initial observations after dicking around on an empty map:
1. it was absolutely distinguished mentally-challenged to ask if i wanted to update my game before i installed it. i didn't know i had to install the game from the disc first. took me a couple of minutes to figure out that i had to delete the corrupted update, install from the disc first, then do the update again.
2. i really like the graphics. they are clean, crisp, and it's easy to spot things from the air. nothing stunning, but they get the job done in a pleasant way.
3. wow, these controls are tight. i love the sixaxis controls, they're very responsive. i remain convinced that motion control is great for flight games, especially for someone like me, who could never wrap his head around flightstick controls. the default controls are laid out well, but i'll experiment in actual gameplay to see if mine need tweaking.