Has anyone got this game? Do you enjoy it? These are the questions I want to ask:
*Does it have Manchester Airport, Heathrow and Gatwick?
*Can you fly the planes, refuel and then carry on?
*Can you Talk to the air traffic control?
*How many destinations can you visit?
I love this game. In fact, I just played around with it yesterday afternoon for a few hours. I am a real pilot and I still get enjoyment out of playing Flight Simulator. I’ve been working on getting an instrument rating IRL and have been practicing the techniques on the simulator. It is far, far cheaper to learn the basics at home and then hone them in the cockpit. While it is not nearly as much fun as flying in the real thing, it is close enough to practice on.
As for your questions:
*Does it have Manchester Airport, Heathrow and Gatwick?
Let me put it to you this way. It has Muleshoe Municipal Airport in Muleshoe Texas. So, yes, it has the ones you’re looking for.
*Can you fly the planes, refuel and then carry on?
Yep. The plane models are very detailed and every single control and instrument works. You have a range of airplanes you can fly from a simple Cessna 172 (single engine plane) to a Boeing 777. And yes, if an airport has fuel IRL, then it has fuel in the simulator. You just pull up into a box on the tarmac and you are automatically filled up.
*Can you Talk to the air traffic control?
Yep, FS2002 is the first to include air traffic control and it handles it in a very realistic way.
*How many destinations can you visit?
Unlimited. Every airport in my area is included in the game and that includes the very small private airports. I don’t know the exact number of airports that the game has but I do know that it is more than 20000. It has airports and scenery areas from every country in the world.
frazeb already answered all the questions, but I’ll just chime in to say that I love this game also. I remember playing Flight Simulator (Version 1!) on the Atari ST in the 80s, and everything I wished that version had is in this one.
And yes, it does have Heathrow, Manchester, and Gatwick. The westerly approach into Heathrow over London is one of my favorite scenic approaches.
It may not have EVERY single airport in the world, but it seems to come pretty damn close. I live within spitting distance of the Hillsboro Airport in Oregon, and that airport is included in the game as well. Fun to take from there while I can hear the real planes taking off outside my window.
Oh, I forgot to mention that there are two versions of FS 2002 on the market. One is the standard edition, the other is the professional edition. As far as I can tell, the professional edition is different only in that it comes with more planes as part of your starting line-up.
Of course, if you look in the right places, you can find lots of free add-ons for FS 2002. There are websites out there where people have uploaded repaints and other plane models for free downloads. There’s an El Al repaint of the Boeing 747 that I’m particularly fond of using.
Some more questions!
*What special controls can you have for the game in particular?
Eg. Flight panel, thrust lever ( you know, that thing next to the pilot) I know about the flight stick.
*Is there turbulance? And airpockets? Please tell me more, I want to buy this but know I am not making a foolish purchase!
Tell me all the perks!
I have the standard edition, and I actually just started playing it often again this past week…I took some time off. It’s a VERY good sim. The air pockets and turbulence are up to you…if you put it on real flight sim status, (completely unforgiving, and totally realistic), it’ll react to the wind like the plane would…on easier modes, it’s easier to fly. I have a ball just flying all around the world.
The other day, I flew from Norfolk Intl, across the atlantic, through Europe, down across the middle east, over China, across Japan, and finally ran out of gas in my 747 just over the Aleutian Islands. 
Jman
*What special controls can you have for the game in particular?
I just use a Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro. While it loses some realism in me having to twist the joystick for rudder control, it still works out fine for me. I have friends that have flight yokes which look like the yoke in a real airplane complete with throttle. In addition to this they have rudder pedals on the floor. This is a much better setup.
*Is there turbulance? And airpockets? Please tell me more, I want to buy this but know I am not making a foolish purchase!
I’ve never seen the airpockets, but beyond that if it happens in the real world it happens in the simualtor. I frequently set up the game to have lots of turbulance and lots of gusty winds. The game has rain, snow, thunder, lightning, wind, fog, and anything else you can imagine the weather throwing at you. A cool feature of the game is that you can log onto the internet and download the latest weather in your area from a place called Jeppesen. It only takes a couple of seconds and then you’re setup.
If you are interested in learning how to fly a plane for real, or even if you are just interested in learning how aviation works then this is the game to get. Simply put, you are not going to find a more realistic flight simulator for your PC.
For some screenshots and info on the game you can see Microsofts official website here
Be sure to click on the visuals link on the left hand column to see what the graphics look like.
And here is a review at gamespot.com where the reviewer gave it a very high rating of 9.3 / 10.
Keep in mind, you don’t shoot anybody in this game. It is only about flying and an attempt to make it as real on you as they can possibly make it on the current PC’s. If you want to shoot somebody, then I would strongly recommend Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator. It is set in WWII with World War 2 aircraft and lets you choose if you want to fly allied or axis airplanes. Very very fun, but be patient. Combat Flight Simulator 3 is coming out this fall.
Be sure to let me know if you decide to buy this. I’d like to know what you think about it after you play around with it a while.
Probably in the next two weeks. What happens when you crash? Does the version still have the twin towers?