Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight

Great real-time simulation. This is NOT a *game*- but an exciting virtual reality flight. It does include ATC but NOT the major civilian airlines like I was hoping (American, Delta, United, etc.)

Above all let me stress in this review: YOU NEED THE YOKE. If you can't afford a yoke the joystick is second best but the keyboard SUCKS. I learned that. So it's okay to use the keyboard for your first few flights but be sure to invest in a Flight Simulator yoke (or joystick) if you haven't already.

PS? Amazon: Where did the game go? You are not offering it anymore! :( only 3rd party sellers now? ITS STILL IN DEMAND

My son Henry and I enjoy flight simulating together. Our last version was 2002, and the 2004 version is far superior. Most noticeable is an increase in the graphics quality of terrain and clouds/weather. The realism of 2004 is certainly acceptable, and is closer to "X" than to 2002.

More importantly, it runs acceptably (even nicely) on lower horsepower machines...I have it on a Sony laptop (1280x768, ~500MHz Pentium M, 512k RAM, XP SP2) with most sliders set to "high quality" (including bilinear anti-aliasing), and we get a pretty reliable 17-18 frames per second (fps). For us, that's a requirement for good control; lower than that and we both get frustrated.

By comparison, "X" on the same machine, with quality set mostly "Low", barely can get 10 fps. So, there's a big difference in performance.

In short, if you've got a machine of limited resources (especially the 3D graphics chip), stick with 2004. It's almost as good as "X", and you won't be frustrated with lower frame rates. Of course, if you've got a fancy new GPU from Nvidia, go for "X"; it's really great.

The graphics in FS2004 are vastly superior to those in my older, FS2000. Yet, they don't overwhelm my 2-year old WindowsXP machine, as FSX is rumored to do. Very nice, and customizable.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of FlightTrying to fly a flight from point A to point B I find it difficult to change radio navigation frequencies with no radio panels available. Try to use pause command and then shift 2 to get the radio panels with no successful results. The pitch trim{up or down)does not work like the real world. Must continue to hold up or down elevator force. I had Flight Simulator 98 before and I fill it was more user friendly.

I purchased this after buying FSX and was unable to even install FSX on my computer. I had been using an older version of Flight Simulator so FS2004 was still an upgrade. I am so happy that I went with the 2004 version. First, it was quick and easy to install. I did not have any problems at all. Second, I was able to find lots of add-ins (scenery, airplanes, etc...) to make the experience even better. I have noticed a ton of improvements over earlier version and my 2 year old computer has not problem running the graphics.