Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (PC)

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Even if you don't choose to use the real-world weather option, the game can dynamically change its weather conditions so that a flight that begins in clear blue skies might end up in pure instrument conditions as you try to feel your way down to the runway in a violent thunderstorm. The addition of true 3D clouds that drift through the sky and merge into one another as weather conditions change adds a realistic touch to the game that static screenshots simply can't convey.

Flight Simulator 2004's graphics are improved over those in the previous game, but they're not exactly photo-realistic just yet. Buildings still use low-resolution textures, and the ground looks much better from a high altitude than it does when you're flying low and slow. The game's interactive virtual cockpits are a great new feature, since the ability to control most switches, knobs, and dials with the mouse when the 3D cockpit is enabled adds some much-needed functionality to that view. Unfortunately, the textures used in the virtual cockpits are low resolution and very ugly--hopefully this is something that inventive computer artists among the Flight Simulator fan community will address. On the outside, the planes look beautiful, with vastly more-complex models adorned with gorgeous high-res textures that sparkle in the sun, and the game also sounds impressively realistic, since the developer recorded engine noises from actual planes for use in the game.

Of course, whether you can enable all of these fancy new effects and maintain a reasonably smooth frame rate depends entirely on your computer. At 1600x1200 resolution with all the graphics settings cranked at their highest, our 2.66GHz test system with a Radeon 9700 Pro video card and 1GB RAM tended to slow down in thick cloud cover. Things smoothed out considerably as the fluff cleared from the sky and the buildings in dense cities faded into the background, but if you've got a computer that just barely meets the game's minimum system requirements, don't expect to run the game smoothly with all the graphical settings turned all the way up, unless you actually prefer to watch a slideshow.

Almost a thousand new airports have been added to the game's world database, providing more than 24,000 places to land ranging from quaint grass strips to bustling international airports complete with signage. The game also features an improved air traffic control (ATC) that works well for the most part. At controlled airports, ground control provides taxi clearances and instructions, and it is possible to follow the taxiway signs to your destination or turn on a handy overlay that visually displays your assigned route.

Once in position, you can tune the tower frequency with a single keystroke to ask for clearance for takeoff, and the air traffic controllers then answer air space transition requests, provide directions to the airport, and provide other information when you are airborne. It's also possible to request clearance to land, and the air traffic controllers respond with instructions for entering the landing pattern or simply tell you to come straight in to a specified runway. If you screw up, the controller will tell you to go around for another try. The system works well thanks to an improved ATC menu, but it's still far from perfect. For instance, when we tried landing a small Cessna at a large international airport in exact accordance with the provided instructions, an AI-controlled DC-10 jumbo jet thundered overhead with only a few feet of separation since it was landing on the same runway. Still, ATC works much better than it did in the past, and casual players can just as easily ignore it completely.

Another new feature in the game is the use of modeled Garmin GPS products--these can be helpful when interacting with ATC and planning approaches. They aren't easy for beginners to grasp, because they use the same buttons and knobs as their real-world counterparts, but a training video is included, and once you get the hang of it, the GPS becomes an indispensable tool for finding your way around Flight Simulator's vast world.

Despite the addition of all the new planes and the excellent library of information in Flight Simulator 2004, longtime fans of the series will find it to be a rather conservative addition to the series. The core flight model and terrain graphics engine remain more or less untouched, and on the whole, the new game seems very similar to its predecessor. The new game's multiplayer is still rudimentary and allows only for basic formation flights and air races, though you can't expect much more from a noncombat sim.

Still, longtime Flight Simulator fans should definitely upgrade to the latest version. And the new game's flight school and interface changes may be just what's needed to bring in newcomers--especially those who were intimidated by the series' traditionally steep learning curve. You could say that Flight Simulator 2004 is still a straightforward simulation, but if you have even a passing interest in flying, you'll definitely get your money's worth from it.

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Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (PC): $19.99 - $23.99

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