Microsoft Flight Sim 2002 (PC)

They always say that God is in the detail, and the Flight simulator team have proved it here. The main difference you will notice straight away is in the landscape detail, taking on ideas that they have learnt through previous versions and their work on Microsoft Train Simulator (it's the same team) they have produced very impressive scenery. The sea shimmers in the sunlight, while waves crash against the seashore. Improved detail also means that certain cities like Las Vegas have character to them--you can see the lights and fireworks at night--while some airports now have the ability for you to dock at specific gates.

It's not just the scenery though that has been improved and Microsoft Flight Simulator has now got a fully interactive Air Traffic Control system allowing you to request everything from landing procedures to traffic information. The need for a runway is no guarantee however, as the game has also introduced an amphibian plane to contend with, allowing you to land on any lake, sea or river.

With so many features including downloadable live weather, multiplayer functions and even an analysis option to record your flights, this is one hefty product that will quench the thirst of any flight sim fan. --Jason Denwood

Flight Simulator 2002, Standard Edition includes a wide variety of aircraft for you to fly--from a new Cessna 208 Caravan floatplane to the Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet. You can splash down in a lake, hover in the Bell 206B JetRanger III helicopter, practice aerobatics in the Extra 300S, or fly like a famous World War II fighter ace in a Sopwith Camel. FS 2002 Standard includes a total of 12 aircraft.

The most dramatic new features common to both the standard and pro editions are the interactive air traffic control system, crowded skies, and auto-generated scenery. The interactive air traffic control feature adds a new dimension to Flight Simulator. Now you can ask for takeoff clearance, get vectors for an instrument approach, and hear other traffic as you fly. In fact, the "other traffic" is itself a new feature: a new artificial intelligence system generates air traffic around and between airports.

It'll be hard to pay attention to the air traffic, however, as the scenery in FS 2002 is so attractive. As you fly above cities, towns, farmland, and dramatic landscapes, Flight Simulator adds buildings and vegetation appropriate to the terrain below. Office buildings, factories, homes, farmhouses, and trees smoothly blend in on the horizon and fill the entire area with detail that adds unprecedented depth and reality to the game.

Other features include more than 21,000 airports, multiplayer capability, improved weather effects, a moving map and GPS system, in-depth flight analysis, and more.