IL2: Forgotten Battles Ace Expansion Pack

Rating:
Summary: can it get any better?
Review: If you like World War II aircraft simulations, look no further. There is none better. The aircraft handling is closest to flying a real WWII fighter or bomber as a arm chair jock can get. I fly real small aircraft, and the games stick inputs and responses are close to real as one can get from a computer game.

Rating:
Summary: enhances a brilliant flight sim
Review: This is an expansion: you still need to buy IL-2: Forgotten Battles. That being said, this appears to enhance the original FB; the graphics appear to be better and the AI (friendly as well as enemy) sharper. I've had pilot training and find this flight sim to have an accurate feel.

Your Eastern Front pilot careers now include French (Normandie sqdn), Romanian and Polish pilots, complete with their languages chattering on your radio during missions; same for Quick Missions, where, for instance, you can fly the Romanian IAR80 fighter to see how it performs, not simply fight it as a Soviet pilot. Same for assorted Italian and British aircraft that fought on the Eastern Front, including Fiat and Gladiator biplanes, which you can fly. Cockpits seem to be unique to each plane, not generic.

The FB: AEP expansion throws in a Normandy campaign (maps, careers) and even some Pacific stuff, though there the aircraft are limited (Japanese are limited to 2 models each of the Ki-84 and Zero fighter). It also includes exotica like the YP-80 jet and German (prototype, never flown) Go229 flying wing, so you now have a game that includes biplane fighters and jets, which covers the rapid progress of flight 1939-45 and, even if somewhat anacronistic in an Eastern Front sim, will still save you the price of some of the other flight sims and allow you more flight cross-training.

Still, if all you want is an improvement on a great flight sim -- Forgotten Battles -- this will add value and lifespan to it. If you're new to it and are interested in a realistic flight sim, get FB, get the AEP, and go to it. Disclaimers: You'll need strong computer speed and graphics, and I also recommend flight pedals (the CH model is a good one) to go with your joystick.

Rating:
Summary: Truly unique
Review: What makes the IL-2 series unique is its ability to bring to light aircraft most people have never even heard of. Ever since the 8-bit color days, here have been sims depicting P-51's and B-17's. Frankly, I'm tired of them.

The Aces expansion pack really raises the bar, adding a number of realistically modelled aircraft that haven't seen the light of day in a sim. Examples include the Russian TB-3 Bomber carrying 2 I-16 fighers under its wings, the German FW-190/Ju-88 Mistel (a flying bomb), the Gloster Gladiator (Finnish J-8), German BF-110, Japanese Ki-48, and others.

The P-51 might be great for some, but give me a cannon-armed Lavochkin La-7 and we'll see who comes out on top.