Review by: Chris Harding
Published: January 3, 2000

Microsoft took a year off and didn’t develop a 1999 edition of their best selling flight simulator in order to revamp the design and offer us a more sophisticated release for 2000. The previous version, Flight Sim 98, was released over a year ago and received critical acclaim for its versatility, variety and depth in representing large geographical areas. Microsoft has retooled the ultra popular series for the new year and is offering two versions, the normal 2000 release and a professional edition. The two products are the same basic game, but the professional edition does boast some impressive enhancements, including extra aircraft, more cities, a flight dynamics editor, interface enhancements and a more comprehensive manual. To cover all the bases, I’ll be referring to both, but using the professional edition for the majority of this review.

Veteran pilots will notice a number of changes before they even take off. For starters, the world database includes more than 20,000 airports, 50 are cities rendered in exacting detail, the weather effects have been dramatically improved, and all of the instrumentation panels have been touched up nicely. Over the years, the series has been admired for its ability to simulate realistic terrain, and the 2000 edition continues the tradition proudly. Once airborne, the terrain engine struts its stuff. Elevations and topography are presented with amazing detail, and when you take into account such things as scope and range, the presentation becomes even more dazzling. Objects like moving cars in cities that even sport working headlights at night are present. Skylines are represented with exquisite detail, and you can even catch rush hour traffic flying over San Francisco’s infamous Maze.

But all of this expansiveness comes at a price. Turn on 16-bit color and use an insane resolution, such as 1280×1024, and you’ll bring a new Pentium III Coppermine-based PC to its knees. Even with these details on, the graphics still pale in comparison to Looking Glass’ Flight Unlimited series or Terminal Reality’s FLY!. However, this criticism needs to be tempered because neither of these two simulators offer worlds as large as Flight Sim 2000, nor do they provide the amount of usable or supplemental planes. In the end, the graphics suit the engine and flight dynamics correctly. With the ability to download real-time weather for the areas you’ll be flying over, Flight Sim 2000 not only does a nice job in making the experience look right, it feels real enough as well. Intangibles such as turbulence have been markedly improved over previous versions, and while combat sims such as Jane’s W.W.II Fighters have shown us a better way to simulate clouds, haze and horizons, Microsoft’s effort isn’t a poor one by any means.

The new additions are impressive, but to be honest, it still feels like the same engine, and with that comes some of the same problems. Games like FLY! have significantly raised the visual bar for civilian flight simulators, and Microsoft’s entry in the newly crowded genre feels dated and blocky. There are hundreds of different pull-down menus and cockpit display panels, and these are different for each plane. While nice and powerful from an instrumentation and interface standpoint, I found they often got in my way and prevented me from seeing outside. Often, my entire window was shrunk down to a ten-inch square, which is not very appealing for a pilot wanting to see pretty scenery. Furthermore, the new aircraft in the regular 2000 version are a little on the skimpy side, with there only being a few new planes added. They’ve thrown in the new 777 Jumbo Jet as well as everyone’s favorite supersonic passenger jet, the Concorde. The professional edition’s expanded selection is a lot nicer and, overall, a better value.

The Flight Sim line has one of the most devout followings of any series in gaming, and for these people, the familiarities of the 2000 release will be welcome. For the rookie pilot, though, there still isn’t enough power behind the tutorials to truly help someone learn to fly, especially with all of the different planes. While I am no aviation expert, I have flown enough simulations to notice that Microsoft has cut some corners when it comes to flight modeling. Some of the aircraft, such as the prop-planes, all fly much the same way, and the handling is a little too stable in the puddle-jumpers. There isn’t enough noise and things aren’t nearly as immersive as they are in Flight Unlimited III or FLY!.

Still, Microsoft has done an excellent job in sticking to what they do best. Already there are new additions available for download, and if Flight Sim 98 was any indication of what to expect from the mod community, there are a lot more to come. Microsoft’s biggest draw to their line has always been variety in planes, geography and number of airports. Almost all reasonably sized airports have been included in the 2000 edition, and it’s quite fun flying to some of the lesser known areas of our world while still being able to visit cities like Paris, London and Berlin. Playable on the Microsoft Gaming Zone, it’s a safe bet you’ll be able to participate in a realistic jet-setting world online any time you please. Overall, Flight Sim 2000 delivers some nice new features while still holding true to its well established design.