STIMULATING SIMULATOR - More simulator than game.

I'm not what you would call a hard core gamer. I'm not into the "first person shooter" games but I do occasionally enjoy a racing game or two.

I'm in my mid thirties, so I grew up playing pinball and defender. I've always had an interest in flying though. I decided to try this game for a while. It is a bit on the pricey side at about thirty dollars and tax. I already had Microsoft's "Combat Flight Simulator - WWII Europe Series", so I kind of knew what to expect. I have some difficulty calling FS2004 really a "game", it is afterall a "simulator". The Combat Flight Simulator in contrast, is more of a "game" than "simulation".

The installation process is long and tedious and uses up a lot of hard drive space (nearly 2GB). This game offers likely the most realism there is in flying. This game does not offer the constant stimulation many gamers find so appealing. I think it is likely aimed at the more mature adults who do not otherwise play games on a regular basis. I guess I'd have to say, you have to have a taste for this type of game to enjoy it.

It comes with 24 different aircraft to fly including everything from the original Wright Brothers flyer to modern jets. This game does offer a high degree of upgradeability. There are several (free) websites which offer additional planes and scenery to expand your inventory. I was able to add another twenty or so aircraft including military jets, propeller planes and vintage planes. (B-17's, Nazi jets, Flying boats, The Concorde and many more).

It takes quite a while to learn to fly. On second thought, It doesn't take all that long to learn to get the aircraft into the air, but it does take a long time to learn how to get them back on the ground with-out "bouncing" back into the air. If you land too firmly, the software will simply "bounce" you off the runway and back into the air. The most difficult aircraft to fly are the helicopters. The helicopters take a great deal of concentration and coordination to master. The large Boeing commercial jets (727,737,747) were also more difficult to fly and much more difficult to land.

I like the fact that it is possible to turn knobs, flip switches and other controls in the cockpit by using the mouse as a "hand". This adds greatly to the realism of the simulator. I think at some point, I would be able to sit down in the cockpit of an actual plane and generally know which switches correspond to which functions. There is of course no substitute for the real thing, but this is as close as I'm likely to get for now with-out forking over a whole lot of cash.

I've found the number of airports to be very extensive. I was actually able to find a very small private grass airstrip near my mom's house I didn't think would be on the simulator, but it was! I could be wrong, but I think even the angle of the runways is true to life!

I would tend to think this software could be a very valuable tool for pilots in training. It would give them the chance to "practice" a flight before setting foot in the actual plane.

Initially, I tried using the keyboard to control the planes, but found this tedious, so I purchased a joystick. I the joysitck uncomfortable and lacking enough buttons to work well. I then purchased a usb game pad which I think worked best in conjunction with keyboard.

I discovered flights much over ninety minutes to get a bit dull, but shorter flights were more enjoyable. The (add-on) flying boats were also pleasurable.