I had bought this as an upgrade to an earlier version. It is fun to play with, though quite basic compared to what is available nowadays. It does not require too much of system resources and provides hours of entertainment and some flight learning.

The flight simulator is a flexible product. It allows the use of keyboard flying, if you really want a challenge, or accessory flying with a joy stick or any of the many products on the market today. It is expandable by adding new aircraft. I find it to be a wonderful opportunity to take some time flying and get away from the every day office routine. Microsoft has done a wonderful job with the scenery and many other functions while flying the airplane.

My son Henry and I enjoy flight simulating together. Our last version was 2002, and the 2004 version is far superior. Most noticeable is an increase in the graphics quality of terrain and clouds/weather. The realism of 2004 is certainly acceptable, and is closer to "X" than to 2002.

More importantly, it runs acceptably (even nicely) on lower horsepower machines...I have it on a Sony laptop (1280x768, ~500MHz Pentium M, 512k RAM, XP SP2) with most sliders set to "high quality" (including bilinear anti-aliasing), and we get a pretty reliable 17-18 frames per second (fps). For us, that's a requirement for good control; lower than that and we both get frustrated.

By comparison, "X" on the same machine, with quality set mostly "Low", barely can get 10 fps. So, there's a big difference in performance.

In short, if you've got a machine of limited resources (especially the 3D graphics chip), stick with 2004. It's almost as good as "X", and you won't be frustrated with lower frame rates. Of course, if you've got a fancy new GPU from Nvidia, go for "X"; it's really great.

The graphics in FS2004 are vastly superior to those in my older, FS2000. Yet, they don't overwhelm my 2-year old WindowsXP machine, as FSX is rumored to do. Very nice, and customizable.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of FlightTrying to fly a flight from point A to point B I find it difficult to change radio navigation frequencies with no radio panels available. Try to use pause command and then shift 2 to get the radio panels with no successful results. The pitch trim{up or down)does not work like the real world. Must continue to hold up or down elevator force. I had Flight Simulator 98 before and I fill it was more user friendly.