~S~
Nostalgia - the
mot juste! Just hearing that opening chord as the game starts sends a shiver down my spine...
CFS1 is where I started out and I used to love it. I continue to go back to it from time to time even now and as Mathias says, the stock campaigns and the availability of outstanding freeware add-ons were (and are still!) excellent.
If you are more used to CFS2 and 3 you will find the implementation of the aircraft, damage models and visual effects in general relatively impoverished, but the game is still eminently playable. Try it - for $10 it's got be worth it (I think I have a spare CD which I will lend to you if you wish!)
DC - I think you are more of an offline than online player, but with add-ons such as TG2, CFO and BRH, CFS1 also offers better-than-CFS2 possibilities for online play with functional bombs and rockets, separate ground starts for different teams, shared ground targets, etc. You would need to find someone to fly with though - I don't even know if the Zone is still running CFS1...
Cheers,
Pads