Cleared for takeoff!
Written: Oct 21 '05 (Updated Nov 21 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Can change realism settings
Tons of downloadable content
Amazing graphics
Cons: Difficult to learn
Ground school training is hard to understand
The Bottom Line: Very realistic, great fun, and easy to use.
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| conquest23's Full Review: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Standard for Windo... |
Flight Simulator 2002, like all of the previous Flight Simulator games is great. If it wasn't then the series wouldn't still be running strong after a decade. But of all the Flight Simulator games that I have 2002 is my hands down pick for the best one. This coming from someone who has 2004 as well.
Gameplay:
If you are a beginner at the Flight Simulator genre then you may find controlling the airplanes and figuring out what all of the buttons do rather confusing. The best solution for this problem is to start off small. A lot of people get the game and instantly want to fly the 747, but that can lead to massive amounts of frustration. When I played FS 95 I always flew the Cessna Skylane (there was only one Cessna in the game) and I mastered it when I was only 7 years old. They do have ground school in FS 2002, but to really understand what to do you need to be familiarized with airplane termanolagy and for that you must read the manual. Also having a joystick or a yoke greatly adds to the realism no matter how experienced you are. Flying with the keyboard just isn't that much fun.
Those that are familiar with the FS 2002 controls will have no problems flying because there is very little change in the handling of aircraft with the exception of some more realistic movements.
In addition to free flight, MS Flight Simulator has "missions" so to speak. The missions vary anywhere from being a tourguide in Alaska to being a cargo pilot and flying to Japan and back. Now some people may want to do these flights, but like me most people do not have 10 hours to use on their computer while they are flying over the Pacific Ocean. Not to worry though, while Flight Simulator does offer quite accurate flight times, the speed of the simulation can be increased 2X-4X-8X-16X-and 64X the actual flight speed. With these settings anyone can fly anywhere at the pace they want to.
The gameplay inside the cockpit is just as good as the outside. FS offers a cockpit view that is interactive. Basically, all of the nessasary controls that you can activate from your keyboard or joystick you can click on in the cockpit. I have never had a problem with this. You can change the flaps, control the gear, the autopilot, and even tune the radios. I personally prefer to do as much as I can with the joystick many people prefer clicking because it makes it feel as though you are sticking right there in the cockpit controling the plane.
The physics in this game are important too. You can do some things that are unheard of in real life like barrel rolling a 747, but this all falls under how much realism you want. If you set "aircraft stress causes damage" then that 747 won't last too long. Overspeed is another optional player in aircraft stress damage. When I say damage it is not like losing health from a health bar. There is no indication of how close your plane is to the breaking point. But slowly things will start to fail and eventually you will lose control as the plane starts to hurdle towards the Earth with no power. Some people like flying in emergency situations though and once again FS 2002 is able to deliver. There is a setting to allow for failures in a flight. You can even set specific failures to happen between a certain times to test your emergency flying skills.
Graphics:
The graphics in FS 2002 are stunning. FS 2004 may have a small edge here, but it's not enough to make me switch. It is amazing how the creators of this game are able to implement thousands of airports all around the world. The scenery is just as impressive. The ability to set the time and season only add to the effect. They have real landmarks as well. (ex. Grand Canyon and many sports stadiums) The smooth shading option will make the game react as if you were really flying. So if you set the time to dusk the sun will set, the moon will rise, and the sky will change through wonderful shades of pink to the black of night. All this happens so smoothly you don't notice that its actually happening. The planes are realistic as it gets. Wheels roll and skid creating smoke on the runway, flaps move, and engines spin with the feel of a real airplane. The only thing that is missing are the presense of jetways. There is no way to park and have one connect to you which is kind of unexpected considering everything else is in the game.
Sound:
The sounds in FS 2002 aren't very different from 2000 which is not a problem as FS 2000 had very high quality sounds. The air traffic controller speaks and sounds just about as realistic as possible and the in - cockpit sounds are just as good. The airplane sounds are good as well. You can hear the whine of the engines inside and outside of the cockpit. The engines of course get louder or softer depending on the power they are set to. When you land the tires make the normal skid sound. This may all seem basic, but I have played other Flight Sim games that have not fufilled these needs.
Expansion:
No, there is no expansion for FS 2002 (aside from Professional Edition which only gives you 4 extra planes) but this is where FS 2002 blows 2004 and any other Flight Simulator game out of the water. The ability to add and change things in FS 2002 is extremely important. Planes, cockpits, airports, scenery, gauges, and repaints of aircraft are just some of the things that can be added. Avsim.com has been the best that I have seen so far. Now I am able to fly actual planes used by actual airlines. My favorite plane that I downloaded is an Airbus A320 with jetBlue livery. When I downloaded it, however, it came with the standard 737 cockpit provided by Flight Simulator 2002. So I then downloaded an A320 cockpit that was so realistic that my Dad recognized it instantly. (My dad is a captain of an A320). So within 10 minutes I was able to add a completely new plane and replace its cockpit with no problems.
Online play:
Not very impressive nor does it really serve a purpose. FS 2002 gives you the ability to fly with others online. This is ok if you are flying with a friend, but when your not it gets dull because its basically a chatroom with people flying in the background. Although some people spice it up by doing group aerobatic manuevers, planes often crash into each other because of lag. (And I have high speed connection)
Happy Flying
Recommended:
Yes
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conquest23
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Reviews written: 13
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