Rating: 
Summary: Probably the best Flight Simulator available for the PC
Review: MS Flight Simulator 2002 is a very detailed game that lets PC users attempt their skill at flying in a simulated environment. The game platform is a very accurate 3-D model of the entire Earth's surface, and features many many airports all over the planet. My favorite feature is the real-world weather conditions that you can download from the internet. Unfortunayely, the fog/ visibility effects looked better of FS 2000. The cloud formations look great on this one, though. I just wish they would include more aircraft, like a twin-turbine Cessna, or a military jet, like F-16 or MIG. Depending on the type of PC you have, the performance of this demanding program will probably slow the frame rate down, especially when flying over very detailed cities like New York or London with broken clouds and other air traffic. Just be sure to check the specs and make sure your PC can handle it.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome game - when it doesn't crash
Review: This game is beautifully done and a joy to play - when it's not crashing my system. This game has many pionts in its favor: awe inspiring scenary, take off or land at any airport you can think of - no matter how small, and the new floatplane means you can take off and land anywhere there's water. Unfortunately this game crashes my system hard and often. It has crashed my system in ways I've never even seen before. On average about one crash per 30 minutes of play time. Reboots have needed to repair the registry and display settings have had to be reset. The flight instruction is great, except that the manual is filled with annoying (non)humor that makes reading it a real pain. I just want flight instruction! If I want comedy I'll turn on the comedy channel. This program has great potential. I'd have given Flight Simulator 2002 a five it it didn't crash my system so often. As it sits now I won't be playing this game any more until Microsoft releases some patches so that I don't end up spending more time rebooting than playing.
Rating: 
Summary: The mother of all flight sims has finally arrived!
Review: What the giants at Microsoft have managed to accomplish with Flight Simulator 2002 is simply astounding! Gone are the resource eating and maddening slide shows offered in FS 2000, which for the record, I loathed (hate is such a strong word isn't it?). What we get in turn is a highly and richly detailed virutal world (from the planes to the terrain) that is guaranteed to make even the hardened heart of the most jaded flightsimer soar!
Straight out the gate FS 2002 pulls away from the pack with an untouchable collection of options and tweaks and it's in these tweaks that we find what truly makes it shine. The system requirements (as stated on the box) are a PII 300mhz machine, with 64mb of RAM and a 8mb video card, now that may get you flying but it's fair to say that to take full advantage of every beautiful pixel FS 2002 has to offer, you'd better be packing a mighty big stick indeed, like say a P4, 1.8 ghz machine with a truck load of ram (256 plus) and a 64mb video card. That said however the endless options FS 2002 offers, makes it quite friendly to middle of the road machines. My PII 450mhz system for instance with 256 Mb of RAM and a 32mb ATI Rage 2000 Xpert Pro video board gets me into the air nicely thank you with an average rate of 14 frames per second on the low end to over 30 on the high end. And although the graphics options for my system need to sit toward the lower end of the spectrum FS 2002 is still nothing short of breathtaking! From it's use of satellite ground imagery (roads and landmarks are accurately rendered), auto generated scenery, textures, shadows, lighting and finely detailed airports, buildings and even trees (which intensify the sensation of speed near the ground) to it's amazing AI and voice commands from airtraffic control calling out directions and commands from any of 20,000 airports, everything stitches tightly together for a simulated flying experience that simply makes you forget your sitting at your desk top. The cabins of the aircraft are now virtual 3D environments, sinking you deeper into the sensation of actually commanding some of the worlds most famous and powerful aircraft. Nice additions to the FS series are a floatplane and the mother of all commercial work horses the 747-400, Microsoft also threw in an F4U-1A Corsair, which is not listed on the box, nice bonus.
If there are in fact down sides to FS 2002, I've missed them (or over looked them) while exploring the heights of this remarkable simulation. No I take that back, it would be even better if I had a more powerful machine!
Now if you've got the system speed and hard drive space (at over 700mb it took nearly 20 minutes to load) prepare yourself for the ride of your life (but be sure to upgrade your drivers first). FS 2002 is a winner, making you wonder if they could manage such amazing visual miracles with this one, what can we look forward to 5 or 10 years down the road, wow!
Rating:
Summary: Great Improvement!
Review: Wow! This is my word for this game. If you owned last years FS 2000, you know what I am talking about. Ok, from the start, those of you who are thinking of buying this game, here are the newest things: (ATC, Artificial Intelligence Traffic, Auto Gen Scenery, new planes, improvements in the game)
The ATC too me boosts the game up another hundred notches. This is just smart, the ATC knows where you are, where to go if you filed a flight plan, what to do, and sounds very real! There is no airplane without Air Traffic Control, and this addition just makes this simulator even better! Next is the AI Traffic in this game. Microsoft added other planes to fly with you, so the ATC can also talk to them and you, making it even more real. You now have to hold short of the runway so another aircraft can land. How great is that compared to last years version? OK, this Auto Gen thing is supposed to generate the landscape and make it beautiful, and at first I didnt see a difference from the first version and this one. Then I went to settings, and changed it, and went back flying. Wow! What a difference, it is beautiful. And flying at night is great, I mean the lights (Beacons, NAV, Landing) look so great, even when you land, the lights show up on the runway all of the sudden, it is nice. Oh, and the landscape is nice. Go to a major city, such as San Francisco or Chicago, and see how great the tall skyscrapers look. Las Vegas at night is amazing! The new planes are the Cessna Floater, and the mother of all planes, the Boeing-747. The 747, the mother of all planes is finally here, which I am sure many of you are happy about! Oh, and a note: When you first start the game, the imaging is good, but could be better (ex- the skins on the plane can be a bit messed), go to settings, and fix it up. Go back to the game, and wow, it is amazing. One question I have to those that know the answer: How come I see a screenshot online of an airport, and there is a gate (boarding gate from terminal to aircraft) in the picture, but not in the game? Is it only for the professional version? Those of you who have the love for flying, and the love for planes, this is the simulator, program for you. And if you are a user of FS 2000, what are you waiting for? Get this game! Actually, those who love airplanes, flying, and everything else about aviation, this is your game! WOW!
Rating:
Summary: Fun, but System Requirements MUST be updated
Review: You wake up at the controls of a small airplane. You're engine is already humming, but the plane isn't moving - must be those parking brakes. You're parked at the back of a runway of a small airfield with just one runway. Off in the distance, a huge dark tower looms, piercing the sky. What could just be the start of a Steven King novel or an episode of "Twilight Zone" is just the latest and prettiest edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Those who've flown older versions of MSFS will know what to expect - better graphics and sound, a database of airports and airspace, more included aircraft, better looking aircraft for those you can add-on (using 3rd party files) and a customizable editor that allows you to choose where, when and how you will go, and what color 747 or F-16 will get you there. FS2002 also continues MS's tradition of incorporating features of 3rd party add-on software offered on older versions of FS. FS2002 comes with a speaking interactive ATC (though others had "added" ATC years ago) to go along with all of those verbal lessons (FS2002, like FS2000, comes with a speaking flight instructor, though the new one seems as prone to getting hung-up as the old one). The tweaked graphics engine seems to allow for more realistic texturing of airplanes (from the glossy finish of a freshly built Mustang to the flat black of an SR-71), and more acceptable realistic movement of animated flight-control surfaces, flaps and landing gear. In addition to exteriors, panels and flight models, add-on aircraft now have "effects" (contrails, afterburner). Ground texture is also improved over FS2000, making for much more convincing low-level flight. Instead of the stiff blue of the water in older versions of FS, rivers, seas and oceans have waves in FS2002, probably to highlight the inclusion of seaplanes. One annoying detail - long load times. This is compounded by the fact that you can only change one aspect of a flight at a time (time of day, location, weather), requiring the program to reload the flight each time. While nothing will rock your socks off in FS2002, it's a solid and enjoyable sim that allows itself to be pretty much what the individual user wants it to - from an entry-level sim to a challenging one. I ran this program smoothly on my P4 (2ghz) w/WinXP & a Geforece3 card. I had planned to hold off on FS2002 since I already had FS2000, but I'm glad I got it nevertheless.
Rating:
Summary: great sim for P4 owners.
Review: You wake up at the controls of a small airplane. You're engine is already humming, but the plane isn't moving - must be those parking brakes. You're parked at the back of a runway of a small airfield with just one runway. Off in the distance, a huge dark tower looms, piercing the sky. What could just be the start of a Steven King novel or an episode of "Twilight Zone" is just the latest and prettiest edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Those who've flown older versions of MSFS will know what to expect - better graphics and sound, a database of airports and airspace, more included aircraft, better looking aircraft for those you can add-on (using 3rd party files) and a customizable editor that allows you to choose where, when and how you will go, and what color 747 or F-16 will get you there. FS2002 also continues MS's tradition of incorporating features of 3rd party add-on software offered on older versions of FS. FS2002 comes with a speaking interactive ATC (though others had "added" ATC years ago) to go along with all of those verbal lessons (FS2002, like FS2000, comes with a speaking flight instructor, though the new one seems as prone to getting hung-up as the old one). The tweaked graphics engine seems to allow for more realistic texturing of airplanes (from the glossy finish of a freshly built Mustang to the flat black of an SR-71), and more acceptable realistic movement of animated flight-control surfaces, flaps and landing gear. In addition to exteriors, panels and flight models, add-on aircraft now have "effects" (contrails, afterburner). Ground texture is also improved over FS2000, making for much more convincing low-level flight. Instead of the stiff blue of the water in older versions of FS, rivers, seas and oceans have waves in FS2002, probably to highlight the inclusion of seaplanes. One annoying detail - long load times. This is compounded by the fact that you can only change one aspect of a flight at a time (time of day, location, weather), requiring the program to reload the flight each time. While nothing will rock your socks off in FS2002, it's a solid and enjoyable sim that allows itself to be pretty much what the individual user wants it to - from an entry-level sim to a challenging one. I ran this program smoothly on my P4 (2ghz) w/WinXP & a Geforece3 card. I had planned to hold off on FS2002 since I already had FS2000, but I'm glad I got it nevertheless.
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