Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Standard
AT A GLANCE

Cerberus435's rating system:

1 = "Looks like I picked the wrong time to sniff amphetamines."
2 = "Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"
3 = "Any person caught smoking in the lavatories will be asked to leave the plane immediately."
4 = "I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault. It was the asphalt!"
5 = "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."


Graphics = 5
Much improved in all aspects over previous versions of FS. More dynamic scenery. AutoGen brings life to once dull areas.
Audio = 5
Engrossing radio chatter from ATC. Lots of engine whine, beeps, and squeeks. Standard, but excellent.
Learning Curve = 2
Haha. This is the meat of the game. It will take you DAYS to figure out even the basics!
Fun Factor = 5
Although it will take you quite a while to get a handle of flight, you'll have lots of fun while you're at it.
Difficulty = 2
See "Learning Curve." Just like real-life, mastering flight ain't no cakewalk.
Longevity = 5
With all the knowledge there is to muster, all the places to explore, and all the add-ons to download, you'll be playing this until 2004 comes out.


OVERVIEW


I'm utterly surprised that a game this GOOD only has three reviews. It's been out on the market since this May, and only three reviews? Well, time to change that, and give Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Standard (herein, referred to as FS2k2) the accolades it deserves.

Before we get to that, I'll take this short opportunity to muster some credibility. I've owned every Flight Simulator product since FS version 6.0 (the last in the whole line to be played under MS-DOS.) I know most of the additions/subtractions made with the product and I make my own modifications (aka mods) for it. I'm tellin' ya... This is the product that got me hooked on flying. I started playing FS 6.0, knowing jack about flying. Now, I'm looking forward to getting a private pilot's license once I get out of college.

Trust me. It is that good.


CONCEPT


Take the collective imagination of a country enjoying the wonders and freedom of flight. Give them a product that will allow them to put their fantasies to the test. And thoroughly educate them with the basic nuances of flight in the process.

FS2k2 is more like an educational tool (a very fun, and highly addictive educational tool, might I add.) Unlike most flying games (like Falcon, Jet Fighter, Fighter's Anthology, etc.) FS2k2 focuses on you being able to perform a successful flight in a wide variety of aircraft without worrying about missiles and bandits.

With a heavy pilot's handbook, extensive Ground Schooling, commentary and instruction from established pilot Ron Machado, a slew of aircraft making their appearance/reappearances, some new features, and a tricked-out audiovisual system, FS2k2 intends to school the heck out of you.


GETTING STARTED


System requirements for the game are HARSH. You will need at least a 1GHz machine with 256MB RAM, 3 Gig free space (2 gigs for the program, 1 gig for extra stuff you'll want to put in), a 32 MB video card, and a good flight control system (I highly recommend the MS Force Feedback Pro.)

Installation is a snap. It's mostly hands-off, with the exception of inserting the 3 CD's that come with the package. Once all of that is done, you'll have 2 gigs less on your hard drive.

Once you bypass all the intros, you can start however you want. You can call up flight instruction to earn your certificates, select from predefined flight situations, create your own flight plan using the Flight Planner, or get started quickly based on your default flight setting.

Easy enough.


FLIGHT CERTIFICATION


Before you really get into the program, I recommend you earn your certifications first. With a heavy pilot's handbook and instruction from Ron Machado, FS2k2 aims to establish flight proficiency in different kinds of flight: Private pilot, instrument rating, corporate pilot, and commercial pilot.

* Private pilot: Learn how to fly the Cessna Skylane 182 and perform basic navigation, communications, and arrivals/departures.

* Instrument rating: Much like a private pilot, but this time, teaching you how to fly "looking down" on your instruments so you won't, unfortunately, end up like Mr. Kennedy, Jr.

* Corporate pilot: Puts you on the seat of a powerful Learjet corporate jet.

* Commercial pilot: Want to be an airline pilot? Perform arrival/departure, follow VORTAC beacons, and fly in bad weather.

Once you earn all your certifications, you'll have all the knowledge necessary to get around the vast world of Flight Simulator.


GAMEPLAY


Some popular aircraft make a return appearance on FS2k2 (however, I have so many custom planes and mods that I forgot which ones originally came with the program!) Back are the Cessna Skylane, the Learjet 45, the Extra 300S stunt prop (first introduced in FS95, with Patty Waggstaf), the Boeing 737, the 777, the Bell Jetranger helicopter (introduced in FS2000), the Schweizer glider, and the Sopwith Camel WWI fighter.

New to the roster are the massive Boeing 747, the Cessna 172 Skyhawk (a cheaper version of the Skylane 182), and the amphibious Cessna Caravan that you see on the cover.

Gone is the BAe Concorde supersonic transport, which made a guest appearance in FS2000. It's a shame, since it was so much fun traveling over Mach 2 over the Atlantic, even though the plane itself was such a bear to fly.

The AI has been totally revamped. Veteran simmers will attest that you seemed like the only plane in the sky when you play previous versions of this game. With the new AI and Air Traffic Control (ATC), the skies become crowded. This is a welcome addition, since before this, you had to download scenery files that added other planes. However, those files were difficult to install and the AI planes were simple and flew erratic, pre-planned routes. The FS2k2 AI is more lively, but not very bright. They still disregard your plane, so if you and another plane are heading on the same course, YOU will have to give way.

The ATC this time around is far superior than in the previous installments. Before, all you could do was request permission to take off or land, and receive weather reports on a certain place. Now, you have greater interactivity, with the controllers actually giving you instructions, holding patterns, and even handing you off to other ATC's. This is a WONDERFUL feature that really gets you involved in the world.


FLIGHT MODEL


Microsoft prides itself in providing as faithful a flight model as possible. Unlike most combat simulators, where the plane was relatively easy to fly, making the most rudimentary flight maneuvers in FS2k2 can be very demanding. On all planes, you have to have an acute sense of your aircraft's attitude (or its orientation and direction in space.) In order to keep your aircraft in the proper attitude, you have to apply a precise amount throttle, stick, and rudder (aka TSR.) You have to make use of their respective trims as well to compensate for the numerous, intensely calculated forces acting on your plane.

Complementing the flight model is a detailed and interactive cockpit with many, many controls and functions. From the cockpit, you operate the navigation systems (VOR, NDB, OBI, ADF...), the GPS, communication systems (COMM, Transponder, EFIS, etc.), autopilot, engine settings (you actually get to start/stop the engine, and restart during engine stalls!), system diagnostics, cockpit lights, pitot heat, control surfaces, and the whole shebang. The 3D virtual cockpit, while not new, gets a facelift by making the dials and switches interactive.

Best of all, you can determine the reliability of your plane. You can make it 100% reliable, meaning none of your components will fail; or you can make it less reliable, where a system or two will eventually fail here and there. You can also determine the realism of the flight model; make it as simple or as difficult as heck to fly, depending on your tastes or courage level.

The floatplane modeling is the newest flight feature available, and it is very eratic and unpredictable to operate on water. This isn't something new for the veteran simmers, since float planes can be downloaded on previous versions of FS, but this is the most authentic representation of floatplane operations, and the crispier, livelier looking water is taken full advantage by the new flight model.

The Flight Simulator line prides on realism and flexibility, and FS2k2 upholds that proud tradition.


ENVIRONMENTS


FS2k2 puts the entire world in your hard drive. There are over 21,000 airports, each with its own navigation and communication arrays. The two aircraft carriers off the coasts of San Francisco and San Diego return as well. As usual, it still doesn't have functioning arrestor hooks and catapults, so only prop planes and specialized aircraft packs from Internet users can operate on them without zooming off the deck.

Major cities and landmarks around the world are fully represented. Though they have the same tilesets like in previous versions, the visual presentation looks so much cleaner and denser in FS2k2. For example, New York looks so much brighter now than before. The ground maps have greater luminosity, so the Metro area doesn't look too dark anymore. However, there are some inaccuracies. For example, I still don't see the Pulaski Skyway (twin black well-known suspension bridges that run from Newark, NJ to the Holland Tunnel) on the Jersey City scenery. Microsoft should have fixed this by now.

Also, the World Trade Center complex is gone. As Allymcbeal said, you can't even bring them back by setting the game clock back to 9/10/01. The only way to bring them back is to download a scenery file. You can bring back other landmarks and events, such as the Berlin Wall and the Mount Kalawuie(?) eruption in 1972(?)

Nevertheless, the environments are faithfully represented and ripe for you to play *your choice of deity here* with. You can set weather conditions, time of day, seasons...

You hold so much power at your fingertips in this game.


AUDIO AND VISUALS


Every plane is highly detailed with movable control surfaces, particle effects, and interactive virtual cockpits. Indeed, Microsoft overhauled the graphics engine to create a visually pleasing experiences. Veteran flight simmers know that traveling outside the dynamic scenery areas would present a dull, flat, simple-tiled terrain. With AutoGen , the terrain is more beautifully depicted with more realistic models of terrain features instead of generic textures.

The sounds are equally impressive. Most of the time, you'll be hearing only your engine. The sounds per power level is so precise and it sounds even cooler when you're spooling the engines on the big Boeings. You'll also hear commentary from Machado and frequent chatter from the ATC.

There's no music or anything like that, but you can play your favorite CD's or MP3's on an external application if you want, without consequence to system stability or performance.


CONCLUSION


The Flight Simulator product line just keeps getting better and better. At $39.99, the Standard edition should be enough to overcome the dedicated features of the Professional version. Besides, the Pro version only comes with two more planes (the Cessna Caravan w/out floats and a Raytheon Baron) and a GMax editor. If you have 3D Studio MAX or any other modeling program, you don't need GMax.

Customization is vast and there are plenty of fan sites, third party applications (such as Abacus), and add-on programs. You can also go online and join a virtual airline.

My favorite site for scenery and aircraft add-ons:

http://www.simviation.com/

For more information on virtual airlines:

http://www.vatsim.net/

For $39.99 (and possibly cheaper if you go to ebay), the possibilities are endless!

Recommended: Yes