The Lowdown: The best and -- let's be honest -- only civil aviation sim just got better.
Pros: Amazing new sky and weather effects; lovingly presented historical aircraft; better helicopters.
Cons: Tedious historical missions; minimal printed documentation; lots of recycled content.

Fortunately, no one told Microsoft. It has blithely improved an already great sim by giving it a new angle, bringing in some really sweet technological improvements, and making it even more accessible.

You can tell the new creative angle by the subtitle, A Century of Flight. As a hundred-year commemoration of the Wright brothers' first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, Flight Simulator 2004 re-creates significant events in the history of aviation. On one hand, this lends it a great time-bending twist, much like Papyrus was able to do with its masterpiece racing sim, Grand Prix Legends. Rather than throwing in a bunch of shiny new toys, the franchise takes a thoughtful look backwards and discovers something refreshingly unique.

On the other hand, a lot of the significant events in the history of aviation just aren't that exciting. Trying to keep the Wright flyer aloft for its historical 12 seconds is entertaining for all of about, say, 36 seconds. It's no wonder the Wright brothers trashed that frustrating thing after a few flights. Most of Flight Simulator 2004's other historical events were long-distance records in hard-to-fly aircraft. Part of the problem is that although you can accelerate time, you can't put many of these primitive aircraft on any sort of autopilot. This changes as you progress to later planes, like the DC-3 that lets you lock-on a heading. But I can't imagine anyone wanting to re-create Lindbergh's 33-hour transatlantic flight in a plane that didn't even have a proper windshield (Lindbergh sat behind the fuel tank and could only see by looking out the sides of the plane or by opening a tiny periscope). Not that there was much to see, since most of the flight was apparently spent over an expanse of hardware-accelerated water effects. Then there's the fact that when you land, there's not so much as a 2D bitmap of a cheering crowd waiting to greet you.

Can you keep it up? But to be fair, these are minor complaints. The new historical aircraft feel unique and look great with their wires and open machinery and odd shapes. They're each lovingly complemented (and complimented) by Lane Wallace's essays. Her insight as a writer provides a welcome change of pace from traditional Flight Simulator flight instructors like Rod Machado with his bad jokes, or John and Martha King with their avuncular goofing around. For instance, in detailing her ride in a Ford Tri-Motor, Wallace describes the smell of smoke and oil from its uncowled radial engines. She describes what the chair feels like in Amelia Earhart's Vega. These are the sort of details and the sense of reverence that brings these planes to life beyond simply presenting 3D models.

-quikspy67 =P

I love how you signed it as though you wrote it... http://www.gamespy.com/reviews/july03/flightsim2004pc/

True, quikspy, please leave the source after you post it.

I love how you signed it as though you wrote it... http://www.gamespy.com/reviews/july03/flightsim2004pc/

Lol... Quikspy writing game reviews? woooo.... Yeah, he couldent even spell half those words, let alone the grammer in the other half.

QS ALWAYS leave source, otherwise its like you think we're stupid enough to think you actully wrote that.

What do you expect from dickspy anyways ?