EP,
Nice review. One thing to highlight is that there is a "virtual" cockpit that allows you to keep orientation while still soaking in the view. The default pit is a hopelessly ugly photograph of the innards of the lander complete with camera flash glare. (Not complaing--the time required to make a fully textured pit would be prohibitive for one guy) The virtual view hides all that away and lets us soak in the real beauty of the game. Unfortunately we lose some XP when flying outside the real pit. I gave up on the joystick too. But that has been surprisingly nice release from the crutch of a joystick. Flying with the keyboard is a blast. As is a first successful sortie without using any translation controls--best practiced on the "hard" lunar map. Overall it's a great way to pass half an hour without the violence, speed and noise of the flight sims we are more familiar with. I just wish it was on my Xbox and not my PC as it is perfectly suited for a big screen and a console controller.
