Rating: 
Summary: Woohoo! I ran this game on a 500mhz PIII PC!!!
Review: I have a hp pavilion (most idiotic pc ever created by mankind) pc with 500 mhz p3, 64mb riva TNT graphics card and 128mb of ram and I was still able to enjoy this game. Yes, I had to shut down every single program to let this game eat up my system resources, and yes it was so slow that I could practically count the frames on the screen as I flew the cesna over a night shot of las vegas. But the intensity! the magic!! woohoo! this game rules!@!@!
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best!
Review: I just can't explain to you how this game will change your life if you're really crazy (like me) about aviation and enjoy flying in a virtual sky. This game have everything you need to get there. With over 15 aircrafts ranging from the Boeing 747-400 to Cessna 172 Skyhawk, you'll be able to fly anywhere, anytime. Interactive ATC guides you to your destination when you file an IFR flight plan, so you don't have to spend time calculating distances and all those stuff. Comprehensive and very interactive lessons help those people who are new to learn how to fly quickly and proficiently. Amazing sceneries over major cities like New York, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Seattle (the most detailed), Las Vegas, London, Paris etc. The AI aircraft keep your company while in the air, they fly pretty much like the real thing. Also, you'll be able to start at the gate, which also features the all new jetways (docking system), and taxiways around every airport worldwide. This game will definetly keep you from getting bored. Whether you're an expert at flightsim or a beginner, you'll be able to fly and have fun with FS2002. A nice computer will help improve frame rate, I would recommend at least 128 MB of RAM. And also, with the new Cessna 206 Floatplane, you can land on every lakes, rivers, oceans, ponds on earth! There's lots of more features to this game, and I can assure you, you won't be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: great flight simulator
Review: I remember playing the original flight simulator on the Apple II computer. I'm amazed at how far this software has come. Granted, not much has changed since Flight Simulator 98, but this is a better product. If you are thinking of taking flight lessons, this software can help you learn and save money along the way, especially if you are aiming for an instrument rating later on. For individuals who don't know much about flight, there are introductory and interactive lessons to step you through learning how to fly. You also have the opportunity to take a test. Pass and you can get a certificate of achievement. The sceneries are not very realistic, with the exception of well-traveled routes or well-known landmarks (or the major airports). Most of the scenery is auto generated and populated at runtime. If you want realism, you'll have to purchase a 3rd party add-on or develop your own scenery (not a very well documented or easy thing to do). Surprisingly, the ATC is realistic in an idealistic kind of way. Downloadable real-time weather is a great feature. The multiplayer function is basically useless. You really need a joystick (or yoke). Controlling the aircraft with only the keyboard is a sadistic experience. Flying the helicopter without a joystick (only keyboard) would be almost impossible. In summary, it's a great game, but I would wait for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004, which will be out next month.
Rating:
Summary: Microsoft does it even better with FS2002
Review: If you liked Flight Simulator 98 or 2000, then you're gonna love this one! FS 2002 is another evolutionary step up the ladder in their great sequence of flying software. If you've got a fast computer (Pentium 4), crank up all the settings to max and you will have a virtual flying experience like never before, complete with trees, houses and buildings, gorgeous fully operational planes with complete shading and cast shadows, radio calls to control towers -- the list goes on. And if you don't have the latest and greatest computer, don't despair. It took my latest P4 to finally tame the frame-rate beast that FS 2000 was; FS 2002 runs at least as well if not better, with greatly improved visuals! I cannot get enough of the soft, transparent clouds, shimmering water and sun reflections, and cool looking cities -- they even made the major landmarks visible from a much greater distance, so your city skyline doesn't just disappear when you travel a few miles away. And, I love the water action -- you can take off and land on water with the float plane, or watch little waves come into the shore as you fly over the beach. As I indicated, this version is evolutionary, not revoluationary. Microsoft kept the nice organized menu from its earlier versions, so you're not reading a huge manual trying to figure the thing out. And it runs pretty much like the earlier versions as well. I just loaded it up, made a few little adjustments, and took off right away. I did find a few glitchy things here and there, but nothing major; I'm really looking forward to the inevitable add-ons to appear as well; that will be even better. One other thing I enjoyed, surprisingly, is the air traffic control chatter; I never thought I would want to ask for permission to takeoff, etc. but it's actually quite fun, and can be turned off if you get tired of it. I've been waiting for awhile for this, and for anyone who loves to just fly around and look at the world, be it cities, mountains, the sky, without having to shoot at anybody -- it was worth the wait. Omigosh, now I'm going to have to start looking forward to FS 2004 -- no, maybe I'll just go fly for awhile instead.
Rating:
Summary: "As real as it gets"
Review: Introduction I bought Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 because I had recently been given Jet Fighter IV and I loved it. But, I was looking for a more realistic game so I went with FS2002. Realistic is what I wanted and realistic is what I got! This game is incredible. You soon find out why Microsoft can only put a new version out every 2 years. From the 21,000 airports to the 12 or 16 (Standard edition vs. Professional edition) completely flawless planes...and helicopters....and glider. Microsoft definitely does not fail in reaching the game's slogan of, "As real as it gets". Game Play - 9.5/10 Whether a novice or a real life pilot, FS2002 has great game play. You can adjust the realism settings from extremely easy to ridiculously hard. If you are new to flying, do not be afraid. The game comes with a 188 page training handbook that covers all of the basics. But, don't worry, it isn't all reading. After each section you can practice what you just read in the air with Rod Machada himself. Once you feel ready, you can go for your pilot's license. After that, if you want, you can go for your commercial pilot's license. So, if you are not a beginner, or after you take all those lessons, what can you do? Well, the answer is, just about anything you want. You can do one of the 50 pre-assigned missions or you can do the best part of the game, free flight. Take off from any airport you want and land at any airport you want. Just make sure that you signal the airport tower on the Air Traffic Control radio first. This new feature enables you to contact airports before departure and landing or to get clearance to go through their airspace. You can even hear other planes on the ATC. This reminds me, there are other planes in FS2002! This new edition allows you to see other traffic in the skies and on the runways. So make sure you look out for them. One of the hardest choices about flying may just be deciding what plane to fly. You can choose from 3 commercial Boeing planes, 4 Cessna personal planes (including an amphibious plane), 2 World War I planes, a stunt plane, a glider (you have to use 'slew controls' which makes this very unrealistic but still fun), a Bell helicopter, and 4 others if you have the professional version. Every plane handles very differently. Don't attempt to do turns and climbs in the 737 that you just did in the Extra stunt plane. You will quickly overstress or stall the plane. That is just how realistic the game is. The only thing better would be jumping in the actual plane. You can see why they use this game for actual flight training! Graphics/Sound - 9/10 My local area is the San Francisco Bay Area so the first thing I did was to go see how realistic the scenery was. Boy was I surprised. The game included every bridge from the Golden Gate to the Dumbarton and every stadium from the Cow Palace to Candlestick (3Com). But, the most incredible part was the downtown skyline which looked to be exactly like real life. The only thing more realistic is the terrain which IS perfect. The auto generated scenery is also a nice feature. You can pretty much make the weather what ever you want and when you do, the graphics show it all very nicely. Overall, the graphics get a 9/10. The sound is another area where FS2002 does not skip on. From the engine noise to the wind to the 15 different voices you can choose to be on the ATC, the sound just adds to the game's reality. Overall, 9/10. Play Time/Replay ability - 10/10 Well, the last two days I have spent about 12 hours playing this game. You can download more planes, airports and even the real time weather and fly in it. I don't think I need to say anymore. Final Recommendation - 9.5/10 Microsoft FS2004 may be out right now in which case you may want to spend the extra money and try it. But, for a guaranteed great game, purchase MFS2002. I bought it used on amazon.com for $. You just cannot beat that! Just make sure that 1) your system can handle it before you buy it and 2) you don't have anything important to do for a while because this game will take up a lot of your time.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Ladies and Gentlemen, get ready for one of the most realisticly simulators avaialable on today's market! Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition really takes you to the skies! I have had this simulator for a little over a year, and I have not come to any major disapointments yet! I actaully got this simulator right when I started taking aviation lessons, and let me tell you, this program is nothing short of amazing! Amazing visuals, realistic flight models, real-time automated weather and scenery, new artifical intelligence system, new interactive air control system, and so many more goodies just packed into this flight sim! Flight Simulator 2002 Professional has many new features than its other simulator brands (such as Flight Simulator 98). New Aircraft, new artificial intelligence system, new interactive air control system, new NEW NEW! Everything, if not everything, then nearly everything is new in MFS2002Pro. Now I know what you're probably thinking right now. You're probably thinking wait, why is this simulator so fun? I mean all you do is fly around in a simulated airplane. Wrong! You experience what it's like to fly in real time, well..almost at least. Well..maybe not almost, but close! Imagine taking off in a Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet, on your way to a long international flight to Paris, or skim the ocean waters, lakes, whatever in a Caravan Floatplane, or how about cruising around in New York City to have a glance at the Empire State Building in a Bell 206B Jetranger III Helicopter. So many possibilities! With having more than 22,000 airports world wide, make flying almost endless. You can also fly to private unknown airports, not just intl. ones. MFS2002Pro also supports cool new features such as real-time weather. This is a neat option. If you have a modem above 56k, this is especially useful. What this does is take weather information from a satelite, and transfers that data into your simulator, making it real-time. Say if you live in Los Angelas, California and it's storming over there, just thundering and raining all day, then click this option, and it'll put it's exact weather conditions into your simulator. Not only does MFS2002Pro have neat features, it has great graphics too. When you fly above major cities, you'll notice different buildings. Offices, construction zones, schools, houses, popular landmarks, etc. Auto-generated scenery, another beautifully crafted option in MFS2002Pro. But to make those cities in this sim look more real, you have to turn up auto-generated scenery all the way too 100%, and you must have a machine that can handle it. There are tons of cool graphics in this sim as I stated above. When your plane touches down on the runway, you can see the smoke comming off the tires, you can see reflections on your plane's fuselage, and so much more. Although the graphics are weak in some spots (such as the terrain mesh, trees, water, etc.), it's still a pretty good lookin' sim! Of course though, we can't have ultra-hyper cinemetic graphics on a huge map, I mean it's the world we're talkin' about, it's huge! Machines can't handle that yet. In a few years though, I am hoping for Microsoft to improve the graphics a bit. Maybe entering different types of trees, making realistic waves in the simulator (such as being close to the ground you can see the waves lifting up and brushing off the shores), seeing cars speed past each other on the highways, etc. Maybe it'll happen in a few years, who knows. But for now, the graphics are pretty realistic in most areas. You just don't have fun playing with this sim, you actaully learn from it too! In fact, sometimes you won't even know if you learn something, because you're so busy having fun. I use this simulator not only to have a blast flying to Chicago, but to help me practice flying in real life. If you're serious with this simulator, and don't fool around with it such as crashing on purpose, you will develop good flight habbits. Because of this simulator, I have learned my instruments in less than a full day, instead of reviewing the different instruments for a week in a book. If you're serious with this simulator, this simulator will be serious with you. So MFS2002Pro, is it worth buying? I could go raving on and on about this, but I'm getting pretty tired. So if high-rendered visuals, being able to fly nearly anywhere in the world, learning what it "kind of" feels like to be an aviator, then this is the game for you! I suggest a processor of at least 1.6 ghz, a minimum of 512MB RAM, a high-end video card, crank this simulator up and experience a whole new thing! The more realism in this sim your computer can handle, the more interesting and exciting things will get!
Rating:
Summary: It Wicked
Review: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 (Pro Edition) Is Aight.This Is The Closest You Will Ever Get To Flying A Plane.I Always Love Planes From I Was A Little Boy Growing Here In Jamaica.I Always Dream About Turning A Pilot.I Am Really Looking Foward To Flight Sim 2004.I Hope They Make Shipping To Jamaica."I Am Patienly Waiting For That To Hit Stores"LoL.Anywas I Am Waiting. Jamaican Rude Bwoy Deh Yah. Lata///Pon Di River..Pon Di Bank.Ha Ha. A Lil Jamaica Dance. Later Pplzzzzz!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Professional
Review: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 is AWESOME. It is 100 times better than Flight Sim 2000 and 200 times better than Flight Simulator 1998. The scenrey and all of the graphics are much better. Flight Sim 2002 makes your flying experience as real as it can get with a compter game. If you are a big fan of Flight Simulator and airplanes in general then YOU NEED THIS GAME!!! I've been playing this game since it came out and I'm still not bored with it!! So, if you haven't bought it yet, BUY IT!!!
Rating:
Summary: Highest-caliber PC game I've ever owned.
Review: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 isn't only, by far, the best Flight Simulator ever in the venerable Microsoft series, but it's also the highest quality and best PC game I've ever owned. The game, for very obvious reasons, does have some very steep hardware requirements. I have a Pentium IV 1.7 GHz processor with 256 MB of RAM and a 62 MB graphics card and run the game at 1600x1200 resolution. It runs well..barely. If you want to run it at an optimal framerate I'd recommend 512 MB of RAM and a 2.0+ GHz processor. The steep hardware requirements are accounted for by the game's excellent graphics engine and its hefty 3 gigabyte installation. The 3 gigabytes should come as no surprise considering that the game.. er "simulation" only includes the entire world! It includes about 22,000 airports and every stretch of land or water on earth between every airport. I don't know how many gross number of airports exist on this planet but I would think 22,000 is about 99% of EVERY airport existent. Even airports in small, unknown villages (of 50 people or less such as in remote Arctic Inuit villages) are included. Another plus is that, once installed, the game runs WITHOUT the need for the CD being in the drive, which is a rarity in PC gaming. As stated before, the graphics are great, in fact much better than FS 2000's graphics. The terrain and building textures, though very good, still aren't quite there yet -and leave a little to be desired- but the clouds, weather effects and airplane graphics are superb and virtually indistinguishable from real life counterparts. Airplane cockpits are 3d-rendered and very realistic looking as are the flashing lights on exterior parts such as wings and tailgates. The airplanes' sound effects seem very realistic, also. As far as I can tell, though I'm no pilot, the flight physics are extremely accurate and realistic. I can't discern any difference, whatsoever between flying an aircraft in this game and doing it in real life. Flight Simulator 2002 is certainly very unaccessible and not a game for everybody. The learning curve is extraordinarily-steep. Unless you love simulations and enjoy PC titles that are as realistic as possible, you'll certaintly find FS 2002 the antithesis of fun, interesting, or exciting: It's very tedious, takes a long time to learn all the commands and fly and land correctly and even the actual flying can seem very, very slow moving. However, if the quintessence of simulation (that is, "realism") -no matter how difficult or challenging- is your "cup of tea," there is no other game out there even remotely comparable to this title in terms of quality, realism, or sheer size. Considering that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 includes the whole world, not to mention 16 aircraft (and "downloadable" airplanes. I've downloaded several jets including the Lockheed SR 71A Blackbird), real-time weather, tons of options and even voice-command capabilities, I consider this game a bargain at the $70.00 price I paid for it. It's probably worth about $400.00
Rating:
Summary: Very Realistic Flight Simulator
Review: One of the best games ever is coming for PC again, with much better graphics, much more realisic gameplay, new and exciting planes, and best of all a Advanced Traffic Control System. Could this be any better. I think not! The graphics in this game are so detailed that you can see the reflection of the terrain onto the bottom of a 747. The Air Traffic Control is so realistic that it even tells you which direction to go if another plane is in your path. Other new things include dynamic ground traffic, air draffic, and fantastic multiplayer gameplay. Although this game is excellent, the requirements are extremely high. And if you dont have what it takes, this game will run like a slug on your computer. Recommended System requirements are a Pentium 3 600/700 with 128 RAM and a 32MB 3d card. If you are a serious flight sim fan, go get your copy the day it comes out!
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