| Flight Simulator Professional Edition reviewed here is | | | | well and mastering the arts of take off and landing etc, |
| one very large program, Microsoft redefines the | | | | bring a real sense of personal achievement and |
| words Compact, Typical and Custom, 358mb, 720mb | | | | rates very high on the feel good factor. Oh did I forget |
| and 1,144mb respectively. I selected the 1,144mb | | | | to mention the clouds, they now look very real. But all |
| option and some 27 minutes later was ready to start | | | | the eye candy in the world will count for nothing if the |
| flying. This all from 3 cd rom disks. The first two are | | | | planes do not fly true to life. I am sure that given the |
| needed for the installation, the 3rd being filled with | | | | constraints of the amount of raw processing power a |
| extras. The in-box manual which you will need to read | | | | modern-day desk top computer now has, this is as |
| is second to none and in itself deserves an | | | | close to reality as you can get, at least until the next |
| award. Not many flight simulation programs can trace | | | | version comes out. |
| their past back some 18 years of constant | | | | Click Here For Flight Pro Sim Instant Access Now! |
| development and evolution. This now adds up to the | | | | Unfortunately there are a number of small fly's in the |
| best ever version of this the King of flight Sims. | | | | soup. Microsoft says the minimum specification is a |
| Microsoft Flight Simulator is no mere game, it is as the | | | | P166 or faster with 32mb ram. I was unable to test it |
| marketing guys say "as real as it gets". No other Flight | | | | on such a low spec computer, our lowest spec is now |
| Simulator comes even close. | | | | a P400/80mb and this did cope quite well overall, but it |
| Click Here For Flight Pro Sim Instant Access Now! | | | | was at the expense of lowering the many options for |
| Having flown all previous versions of Microsoft Flight | | | | display and effects and running the program in a |
| Simulator I knew I was in for a treat. It soon becomes | | | | window. Our new PIII/800 with 256mb performed very |
| all too obvious that a quantum jump has been made | | | | well even with all options turned right up. From this I |
| with this version over the previous version. I found | | | | would draw the conclusion Flight Simulator 2000 is |
| myself starting up the engines of the Beach King Air | | | | crying out for the very fastest PCs that you can buy |
| 350, just to hear the wonderful sound they make as | | | | today. It will run on the slower end of the PC |
| the turboprop cuts in from the starter motor. You get | | | | performance spectrum but really comes alive when |
| to do this twice as its got 2 engines. Seeing Concorde | | | | given the right hardware to run on. The other fly is the |
| charge down the runway and hurl itself in to the sky, | | | | amount of hard disk space needed, some 1,144mb for |
| using the brute force of its 4 Olympus engines, | | | | a full installation less if you opt for Compact at 358mb, |
| reminded me of seeing the real Concorde all those | | | | Typical at 720mb which is no problem if you are |
| years ago for the first time, and I felt as proud to be | | | | fortunate and have one of today's 20 gigabyte plus |
| British now, as I was then. After all these years no one | | | | hard drives! |
| has even come close to building a replacement for the | | | | Conclusion, this is the best ever Microsoft Flight |
| Concorde. | | | | Simulator and not by a small amount, I would |
| Flight Simulator 2000 has a serious side, you can if you | | | | recommend that upgrading even from Flight Simulator |
| wish undergo a training program which is a very real | | | | 98 is a worthwhile move. Safe flying. |
| complement to real-world pilot training. So much so | | | | Yet this guide costs £14.99p the same price as |
| that many of today's pilots start their training with this | | | | Microsoft Press latest At A Glance guide for |
| simulation, remember its not a game, its not a toy its a | | | | Windows Millennium which sets new high standards for |
| simulation and its as real as it gets. I would go further | | | | such a guide. I think the guys that work on the At a |
| and say its as close as you can get to really flying an | | | | Glance series should have a word or two with the |
| aircraft on your desktop. Perhaps this is Flight | | | | guys producing the Inside Moves series! |
| Simulators best asset, learning to fly any of the aircraft | | | | |