.............CONTENT
.Home
.News
.Reviews
.Previews
.Features
.Fun Facts
.Wallpapers
.Forums



.............MISC.
.Advertise
.Contact
.About Us
.FAQ
.Legal
.Privacy Policy



.............AFFILIATES
.insert credit
.DigitalBackSpin
.Rock, Paper, Shotgun
.The Wargamer

	Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight
	Developer: Microsoft Publisher: Microsoft Genre: Flight Simulator Players: 1 Similar To: Fly! II Rating: Everyone Published: 10 :13 : 03 Reviewed By: Richard Heaton Overall: 9 = Must Buy

Screenshots

- - - -

Intro
Asking a game journalist to review Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight is a bit like asking a Food critic to review Airline food because The Flight Simulator series is as close to a game as airline food is to, well, food. ACoF is definitely a flight simulation fan's dream. It is unquestionably the most realistic flight experience you're likely to get for under Sixty bucks. In fact, the program so closely simulates flight that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (That would be MIT) Aeronautical Engineering school uses it to "test" fly student designs. And I'd bet a ride in the left seat that you could walk into any flight school in the country and ask they about the Flight Simulator series and most would either own it for personal use or have a copy on hand for 'refresher' training.

Gameplay: 10/10
Long time fans of the series will be happy to know that ACoF continues that tradition of refinement and evolution that they're used to. There are no surprise changes to the control or menu set-ups. In fact, they are identical to those found in FS2002. Where you may find a bit of disappointment is in the absence of military aircraft. Instead, A Century of Flight, as its name implies, is stocked with some of the most important aircraft ever built - everything from the Wright Flier- Kitty hawk Edition, to the first aircraft designed and "test flown" entirely on computer, the Boeing 777. In between you'll find the standard trainer level aircraft like the Cessna 172 and Beech twins. You'll also be able to try your hand at the Ryan Aircraft Company's NYP, Better known as the Spirit of St. Louis. Whirly heads can take a tour in a Bell Jet Ranger 206b, or learn to handle a two seat R-22. And remember when I said there were no military aircraft in the game? Well that's not entirely correct. You can, in fact, fly the Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny". Over 95% of the 9,000 US pilots who flew in WWI were trained in a Jenny. ACoF lives up to its name with over 20 aircraft in all. Each of which holds an important place in aviation history.

The major improvements this year focus around weather. Not only do we finally get clouds that look, act and behave like clouds, we're now also blessed with real time, real world weather. Pilots with broadband connections can access the Jeppsen weather system (the same people that supply weather updates and pilot information to real world pilots) for real time updates of real world weather that the game will then faithfully recreate during your flight. Dial up pilots can receive the weather information and then log off. The game will simply follow the information that was available in the download and attempt to update the weather accordingly.

On a whim I actually called my local FBO and asked them for conditions at my local airport and fired up the weather channel for a regional report. With the information in hand I jumped in my trusty Lear 45 and headed north-west from the Pocono Mountains towards lake Erie and directly into the path of fast moving cold front that my FBO had warned me was about 175 miles to the north. Sure enough, about 160 miles out from my depature point I ran into the front and was able to climb out of the weather at exactly the altitude that both the Jeppsen Flight service and my FBO predicted.

When it comes time to crawl into the cockpit and warm up the magnetos, ACoF really struts its stuff. There are a few choices you can make in terms of "Gameplay".

You can opt to simply take a flight from any of the 24,000 airports in the database. All of the airports in the database are real world locations. Each has been faithfully recreated in every detail that matters to a pilot. Radio frequencies are the same, VOR, GPS, and ILS approaches are identical and even runway variations are matched. In fact, having flown private aircraft out of Tallahassee Regional Airport in Tallahassee, FL I can honestly say that the odd slope of the runway is faithfully recreated. The runway is built on a slightly downward angle and makes for interesting landings. You'll find it exists here as well. You'll also notice that air traffic control will chime in from time to time and issue you commands to climb or descend according to local traffic patterns. You'll also be "handed off" to a new controller when you leave and enter controlled airspace.

Novice pilots can opt for any number of training exercises that roughly follow the standard pilot training syllabus you're likely to find at the local FBO. In fact you can even view videos and read lesson plans developed as part of the King aviation training series and tailored to Microsoft Flight Simulator program.

If you already know your way around a cockpit and think you've got it under control, you can test you skills in "failure" situations. Think you can handle losing an engine in that Beech King Air on take off? Find out. ACoF will test you under any situation, weather, or instrument conditions you want. True psychopaths can even simulate an entire panel failure on a Boeing 747 in a thunderstorm with a 100 foot ceiling and 0 visibility on final. No pressure, you're just going to take 300 people with you if you blow it.

There is a multiplayer mode here as well, but since it amounts to basic formation flying it's not really much to get excited about. With the literally endless supply of options and challenges in the single player mode however, you won't notice.

Graphics: 8/10
Fans have been complaining about the clouds in FS for years now and while they improve slightly with each new revision, ACoF finally gets them right. From wispy "scud" to towering thunderheads that climb thousands of feet in the air (yes! Weather now extends beyond 10,000 feet!) The cloud engine is finally on par with the rest of the weather system.

On the ground however things take on a decidedly mixed bag. Sure, highly popular destinations like New York City and San Francisco have incredibly accurate details. And yes you can locate famous attractions and landmarks (I found Space Mountain, Cinderella's Castle, and EPCOT Center, The Kennedy Space Center, London Bridge, and a slew of other famous places right where they should be) if you want, but the areas in between are often nothing more exciting than the same four randomly generated textures scrolling out endless below. It's especially disappointing when you fly slow and low around Cinderella's castle to catch the details only to discover in the FS world that it's in the middle of a dirty brown field.

Sound: 9/10
It might seem weird to give a title that has little more than the thrum of an engine for a sounds track such a high score, but it's subtle differences in the various aircraft combined with the excellent ATC commands that pull the score up. The Wright flyer for example sounds like the hand built rickety contraption it was, while the Lear 60 has the satisfying whine of high out put twin jets that just screams "I can afford to burn a thousand pounds of $5 a gallon jet fuel an hour and you can't.". Air traffic control voices are generic but if they need to get firm with you (for ignoring a previous command) they will. It's a little disturbing at times.

Control: 10/10
In truth the control in AcoF, as with the entire FS series is exactly what you would expect. Since this is a sim, each aircraft is modeled on its real world equivalent. Thus you have twenty aircraft that handle twenty different ways. The Wright Flyer acts like a lead kite with a bad attitude and an aversion to heights. The Lear 60 on the other hand will scream up to forty thousand feet before you ever get your tray table stowed. As pilots always warn - don't fly a plane that's better than your skills and you'll be fine. Otherwise, you'll be "behind the plane" constantly and trying to catch up - a recipe for a lot of 400 mph insurance claims.

If you load up with a full set of CH Products yokes, rudder pedals and throttle quadrants you'll have a perfect handle on anything ACoF choose to throw at you. It's the preferred way to fly obviously, but a decent multi-function (or even better, programmable) stick will serve you well. Just keep in mind that there is a dizzying array of keyboard and control inputs to master but once you learn the vitals, you're set. Playing with just a keyboard and mouse is possible, but not recommended.

Overall: 9/10
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight carries on in the FS tradition with a solid showing and many new tweaks and tune ups. It's a no brainer purchase for those with an interest in flight, and one could even make an argument for an "educational" purchase for some. What may disappoint long time fans is the title's comparatively narrow approach to aircraft selection. While it boasts many important aircraft it also has abandoned some fan favorites and opted not to include many more mainstream and modern aircraft.

The addition of new real time - real world weather coupled with the new cloud effects should make many real and virtual world pilots very happy. But, I'm still not pleased with the dull textures that are used between major metropolitan areas or the randomly scattered homes and other bland buildings that the graphic engine throws out to populate the landscape. I realize that a photo realistic world is impossible (or at the least would require dozens of DVDs and massive hard drive space to create) but it's disappointing to fly into your home town airport and not recognize a single detail of the town. Or worse, in my case, to not have a town there at all.

[ top ]