Rating: 
Summary: "As Real As It Gets" says it all!
Review: Since the first days of flight simming the achievement of what has been made for a home computer is mind boggeling. There is no doubt with the addition of random weather, with the best clouds in the civilian flight sim arena, and the ATC upgrade that Microsoft Flight Simulator 9 (aka 2004 COF) will go down as one of the best. Now IFR flying is truly a challenge and realistic as it gets to date. No matter if there are small quirks...compared to the past years I have not wasted my money here. I've dreamed of such a flight simulator for 15 to 18 years like this one. I just hope it doesn't stop here, I hope they can smooth it out and go further. The online prospects of this could be real sweet. If your a real fan support the cause, you won't be disappointed. The people behind this one are making a programming legend and nothing pushes the technology like a great flight sim!
Rating: 
Summary: A great simulator, but needs a great pc
Review: As I started last year with the Flight Simulator 2002 with my pentium 4 processor, 1.8Ghz, and 256 Ram the problems begins with my PC, now I have a 2.4 Ghz 1G RAM, Nvidia Video Card, and a 17" monitor (believe me, I do all this changes in order to have much better improvement with my simulator, and finally now with this F2004 I have a better flying experience.) If you don`t have a good PC you might be in troubles, because you need speed and memory and a really good video card, and I tried to keep away from third party add ons because they always slow the performance. but talking about the simulator, has a little more changes from FS2002, now with Taxiways signs and the More ATC comunication make flying a good experience. I hope that in the next two years, microsoft can finally put real world airlines and try with more detailed sceneries. Overall I like this game with 5 stars but I vote 4 because the performance capabilities from the pc. Anyway, if you love to fly just do it with this simulator, and if you can upgrade your PC will be very helpful.
Rating:
Summary: A Super Sim but......
Review: A super flight sim, though sometimes it takes forever to load, even on a machine with a Pentium 4 processor and 512 MB RAM. But, once you get going, the flying experience is an improvement over previous Microsoft Filght Sims. As with their other products, users are actively creating new sceneries and planes as shareware or freeware, which will help insure the ultimate success of this realistic product.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprise
Review: I was flying a precision approach to Latrobe (KLBE) and to my surprise there was no airport. All the nav-aids worked fine, but there were no structural facilities. Apparently game was shipped with a corrupted BGL File. Uninstalled and reinstalled with no good results.
Rating:
Summary: Superb improvement
Review: I'd just like to address a few of the incorrect things "A gamer from Miami FL" states. Among other things, he says:> 1. No new planes, except for a bunch of old planes that nobody wants to fly and can barely make it off the ground for more than a few mins. Incorrect. There are many new planes. And aircraft such as the Vega and the DC-3 are hardly "planes that can barely make it off the ground" that nobody wants to fly. Ask pilots what their favorite plane is and many will tell you the DC-3. Gamer should note this program is called "A Century of Flight." It's a historical hommage to the great planes of the last 100 years. It's not called "Flight Simulator 2004: Cooler, Faster, Meaner Planes." There are other games for that. > 2. Still no crash effects when your plane crashes. It just freezes at the point of the crash!! That's intentional. Microsoft doesn't want you playing "Con Air." Real simultors don't show fireballs when planes crash either. It's a flight simulator, not a crash simulator. > 3. Still no gates, refueling trucks, baggage trucks, or anything of the sort at the terminals. Gamer should get a more poweful system that can generate these objects, or tweak the system he has. These things are there, as they were in the 2002 game. > 4. The worst thing about this game is that its WAY to [sic] taxing on the system. Flying in major airports can end up looking like a slide show the frames move so slow. And I have a very efficient system. Apparently he doesn't. Again, gamer should get a more powerful system, or tweak the one he has. He's not seeing anything close to the whole show. In short, there are some problems with this program (missing bridges are among them), but all the "objections" Gamer has are the result of his own inadequate system, his poor piloting ability or his misunderstanding of the game.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was expecting more from a game as hyped up and expensive as this one. If you like MS FS, buy the older version and save the money. It is flat out rediculous that you cannot crash a plane in this game. Even a 747 at full throttle will do a loop without damage or crashing. Absolutely unrealistic. A joke !!! You can land a jet plane going 500 mph on any surface. It will just bounce off the surface until it come to a stand still, you also can take it off from there. Material obstacles are none......you just fly through them. I expect from a good flight simulator that doing the wrong thing and putting the plane "outside the envelope" has real consequences for the game i.e. you crash or damage the plane. Also it is disappointing how "buggy" the game still is...flickering screen and vanishing text and picures when scrolling. This game is not what I would expect from MS. Selling mine after only one day.........
Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing Software for any Flight Fan
Review: This flight simulator is so amazing that it can hardly be called a 'game' - many real airline pilots use this software to help them train. And the graphics!! I still remember when I first came across Flight Simulator, many years ago. My uncle, a pilot, let us watch him use it. He said that us kids weren't allowed to play it because this was a "real, serious program" and not just a game. We were amazed by the controls, the stick-line graphics and the fact that it really was like you were flying. Fast forward to the 2004 version. You can fly in just about any location you want - from Alaska to Hawaii to small east coast islands! Plug in your nearby airport and take off in any sort of weather, on any kind of plane you can imagine. Sure enough, the richly detailed landscapes below you will be very familiar! There are trees and shrubs, rolling ocean waves that crash onto the beach. I took off from a small airport near my house and sure enough, the small hotel by the airport was clearly visible from the sky! Not only do they have current planes, but they also include a wide variety of historical planes as well. Learn just how much of an effort it was for the Wright brothers and Lindbergh to make their achievements! There are many built in scenarios for you to play with, from reproducing those historic flights to doing scheduled trips around Hawaii and other gorgeous locations. Sure, doing the flying is fun, but enjoying the scenery is half the delight! If you're new to flying, don't worry at all. There are now built in video training programs with real flight professors. You also get step by step tutorials in every aspect of flying a plane. And since all of the instruments and concepts are 100% the way they are in a real life plane, you might be inspired to continue on with real pilot's training once you are comfortable with this system. Many pilot students use Flight Simulator regularly to help them remember concepts and techniques! Highly, highly recommended for ANYONE who has ever dreamed about flying a plane. The software is simply amazing in so many ways, and such an achievement compared to the early days of flight sims, not so very long ago.
Rating:
Summary: The best flight sim yet
Review: well to start off i'd like to say that all FS games have been phenomenal but 2004 is the best yet. the IFR and VOr changes have improved a whole lot. for example can you imagine leaving your hometown and the decide that you wanna go back or go to another airport??? well you can do that with 2004!!!!!!! and do you want to fly at another altitude higher or shorter than the ATC tells you to??? well that can happen in 2004!!! and in the new planes the cockpits look awesome. and if you get bored with the planes that you have in your game you can always download a lot more planes form flight sim , simviation.com , or surclaro.com! and the helicopters look so awesome . the graphics in the game look beutiful!! so i suggest you get 2004 and a joystick because if your gonna fly with a keyboard get ready for yelling , frustration , and veins popping out of your neck
Rating:
Summary: a good game
Review: This is is a very good game and includes the best graphic quilty of all the games that you can buy in all of the flight sim games.
Rating:
Summary: Better Performance - A Few Nice New Features
Review: This upgrade is worth the price just from a performance perspective. It seemed like Flight Sim 2000 Pro was not taking advantage fully of my hardware - this version defintely seems to. Also, while the new features are few and far between - they are pretty darn cool - like runway signs (finally) and one-click weather scenarios. My favorite as an IFR student - FOG!
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