Flight Simulator 2004 really soars

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 11, 2003 by James Derk Scripps Howard News Service

There is an old saying among pilots that "any landing you can walk away from is a good landing."

If that's true, I could be Lindbergh. My aircraft is a virtual one, one of the many included in Microsoft's new Flight Simulator 2004, a great boxed set for the flying enthusiast.

In older versions of Flight Simulator, one could fly such diverse jets as a Lear and an Airbus.

Anyway, this edition, besides being graphically spectacular, is inspired from a programming perspective. Included among the planes you can choose to pilot is Wilbur and Orville Wright's Wright Flyer (just try to stay in the air for 12 seconds) and Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" (just try to stay awake for the Atlantic crossing).

Some people really take this flight sim stuff seriously, investing in rudder pedals and all manner of controls for their PCs. I am not one of those, just using my basic joystick.

Having actually flown a Cessna in real life, having one on my PC is hardly all that interesting, but it is among the choices.

Like the earlier versions, you can elect to fly in "real time" -- flying from LA to New York would take as long on the PC as it would in the real plane -- or you can "time slip" and warp the flight along. The database claims realistic access to more than 24,000 airports from around the world, so you can practice "touch and goes" in Budapest or Boston. Always lower the landing gear, however; forgetting makes a terrible noise.

The cockpits seem realistic to me, not that I am an expert, but flipping various switches in a 747 can get you in a world of hurt pretty quick. There are no in-flight pretzels or Cokes, so pack a lunch.

Following the lead of the DVD market, Microsoft has packed a whole bunch of extras in the box set, including interactive lessons. No, you don't have to be a pilot to like this box but I think anyone with aviation interests will get a kick out of it.

You need a serious PC to run this title (128 megs of RAM, a 450 mHz processor, 1.8 gigs of free drive space and a video card with 8 megs of memory).

You also can go online and play multiplayer versions but I have not had time to play with that mode yet.

Flight Simulator 2004 is in a metal box and costs about $50. It costs a lot but you get a lot, too.

WEEKLY WEB WONDER: If you have a fast Internet connection you can download a free, multiplayer version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein called "Enemy Territory." It is great for adults. It's online everywhere or go to www.castlewolfenstein.com.

James Derk is new media editor for The Evansville Courier & Press. His e-mail address is jderk@evansville.net.