Rating: 
Summary: Days on end playing
Review: Playing these flight sims is great fun. I have been playing this non stop for days now. If you can get into it then you will love it. Constant aviation all the way. Just fly anywhere and ... err... crash anywhere too. I love it.
Rating:
Summary: A big jump over previous versions, A realistic Simulator
Review: Microsoft's Flight Simulator is a fantastic, very realistic, simulation that can give you tremendous amounts of experience in flying an airplane. I'm the webmaster at one of the worlds largest aviation websites, a pilot, ex navy and a North Pole explorer and I can tell you that Flight Simulator works great. Microsofts new clouds are variable and realistic. In one flight to Galesburg Illinois, I encountered cumulus clouds, above me were cirrus and on the ground were realistic patches of fog. As I decended I hit a realistic rain shower, then a heavy thunder storm with realistic lightning. The view of the sun shining through the breaks in the clouds were breathtaking. Believe me, Microsoft Flight Simulator is As Real As It Gets.C. Jeff Dyrek
Rating: 
Summary: Well...
Review: Well, the game's graphics are ok, but I think that the creators could have used satellite imaging to make real buildings. Outside of the big cities the buildings are the same. And there is no storyline or objectives, so if you want to be bored for half an hour, play this game.
Rating: 
Summary: Nicely done. Someday, I'll really appreciate the effort.
Review: Why does Microsoft release a game with options that can't be selected with todays technology?
I've flown this sim on several high-end (P4 2.4 to 3.2) computers, and nobody has been able to use the highest details simultaneously without the sim turning into a slide-show. Still, when you back off the detail settings, the sim can run smoothly. I like the idea of interaction with ATC, and having flown real aircraft for the past 14 years, the calls are close to accurate. This is one of those games/sims that you'll really appreciate sometime in the fall of 2004, when you've upgraded to the next faster machine. For now, at playable settings, it won't look much different than what you've flown before.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T BUY THIS GAME!
Review: I installed this Microslut game on a relatively new dell desktop, xp, latest video card and drivers, etc. After install it wouldn't even load up when I tried to start it,,,got the splash screen then it quits. Tried all of the so-called fixes from MS, clean boot, reinstall, video+audio drivers and settings, etc. etc. etc. and still nothing! Apparently there is an "issue" somewhere. screeew it, compusa can have the dam thing back!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Check out Microsoft's Game Player website before purchas...
Review: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME AS A GIFT... Instead purchase an Amazon Gift Certificate and let your friend(s) do their own shopping on Amazon. And, here is the reason why... Compatablity issues. If the games requirements are not met it will not work. I don't mean the requirements stated on the box but the real requirements that remain unstated. (www.microsoftgamesinsider.com) Now for the good stuff. The game has great techinical accuracy which is something I really like about this game . Flying real 172 is pretty close to Flight Simulator 2004 (I dont know about the rest but the 172's flight envelope is close). You do have to work with some techinical aspects of the aircrafts. This is not a good game for those who like the arcade action type games. This is nothing like it. This is a simulator. For such a person this game would be a bore. The reason for the 2 stars is because of the compatablity issues rather than for the game techinical merit. I really do like this game though.
Rating:
Summary: FS 2004: A Century of F*#@ing Pain!
Review: I have NEVER had a computer game do more mischievous damage to my computer than Flight Simulator 2004 did when I tried to install it! First of all, the game would not operate at all, a complete disaster! Second of all, it reconfigured my sound card settings so badly, that it took me two weeks to straighten them out. Third, in it's ActiveX whirlwind slash session through the cortex of my system, it scrambled the only other two games I had on my system. I say "had", because I had to remove them as a result of FS2004(or the Borg, as I so fondly refer to it!) It seems like any Microsoft game with the Game Studio logo under it's name, isn't worth the package it comes in! I know I'm reviewing FS2004, but Combat Flight Simulator3 is another tragic example of a MS "Game Studio" fiasco!
In summary, I wouldn't suggest Flight Simulator 2004 to anyone, unless they have a spare couple of weeks to reconfigure a bunch of settings on their system! It's pretty bad when I get bent out of shape watching the advertisement for this game on television! Stick with FS2002, a non-"Game Studio" product, and worth every penny!
Rating:
Summary: Better than 2002 but I must agree with other reviewer
Review: When I first sat down to write this, I planned to be ecstatic. After all, the weather is more "dynamic" as some have said. When I'm flying, the plan even jerks around a little, like it would in wind, for example. Then there's the new planes. The DC3 is my favorite. But the Ford Trimotor is a trip, as well as the Piper Cub. And the Wright Bros. plane--flown first 100 years ago today--is a challenge, very interesting. And, while the program may be large, I don't have some of the problems I do with Combat Flight Simulator 3, e.g., the program running too slowly, and the plane stopping here and there in the middle of a dogfight. (!) But I must agree with another reviewer that it should have been an addition or supplement to 2002. It's still pretty much the same program with a few additions. Mind you, I'm enthused about the flight simulators, have gotten each one. They fulfill my desire to fly, which I cannot afford to learn to do. So I'm inherently enthused about the simulators. But, again, this may have been better a little cheaper as a supplement to the earlier simulator. If you have or get it, though, enjoy it. Note that I'm comparing it to perfection, not saying it's a bad program.
Rating:
Summary: Plane fies. Software crashes.
Review: I have tried FS2004 on three different computers, and it crashes frequently on all three. Crashes least often on my notebook, and cannot complete 30% of short airport-to-airport flights on the two desktops, using planes that come standard on a flight specified in the training program. All my drivers are current, nVidia and ATI Radeon and S3 graphics cards under Windows 2000. Notebook with older Microsoft joystick crashes less often than P4 3GHz desktop with CH Products yoke and pedals. Microsoft has suspiciously NO hits for FS2004 software crashes in the knowledge base. I've been a professional programmer for several years. Perhaps kids are accustomed to software crashes in games. I'm trying to learn to fly, and this product was an exceptional disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome flight simulator ¿ Highly Recommended...
Review: I've owned every version of MS Flight Simulator, since years before Microsoft bought Sublogic's Flight Simulator and made it the basis for Microsoft Flight Simulator. I've spend many entertaining hours playing Microsoft Flight Simulator, and for the most part, they've added new and very, appealing and worth-while features in each new release. This is also the case in Flight Simulator 2004. I upgraded the day FS 2004 was released, and I've never looked back. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 is a highly entertaining, very realistic looking, and quite realistic acting flight simulator. Overall, I consider it the best Flight Simulator out there. Some people will argue that X-Plane has more realistic flight models and they're probably right. MS FS however, is a close second, and when it comes to the overall gaming experience and look and feel of everything - the MS FS is a clear winner! IF YOU'RE UPGRADING FROM FS 2002:
* Greatly improved dynamic weather system - You can now have the system automatically update itself in the background with real weather conditions as often as every 15 minutes. The clouds look a lot more realistic than in FS 2002.
* New weather themes - Gives you both static and dynamic weather themes such as a brewing thunderstorm etc.
* Enhanced ATC (Air Traffic Control) - Altitude changes in flight, ATC at all airports, request new flight plan en-route (especially useful if your current one gets cancelled).
* Better 3D virtual cockpits
* Some scenery enhancements, such as signs on taxiways. Most scenery changes are quite subtle.
* Old GPS system has finally been scrapped, and instead replaced by two real life looking Garmin GPS's (slightly stripped down versions, but quite impressive still - Color and all).
* The rain has been improved - Looks more realistic.
* New planes of course - all of them are historic aircraft such as Douglas DC-3, the "Kitty Hawk", the "Spirit of St. Louis", Piper Cub etc. IF YOU'RE NEW TO MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR, OR YOU HAVEN'T UPGRADED IN A WHILE:
* Real-World weather - with dynamic updates and dynamic weather changes. Multiple cloud layers. Plain and simple, the clouds look fantastic!!! The rain and snow need some improvement, but is still very good.
* Worldwide scenery with accurate 3D terrain.
* Scenery Auto-Generation - Buildings are generated on the fly based on what type of area you're flying over.
* More than 24000 worldwide airports - a lot of them very realistic looking. * 2D and 3D cockpits.
* Various types of planes - Boeing 737, 747, 777, Learjet, Cessna 172 and 182, Extra 300, a couple of more propeller planes, a sailplane, a helicopter, and of course all the historic planes that are new to this version.
* Jeppeson NavData database - ILS, VORs, NDB data etc.
* Landmarks all over the world - Eiffel tower, Statue of Liberty, Alcatraz, Empire State Building, USS Nimitz, the Red Square/Kremlin in Moscow etc.
* Multiplayer capability - Can play over network or internet (MSN Zone). I still miss the World Trade Center Towers, and the Concorde, but realistically enough, they're both gone from this version. *sniff* Conclusion: I highly recommend this game, both as an upgrade or if you're buying MS FS for the first time... FIVE STARS!!!
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