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

Product Description

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight is the next milestone in the award-winning Flight Simulator franchise. Celebrating 20 years of developing and perfecting computer flight simulation, A Century of Flight will allow aviation enthusiasts to experience history at the controls of historic aircraft, such as Charles Lindberghs Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, the Douglas DC-3 and the worlds first successful powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer.

New engaging features such as interactive multimedia provide a wealth of historical information on the planes that shaped aviation history and the pilots who flew them. Informed and insightful articles explain all there is to know about Microsofts Flight Simulator and the 24 aircraft included in the software. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight also introduces an updated, dynamic weather system, enhanced automatically generated scenery (AutoGen) and detailed visual effects, improved Air Traffic Control functions, and 3D interactive cockpits, as well as 15 modern aircraft, including the Beechcraft Baron and the Robinson R22 helicopter.

System Specifications
Microsoft Windows 98/Me/XP/2000
PC with 450 MHz equivalent or higher processor
128 MB of system RAM for 2000/XP, 64 MB RAM for 98/Me
1.8 GB available hard disk space
4x speed or faster CD-ROM drive
8 MB video card required
Sound card, speakers or headphones required for audio
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
56.6 Kbps or better modem for online play