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Game Information
- Platform: Windows 7 / 98 / 2000 / Me / XP
- Media: Video Game
- Item Quantity: 1
Frequently Bought Together
Technical Details
- Enjoy the history and excitement of a century of flight
- Take the controls of nine historic aircraft
- Dynamic weather system based on realistic atmospheric physics
- Interactive 3-D virtual cockpits
- For 1 player
Product details
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Thanks to Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2004 you can now experience the real essence of flight. Billed as a retrospective look at a century of flight, it's now possible to take to the air with accurately modelled electronic copies of some of the greatest aircraft in history--from the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer to the gleaming wide-bodied 747s and medium-sized helicopters of the present.
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.Key Features:Dynamic weather system based on realistic atmospheric physics, with true three-dimensional clouds that form and dissipate, and automatic real-world weather updates when youre connected to the Internet. Weather othemes_ that generate a wide variety of stunningand challengingflying conditions with just a few clicks of a mouse Enhanced interactive air traffic control ATC, including traffic at all airports around the world including non-towered airports, altitude changes en route, pop-up IFR clearances, and precision and non-precision approaches to multiple runways Interactive 3D ovirtual_ cockpitstune radios and operate key aircraft controls and avionics by pointing and clicking in the virtual cockpit view. Scenery improvements, including taxiway and runway signs, enhanced auto-gen 3D objects, more high-detail airports, and improved lighting and sky effects Garmin
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simulator or training aid?,
By
= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (PC CD) (Video Game)
This is a serious simulator. I've used the whole history of MS Flight Simulators and each gets better. I've used this one for over 3 years now and still don't tire of it. Limitations yes - the principal one being that you're trying to fly an aircraft through a single window. Realistic yes - though I have to say that flying a real light aircraft in good conditions is actually easier than flying this sim! Add ons available - limitless including many free options. With full scenery optional extras (third party) you can fly over and recognise your own house. Alternatively you can plan and fly around the world in real time and weather. Up to you.
If you are already a real world pilot (as I am) you can use this to brush up on your nav skills. Navaid frequencies are real world and you can use real world charts. You can practice IFR without any risk and cost - can you navigate using VORs with a 500' cloudbase? If you're looking for a game then look elsewhere as you'll be disappointed very quickly. FS does need to be learned and that takes time. You'll also need a good quality joystick (with twist stick to accommodate rudder input) or flight controls such as those from CH. Given that understanding you will get your value out of FS thousands of times over - it will probably be the best bit of simulation software you will ever find for a home PC!
76 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a game, a simulation.,
This review is from: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (PC CD) (Video Game)
I earned a UK PPL at Stapleford airfield in 1995. Now 'real flight' costs around £100 per hour, to say nothing of the cost of buying and running an aircraft.Let me say that this piece of software IS 'as real as it gets' and a little cheaper than the 'real thing'. All the morse code idents are as in 'real life' and you could use the flight logs produced for 'real flight' though of course Microsoft add a disclaimer against doing this. With realism settings on High your really close to reality...if you can land the simulated plane, you can land the real thing! As usuall you will need a fairly high spec machine to get the full potential (but we already know that) ATC is a slight improvement on FS 2002, but the only thing that bugs me here is as before all the ATC controllers speak with an American accent....and that need not be the case.! Othherwise very similar to FS 2002, I think the new 'Dynamic Weather' is probably the biggest drain on resources (frame rates). Worth it for the spectacular sunrise/sunset scenarious...don't let it distract you from flying the aircraft!! For the aviation enthusiast its a MUST HAVE..!
58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great game, but not much of an upgrade from FS2002,
This review is from: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (PC CD) (Video Game)
I am a big fan on the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, and I thought that FS2002 was great. At first, I was unsure about whether FS2004 was worth buying, but I finally bought it.The game consists of four CD-ROMs and the installation takes a long time. I encountered a few problems during the last part of the installation (certain scenery files were unable to be installed), but I just clicked 'ignore' and haven't had any problems with playing the game. The fourth CD-ROM has to be in the disc drive while the game is being played. The game takes quite a long time to load, compared to other games, but once the game does load you can almost get straight into the game. There are a few more modes than FS2002, some being very helpful with information on how to control all the aspects of a particular aircraft, etc. There is lots of information to help you with the whole of the game. Perhaps the most commonly used mode is 'create a flight', where you can set all aspects (ranging from weather to conditions and time to aircraft and airport) of a flight that you want to undertake. It works in a similar way to FS2002, but with a few more little touches - for instance, more weather scenarios. However, I think that the graphics and detail during flight look exactly the same as they do in FS2002. This is disappointing, but there are other things that make the game better The aircraft in the game are good and represent the first century of flight. As always, the Cessna aircraft are in there, along with the Boeings. These are popular aircraft in the game but they cannot be 'flown' straight away. Like FS2002, there is a short clip on how to take off and how to operate the basic parts of the aircraft. After watching this, it is possible to create a flight and successfully fly some of the aircraft. This is great, because it is relatively easy to get to grips with the game. It is completely up to you whether you stay at a basic level or advance to become a skilled player (the flying lessons will definitely come in handy, even though some are very difficult). The general good points of game include: - Lots of information to help you out. And the general bad points include: - Very much like FS2002: same detail of graphics, some of the modes, etc. So in general this is a great game. If you own FS2002, then I still think that it is worth buying FS2004. It is also a good game for beginners. This is one of the best games I own, and I can't wait until the next version of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
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